In addition, I don’t have to wonder about the deal I got, if I was taken advantage of, if the guy next to me in his Tesla got a better deal than me, etc. The price just is what it is. You either take it or leave it, kind of like buying any other home appliance. Far simpler & better if you ask me. I don’t plan on setting foot in a traditional dealership and playing their games any time soon.

 

Just go deal with internet sales if you want to skip the BS dealership experience. Did that with my 981 and have since helped a few friends buy their cars this way too. Much easier. Most time-consuming part is driving to FedEx to send the paperwork and cashier's check.

IME internet sales have also given really good deals even up front, probably because they know it takes minimal effort to internet shop at many dealers and no effort to "walk away".

 

Agreed. When we got our Ody, we spent maybe 90 minutes there after arriving to do the paperwork. We came in a few days prior to test drive, gave them our OTD number, and made it no secret that we were shopping our number with the other dealers in the area. Got a call back a few days later telling me they were okay with the number and paperwork was waiting for me. Paperwork took about an hour and there were a few things on the van that needed to be adjusted before we took delivery. Not all the dealer avoidance that you had, but still a lot better than 5 hours

 

I have had the exact same experience as you, while I was buying my rcf a few years ago. I feel like its just a show they put on to promote the brand. but boy did did it take those boys many hours for them to take your money, LOL! crazy world we live in.

 

When we bought our previous car, an A6.I thought I had everything arranged for my wife and I to come in, sign the papers, get a brief orientation on the car and be on our our way. My wife borderline refuses to go into dealerships. We had agreed on the price, trade in value (Q5 purchased there) etc. and they said they would have everything ready to sign when we came in the next morning. We arrive only to find out the Finance Manager was off that day for a wedding (a Saturday) so they go next door to their Jaguar-Land Rover store to see if their finance person could come over but they were "unavailable". I told them we'd come back when they were ready for us and then their Sales Manager who previously was the Finance Manager magically appeared and finished things up. It's been internet only for me since then.

 

As they say, your mileage may vary. Can't pin it on brand vs brand. Every single dealer is its own independent business, even within a dealer group family can see large swings in business practices and processes from one store to the next.

Having dealt with nearly every brand both personally and professionally I can say that there is still a wide variety of dealers that consumers can come across. Those that have fully embraced a streamlined and transparent process and those that are still stuck in the world of 20-30 years ago, and anything and everything in between.

As others have said, I've found best way is to weed out the most terrible ones through email, be as upfront and direct as to what it is that I'm seeking to accomplish and then let them decide if that's something they can do.

 

Good post pbm317 and as we've stated before, consumers vary widely too from flaky, to unreasonable, to gullible, to prepared and professional, etc.

 

My latest purchase took about an hour. Everything was negotiated through email.

 

The best experience I've ever had was buying my Pacifica long-distance earlier this year. There were just a couple of emails to establish price. They only hiccup was dealing with the finance guy - not because he was trying to up-sell anything (he never did), but because being in Minnesota he was unfamiliar with how the Ohio title process worked and I had to walk him through every step. Once that was nailed down, he sent the paperwork by Fed-Ex.

Going back to the original post, while it is inevitable that the process will take some time if there is a trade and/or financing to be arranged, a cash transaction should take no time at all.

 

Interesting. I'm in FL but bought my LC from Missouri. The lexus dealer there didn't do anything as far as FL paperwork goes, just put a 30 day tag on it and i got the car transported. Once down here i took it to the tag office, paid the sales tax, got a FL title and tag/plate, and was done.

 

As long as there are people willing to put 3+ hours at the dealership, the dealership will drag and drag so they can sell and sell. Sorry, you spent 5 hours there. Hope you got a chance to try all their snacks, drinks, and treats. Maybe peruse the other model cars too. Here's my tip to save time (which equates to money):

Cars are a commodity. Do your research. know what you want (must have, can do without). Internet search, call and email around for features, availability, and pricing. Research your financing option (if not cash). Typically better at your bank or Credit Union. If finance at dealer, no more than 1 hour tops for paperwork. Do not buy any add-ons or anything except for the car plus TTL. Do the math at home first. Go to dealer, test drive, and buy.

If you did all that, It should take you from start to finish about 3 hours or less. Test drive =1 hour (get keys, prep, return, inspect car). Finance =1 hour. Prep = 1 hour. If you buy nothing at the finance office except for the car +TTL, it should take no more than 1 hour there. That includes the waiting time for an available marketing guy (finance) to see you.

 

Nobody, but nobody decides how I spend my time at a car dealer. If you don´t, you´ve got a problem!

 

Not sure what this even means...

 

Or if you are really bored that day....do what they do to you. Spend 4hrs there being "undecisive" so in turn THEY want to get it done so they can go home. Maybe start the process at 3pm lol.

 

It means, in plain English: When you are at a car dealer, contemplating buying a new car, you´re literally in the driver´s seat. If you don´t realize that, maybe it´s better to buy online! Just a piece of advice, well intended! :-)