Hi fellow members,
Yesterday, I went to this dealer called Gabriel Lexus shopping for an IS300. They are one of the two (I can't believe theres's only two in a city like Montreal) Lexus dealers in Montreal, so I was expecting a tough haggling session. But it turned out to be worse.
When I entered the showroom, a saleswoman was already serving someone also interested in the IS300 and no other salesperson was available. Fine, there was 2 IS300s so I just gonna serve myself (i.e. sit in the car, examining the interior, etc.). I was hearing what the saleswoman was saying to the other potential customer and I felt she was trying to show she is knowledgeable and all that (more on this later). When the guy left, the lady went up to me and asked if I needed help. I was reading the spec sheet on which the price is mentioned -- I see $42333CAN (MSRP + 1500 (!) for destination and handling charges) for the Package A (no options). Socked, I asked her what happened to the $38xxx price I saw in the newspaper a week ago. Only THEN, she revealed the $2300 rebate is still valid. I said I'm interested in Package B and that I know some people (IS300.net members) who got approx. $3500 off the MSRP without the rebate. I then throw in my offer which is approx. $4500 off the MSRP. The lady said the best she could do if shave a couple of hundreds off the MSRP!!! I could not believe it, so I reiterate the fact that some people from Toronto got at least a couple of thousands off. Then, I sense she was feeling somehow insecure but she was trying to show otherwise -- like she knows what she's talking about and that she won't back off a bit. She said the best she could do is a couple of hundreds off and that if there's such a good deals in Toronto, I should go buy my car there instead. WTF??? This is like telling me: "I don't want to do business with you, go away." Now I'm really pissed off. At that point, I just wanted stick in her face the Edmunds FMV and the CarCostCanada.com invoice documents that I had with me. But no, all I did was to show her the Edmunds FMV and pointed out to her that in the US, people got even below invoice. She replied something like: "Do you run a business? We are not a charity organization. How are we supposed to make a profit by selling below invoice?!" She didn't even let me explain why selling below invoice is possible and that dealer could still get a profit out of it. She seemed so frustrated and (again) insecure. I said to myself: "I ain't gonna get a good (or even fair) deal with this B*tch." So I walked away.
I realized that having just 2 dealers in the Montreal area really plays against me. This Gabriel Lexus dealer could probably afford to lose a customer like me (who's not stupid enough to get screwed by these low-lives). I don't have bargain power and it really sucks. And I hate Montreal and the province of Quebec (only 4 dealers in the entire province!!! -- for those Americans who doesn't have a clue what a province is, a province is similar to a state in the US.) for that. No wonder why we mostly see Echos, Civics and all thoses low-end cars over here...
Yesterday, I went to this dealer called Gabriel Lexus shopping for an IS300. They are one of the two (I can't believe theres's only two in a city like Montreal) Lexus dealers in Montreal, so I was expecting a tough haggling session. But it turned out to be worse.
When I entered the showroom, a saleswoman was already serving someone also interested in the IS300 and no other salesperson was available. Fine, there was 2 IS300s so I just gonna serve myself (i.e. sit in the car, examining the interior, etc.). I was hearing what the saleswoman was saying to the other potential customer and I felt she was trying to show she is knowledgeable and all that (more on this later). When the guy left, the lady went up to me and asked if I needed help. I was reading the spec sheet on which the price is mentioned -- I see $42333CAN (MSRP + 1500 (!) for destination and handling charges) for the Package A (no options). Socked, I asked her what happened to the $38xxx price I saw in the newspaper a week ago. Only THEN, she revealed the $2300 rebate is still valid. I said I'm interested in Package B and that I know some people (IS300.net members) who got approx. $3500 off the MSRP without the rebate. I then throw in my offer which is approx. $4500 off the MSRP. The lady said the best she could do if shave a couple of hundreds off the MSRP!!! I could not believe it, so I reiterate the fact that some people from Toronto got at least a couple of thousands off. Then, I sense she was feeling somehow insecure but she was trying to show otherwise -- like she knows what she's talking about and that she won't back off a bit. She said the best she could do is a couple of hundreds off and that if there's such a good deals in Toronto, I should go buy my car there instead. WTF??? This is like telling me: "I don't want to do business with you, go away." Now I'm really pissed off. At that point, I just wanted stick in her face the Edmunds FMV and the CarCostCanada.com invoice documents that I had with me. But no, all I did was to show her the Edmunds FMV and pointed out to her that in the US, people got even below invoice. She replied something like: "Do you run a business? We are not a charity organization. How are we supposed to make a profit by selling below invoice?!" She didn't even let me explain why selling below invoice is possible and that dealer could still get a profit out of it. She seemed so frustrated and (again) insecure. I said to myself: "I ain't gonna get a good (or even fair) deal with this B*tch." So I walked away.
I realized that having just 2 dealers in the Montreal area really plays against me. This Gabriel Lexus dealer could probably afford to lose a customer like me (who's not stupid enough to get screwed by these low-lives). I don't have bargain power and it really sucks. And I hate Montreal and the province of Quebec (only 4 dealers in the entire province!!! -- for those Americans who doesn't have a clue what a province is, a province is similar to a state in the US.) for that. No wonder why we mostly see Echos, Civics and all thoses low-end cars over here...