Well last Saturday 05/06/07 I picked up my Milano Red Fit Sport AT. I was at the dealer for a total of six hours working and reworking all of the details. The dealer tried pulling the wool over my eyes over and over again. First they were only going to give me $10,000 for my trade (2003 Honda Civic Coupe LX 5spd), then they tried marking up all of the accessories that I wanted (cargo cover, cargo net, carpet floor mats, and the rear bumper appliqué) total of $400, after that they tried giving me a huge interest rate.

They kept telling me that they wouldn’t bend and that I should just get my deposit back. They were also telling me that they had other customer waiting and that I should do what they wanted or leave. I did neither and after yelling at the president of the dealership and putting him in his place after he was being rude I walked away with a fair deal. I did not get a great deal but I also did not get screwed.

I paid MSRP at $16520 I got the accessories at their respective online prices (BernardiParts.com) from the dealership (cargo cover $110, cargo net $37, carpet floor mats $66, and the rear bumper appliqué $39) total of $252 and they went up to $11,000 on my trade. They tried adding another 1.3% to my APR that I got from Honda and then they lied about it. After I had the President write on the contract that they did not raise the APR he got scared and within a minute and a half he came back and said that he called Honda and got me a lower rate. Of course this is BS I already had the rate and the finance guy was just trying to pull one over on me- that was an estimated savings of $700.

All in all six hours saved me $1000 on my trade, $148 for the accessories, and $700 in interest. Like I said I did not get a great deal but it worked out good in the end. I might not be ecstatic but I am content about the deal.

I knew that dealers can negotiate the APR from past purchases but I don’t think that the general public realizes it. It was shocked that the president of the dealer would go as far as writing his lie on a contract before letting up.

 

Now , you're what I call an armed and dangerous consumer. Good for you!
More people should be as well informed when they buy cars and houses and anything that expensive.

 

LOL, I'd never put up with all that crap.

If they wanted to fight with me that much I'd have walked out after an hour.

I'd always rather just wait until demand subsides than waste a day going tooth-and-nail with some dealership, although I do admire your tactics and tenacity.