Can I Steal You???
I contacted about 17 Lexus dealers last Friday in search of a new GX460 for a customer. After hearing back from 8 of them I achieved the price I was looking for and proceeded with making the deal, leaving the deposit and setting up delivery for Wednesday. Last Saturday and Monday I was still bombarded with emails and at least 13 phone calls from all of the other dealers. I answered a few of them and said let’s get right to the point, I already made a deal and this is what I have. After hearing the deal, one sales guy offered me $10 more per month and said it would be a straight deal with no games. Another said with a number like that, they will definitely try something when you get to the dealership, so if it doesn’t work out to call him back. Both were answers I liked and were used to hearing. I was confident the Lexus would get picked up without any hassle and at the price that was agreed upon.
About Tuesday night around 8pm I got a call. I picked up and the first words out of this salesman’s mouth was I have been trying to reach you for 4 days now. Did you make a deal yet? I told him yes and I’m picking up tomorrow. I said I was happy to tell him the numbers but I am pretty sure I got the best deal. I told him $10 less per month than I was actually getting. After hearing the number he said that was a very aggressive deal. Take note, unlike the other two sales guys he didn’t say it couldn’t be done. He then tested me and asked what are they selling you the car for? I knew the selling price I was really getting so I quickly lowered it by $360 since it was a 36 month lease and now it would look believable. As we were talking he was plugging the numbers into his computer.
He then said, “Can I steal you”?
I said I already have a credit application approved and insurance ready to go for a car tomorrow. He said what if I save you $5 per month. I said I would change everything for $5. Which was really $15 better than what I had. He said hold on 1 minute… He came back and said he can do $17 per month better and he offered to bring the car to my home or office. I told him make it $20 and we have a deal. He said $17 was the best he could do and they were losing $572. Take another note, he didn’t claim that they were losing thousands. Now he is really $27 per month better than what I had so of course I took it. I changed everything for my customer the next morning and the car was delivered to his office that afternoon.
The first deal I made was about $3,100 behind the invoice price. The final deal was a little over $4,000 behind the invoice price. Does the dealer’s invoice really mean anything?? No! Is it the end of the month when most people assume it’s the best time to buy a new car? No!
Had I not known the right selling price to tell the salesman so his numbers matched up to what I was stating as the deal I had, would he have believed me? Definitely not!
When I was selling cars I would always ask these questions to customers trying to low ball me over the phone so I could tell if they had the deal or not. It’s the same game I play now but in reverse!
What’s the moral of this story? Buy my Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Dealer Report® so you can speak as an “Educated Buyer”.
Ask any Millionaire or Billionaire if this statement is true… It’s not what you earn, it’s what you save!