Dealing with car dealers (very long and possibly boring and/or confusing)

I decided I'm going to buy a new car. I figure it may be the last ICE-powered vehicle I ever buy so I want one with certain exact options and in a specific color. And with a manual transmission. It exists but it's hard to find.

I buy and sell cars like most people, well, fill in the cliché. The two different dealers in question know me by name and they know when we agree on the numbers and I say Yes, I mean Yes. There are zero problems with creditworthiness or anything else. They don't require a deposit or anything else from me other than my word.

Sidebar: New car dealers have "sales people" whose job is basically to greet and assist customers with their questions and things like test drives. By and large the "sales people" are young and hungry. They make something like $250 on a new car sale, over and above whatever their base salary is. But they are not the deciders on anything related to pricing on trade-ins or the new vehicle. Only a manager can do that.

Neither of these dealers is high pressure in any way. But at the end of the day they want to sell cars.

Dealer #1 is about 35 miles away. I exchange emails with Sales Guy #1 and there is quick agreement on the numbers. The last thing Sales Guy #1 says is "If we can do that price, would you do the deal today?" I say Yes. This is key because it implies they can get the car very quickly.

But a couple days go by and I hear nothing.

I'm antsy so I contact Dealer #2 , which is local. They quickly agree to the same deal, but again they don't have the exact car. A couple days go by, nothing. Nada. Also nothing from Dealer #1.

I text Sales Guy #2 asking only half-jokingly if they really want to sell me a car. He assures me they do and that a sales manager will call me. A day goes by, nothing. Sales guy texts me: "Did a manager call you?" No. "Well let me try my other manager".

The next morning I get a text from Manager #2 saying "I'm going to try again to find the car." Day ends, nothing. At this point I'm left wondering if my texts smell bad or something.

The following day, Sales Guy #2 texts me: "The manager says we just ordered the car. It will probably be here sometime in August." I think Well ok, that's the best that I can hope for.

I inform Sales Guy #1 that because they kind of left me hanging, I made other arrangements (with Dealer #2). Well that lit a big fire under Dealer #1. Sales Mgr. #1 and Sales Guy #1 both call me and apologize profusely for leaving me in the dark. Sales Mgr. #1 says "We will get back to you within two hours with something one way or the other."

An hour later Sales Guy #1 calls and says "We talked to our factory sales rep and they are diverting a car here for you. It will arrive by July 10th." They text me a photo of a computer screen showing all the info including my name on the inbound car.

Now at this point I consider the deal with Dealer #1 to be good as gold, unless of course the car doesn't arrive as promised.

Right after this, Sales Guy #2 texts me: "We're still working on getting the car, no firm ETA." I text him back that Dealer #1 can get the car by July 10th and I've committed to that one. I thank him for his time etc.

I could sense Sales Guy #2's disappointment at losing the commission over the phone.

Did I do anything wrong? If Dealer #2 says "Sometime in August" and I say Yes, but then Dealer #1 says "July 10th" and they offer proof of that date and I say Yes, have I kind of screwed over Dealer #2?

I say it's all business. It's cars. If they "special order" a car for a customer but it's 2 months out, and meanwhile the customer finds that car someplace else available in less than 1 month, no harm no foul because the other dealer will eventually sell the "special order" car to someone.

Well I did say this would be kind of long.

 

Dealer #1 is part of a large regional chain of new car dealers. They sell many brands of cars. It seems conceivable to me that they could get a distributor to divert a specific unsold car to one of their lots on request.

Dealer #2 is a single location. They might not have as much persuasion power when it comes to begging for a certain car.

Also, it's my feeling that Sales Guy #2 was let down by his two managers. Neither of them picked up the phone to talk to me and they dragged their feet. When you have a fish on the line, reel it in.

 

I’m a very atypical car buyer. Also as I noted both dealers know me well and they’re usually pretty transparent about things.

New car dealers trade cars with other regional dealers all the time. The car in question will essentially be available to every dealer in Oregon and Washington. It’s in high demand and short supply. Hence the wait to get one.

 

If they get the car reasonably close to the promised date, and at the promised price, it’s mine. That’s what I told them. I’m not changing my mind. OTOH, if I think they’re jerking me around by, say, making up bogus delivery dates, I’m out. As noted, I have a very good history with both these dealers and I know the people involved on a business-personal let’s go get a beer level.

 

Before this started, when I used the manufacturer website to build exactly what I want, it would say sorry but there’s nothing even close to that available anywhere near you.

Now when I build the exact same thing, it shows as “on the lot” at both dealers. In fact Dealer #1 shows 2 of them. That’s 3 total. They have 3 different VINs. Neither dealer actually has one, but the cars are apparently in transit to those dealers.

 

The "when can you get it" question was always on the table since they didn't have one on the lot and there were none anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. After agreeing on the price, they allowed days to go by without giving me any updated information at all on what they were doing about getting the car.

The salesman is powerless to do anything related to obtaining the car. Only the sales manager(s) can do that. Since starting this thread I've talked to the sales guy at Dealer #2 and he agrees that his manager(s) kind of dropped the ball by not reaching out to me. To his credit, he says he'll stay on top of the delivery date for the car and let me know when it's there just in case the other deal falls apart for some reason. The only reasons that might happen are if Dealer #1 changes the price, or doesn't get the car reasonably close to when promised.

 

I've said this several times now. I've bought and sold many cars from both dealers and we know each other on a first name basis. They trust me and I (mostly) trust them. I have the numbers in writing in the form of emails & texts. They know if they pull any shenanigans I will walk. I have no skin in the game, not even a deposit, because they know me. If they wanted a deposit to secure the car, I'd be happy to do that. But they don't require a deposit from me or any other formal "contract" in advance of the actual delivery of the car. As I said, I'm an atypical car buyer.