QOTD: What's The Craziest Thing You've Seen A Dealer Do These Days?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

We've talked a bit here about high markups from dealerships, but thanks to friend of TTAC, Zerin Dube, we've heard about some real serious insanity from a Mercedes-Benz store in British Columbia.


You can click the link to see the craziness in full, but the short version is that a dealer is making potential G-Wagen buyers jump through some serious hoops. Not literally, but we wouldn't be surprised if that was next.

Now I am wondering -- have you all seen some crazy stuff from dealers recently? Not just crazy markups but things like the Benz dealer asked (specific requests for trades, et cetera). We'd love to hear your stories.

Sound off below.

[Image: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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9 of 31 comments
  • 95_SC 95_SC on Sep 22, 2022

    Looked at a Giulia Quadrifoglio on the used lot of a local Acura dealer. Price was absolutely at the top of retail, which you expect. Then they tacked on 2500 for paint seal and interior protectant (and something about free ding repair). The kicker was the 1500 dollar "used car reconditioning fee". First time I'd seen such sillyness. Doc Fee was the same as always though. I passed. Man I want one of those though.


    • See 1 previous
    • Jeff S Jeff S on Sep 23, 2022

      Smart to pass. I would look around and with a some persistence and patience you will find what you want and a reasonable price.


  • Dave M. Dave M. on Sep 22, 2022

    Secret and Jeff, thanks for your thoughts. I’ll suggest Carvana to her and see what happens.


    Jeff, I don’t mind Ford dragging their feet - I’m a year off my usual replacement schedule, so if it takes 10-12 months I’m ok with that. My current ride is in the 8th inning…

    • Jeff S Jeff S on Sep 22, 2022

      Dave M. I hope you like you Maverick as much as I like mine, it is one of the best vehicles I have ever owned and I have owned many that I really like.


  • Proud2BUnion Proud2BUnion on Sep 22, 2022

    I also love my Maverick! Dealer took $375 off MSRP, also got a extra $500 Farm Bureau discount. I shopped around for the best price for my 2021 Accord Sport. KBB Instant Offer got me $5000 more than the original MSRP!

    • Jeff S Jeff S on Sep 23, 2022

      I also am a member of the Farm Bureau and got the $500 which I had to go on the KY Farm Bureau website and print out and present to the dealer. The Maverick is one of my all time favorite vehicles of all the vehicles I have owned.


  • Chris P Bacon Chris P Bacon on Sep 22, 2022

    Strange. When my Jeep lease was coming due, I called the dealer we bought our last 4 Jeeps from. I'm eligible for Chrysler Affiliate pricing through my employer, but anyone can get it through Tread Lightly. Sales guy told me that Chrysler had temporarily turned off affiliate pricing on Wranglers. He suggested I extend my lease month by month (6 month max) and that he'd call me as soon as the pricing was available again. He did. So I went into the dealership at the end of March. He showed me what they had coming in a 4xe. None of it was what I wanted,so we placed an order. He signed into the order system, showed me how to make my choices and walked away. We placed the order March 26, picked up our High Velocity 4xe on May 15. No fight, got my Affiliate price, which was 1% under invoice. I didn't ask for some of the holdback, which in the past I've gotten. No pressure to buy the TruCoat, signed and drove out. Honest, ethical dealers are out there. But you've got to be willing to walk away from the sleazy ones.

    • Dave M. Dave M. on Sep 22, 2022

      Sounds like you are pleased and got exactly what you wanted. You are right, there are good dealers out there. I tend to refer people to family owned dealerships with a strong presence in supporting the community. I do believe those things matter.


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