Buyer Offers Cash Or A $3,000 Rebate Deal, Then The Sales Manager Insists He Show Up In Person Even Though The Dealership Website Advertises Free Delivery

A car shopper called a dealership ready to buy. He had a recommendation from someone who said good things about the place, and he was prepared to pay cash or finance with a $3,000 rebate. What he got instead was a sales manager who kept repeating one line: you have to come in.

A man asking whether you would buy a car from a manager, beside rows of dark SUVs on a dealership lot.

The call, posted by @tomislavmikula, runs like a master class in two people talking past each other. His caption asks the question many viewers ended up debating: “Would you buy a car from her?”

@tomislavmikula

“I’m One Of The Sales Managers” And A Simple Question About A Lease

The call opens with a woman who introduces herself as Brittany, one of the sales managers. She asks whether he is looking to lease the car.

He says no. He is looking to either pay cash or finance with a $3,000 rebate. She asks why he is not doing it in Massachusetts, and he explains he had heard good things about her dealership.

Why A Buyer Drives To New York Several Times A Week And Wanted To Skip The Games

The buyer says there are a lot of dealerships in his area that play games. He and his family drive to New York multiple times a week, so he figured he could pick the car up on the way there and handle everything else remotely.

Her answer is that it would be a lot easier if he came in, and that financing means he has to physically come to the dealership to sign the paperwork. Cash or finance, she says, they are fine if he is willing to come and pick up the car. He just has to be physically there.

He says that is fine, as long as he agrees to the numbers first. She points him to the dealership’s express store, where she says he can do everything and get his answer on the vehicle.

The Express Store Was Not Working, And Nobody Would Talk Numbers Over The Phone

This is where the buyer pushes back. The express store, he says, was not working for him. All it said was that someone would call him. There was nobody on the phone who could talk numbers, do the deal remotely and email him the paperwork.

Brittany tells him it is not remote if he is coming to pick up the car. He answers that the website says he can speed up the paperwork by doing it ahead of time, and that is all he is trying to do.

“You Advertise Free Shipping Right To People’s Houses”

Then comes the line that gives the whole call its tension. The buyer says he knows the dealership has free shipping on its website. He understands his distance might be too far, but he asks how somebody who lives locally can buy a car remotely when the dealership advertises free shipping right to people’s houses.

The reply is firm: they are not doing shipping, and if he wants to do business with them, he has to physically come and pick up the car. She says it again later, in plainer words: “We do not offer delivery.”

He reads from the site as the call goes on. According to him, it lists a call-ahead option to get your paperwork done, a pickup for sales or service customers, and free delivery to your home or office. He tells her the value proposition on the website seems to be one thing and her process is another, and he says that package is just a lie.

How Close Was The Deal, And Where The Price Match Fell Apart

Even so, he keeps trying to buy the car. When she asks how much he plans to put down, he says 10 or 20 grand, just financing for the rebate. Pressed for a number, he says let’s just say 20 grand. She puts the total purchase price at 36 on the dot, and he asks for a breakdown.

The email step turns into another small standoff. He asks her to text the numbers because it would be easier, and she says she has to email them. He offers to text her his email address.

Then he asks about the final piece. If he had a better offer, he says, the dealership says on its website that it does price match. Her answer is a simple “no.” In his words, that part of the website is also not true.

What To Do Before You Drive To A Dealership

Whether you think the buyer was too persistent or the dealership was too rigid, the call holds some good lessons for anyone shopping for a car right now.

Screenshot the dealership’s website promises before you call, including delivery, price match and online purchase options.
Ask the first person you reach to confirm each promise by email. Written answers settle disputes faster than phone memories.
Get the out-the-door price in writing, with fees and the rebate spelled out, before you travel.
Ask whether the rebate you are counting on is tied to financing, since some incentives only apply when you finance through certain lenders.
Remember that you can always walk away. Another dealership may be happy to do the paperwork ahead of time.

Rules about recording calls differ from state to state, so check the law where you live before you do what this buyer did. In many places, you need permission from everyone on the line.

By the end, the buyer had gotten a clear answer: come in, or move on. He had also learned the hard way that a website’s promises and a sales manager’s policies can be two different things. If you are planning to buy a car, ask early, ask in writing and know your options before you grab the keys.

Steel Horse Rides