A frustrated car buyer documented an exchange with a dealer who wouldn’t give him a price via text. He notes that this shouldn’t be the case in 2024.
The TikTok comes from the CarEdge (@caredge) account, a car-buying site featuring a research center. Posted on Oct. 17, this video has more than 261,000 views as of Monday.
“Buying a car in 2024 is really stupid,” he begins. “You can see I’m texting with a Volkswagen dealer here, asking for an out-the-door price breakdown, and yeah, they won’t give it to me.”
He reveals that the chat is with a dealer at Ourisman Volkswagen in Laurel, Md. The car in question is a blue Volkswagen Taos.
“Some car dealers don’t like giving you pricing without you being there,” the creator assesses. “You can see this dealer is really pushing for me to come in as the only way to get pricing. I drop a quick knowledge bomb, which is, ‘Hey, you’ve had this Volkswagen Taos for over 300 days.’” He shows the CarEdge Market Insight page with that info.
“And you can still see here, the dealer saying, ‘No, you have to come in to get a precise out-the-door price quote,’ which is BS,” he says.
Bringing more knowledge, he adds, “It’s 2024, almost 2025. Customers have access to information like this. We know the invoice price of the vehicle. We know how many days it’s been sitting on your lot. We know how fast and slow the same exact vehicle is selling in your market area. And yet, dealers still play games like these.”
@caredge Why do some #cardealers make things so hard? #cardealer #buyacar #newcars #newcar #caredge #cardealershiptiktok #cartok #carbuyingtips #buyingacar #cardealership #carbuyingadvice #carbuying #carbuyingsecrets #buyingacartip #carbuyinghelp ♬ original sound – caredge
Tips for car buying
Edmunds notes in a “How to Negotiate Car Prices” article on its site, “You’ll need to determine the market value of a vehicle before you begin to negotiate. This figure will serve as the backbone of your strategy and give you a reference point when you start getting price quotes from the dealership.”
Edmunds has a tool for that, as does Kelley Blue Book. It gives you a realistic range for the car’s pricing—albeit, minus the breakdown of additional costs the creator seeks.
It then advises, perhaps not anticipating the roadblock the creator faced, “We recommend calling, emailing or texting a few nearby dealers to get a range of prices. You can also submit your information on Edmunds or the dealer’s website. If you’re calling, ask for the internet sales manager and, in that discussion, verify that the vehicle is in stock and make sure it has all the options you want.”
Consumer Reports adds in a complementary article that you should set your own terms for the discussion. This is better than being drawn into what the dealer wants. It shows you’ve done careful research and that you’ve already done a test drive.
Commenters weigh in
Several assessed the exchange and were convinced he was negotiating with a bot.
“I think you’re talking to ChatGPT,” one remarked.
Similarly, a commenter observed, “Dude is arguing with an LLM.”
“Every dealer experience has been a nightmare,” another remarked. “I will die with old cars in the garage.”
“Even when you go to the dealership and ask you still get a runaround about payment and asking what your interest rate is blah blah blah,” someone else kvetched. “JUST GIVE ME THE PRICE.”
Another suggested, “Turn the tables, give them a take it or leave it offer, something you know they’ll actually consider, saying that’s your out-the-door offer, and if they agree, you’ll come pick it up.”
Update 6:07pm CT, Nov. 11: The TikToker told the Daily Dot that “It’s no surprise that people watch videos about how to negotiate and get a great deal on a car.”
“In the United States we are not accustomed to negotiating except for when we buy a car, so any insight and tips that someone can learn to help them level the playing field goes a long way. Right now Volkswagen is struggling globally. They are laying people off in Germany for the first time in company history, they are struggling to sell cars here in the US, and they’re increasing their incentives like crazy to try and sell cars. This is a great moment for consumers to take advantage of high supply and low demand to score a great deal,” he added.
CarEdge also recommends customers “know the days on lot, … the dealer invoice price (we have that in CarEdge.com and various other websites do too), … what others have paid for similar vehicles (again on our website and others).” And to “always negotiate the ‘out the door’ price— not monthly payments. Be prepared to say ‘no’ and walk away!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ourisman Volkswagen via online contact form.
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