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Home town vs Big city

C

cuby

Member
Shopping for a new truck so went to big city thinking of a good deal. They woudnt accept my bid so came back to home town and found more expensive truck for less money than I offered big city boys. Plus you walk into big city dealership a year from now they dont know you where the home town dealer will know you 5 yrs from now.

Just my experience.
 
I do hope your hometown dealer does not get gobbled up by the mega dealers ! Seems like a bad trend anymore. The big boys have REAL HIGH overhead too.
 
The "home town" salesmen are just better at faking recognizing you. They forget your name 5 minutes after you sign the paperwork just like the big city boys.

Not sure where you find a "home town" dealer that's willing to deal. Most around here think you'll pay full retail out of loyalty.
 
I have bought from both big city and small town dealers. I have found time of month, and time of year, can impact sales, and how eager the dealers are to take a offer. Best advice is , don't be in a hurry, and do not be rushed.
 
One dealer has an expensive city lot, city taxes on a flashy multimillion dollar facility, higher payroll and ad budget. The other a modest place in the sticks. If they both pay the same for the truck, where can you do the best?
 
Agreed.

Although my first hand experience has been that larger dealers are more willing to deal than small town dealers. My company buys 4-8 pickups a year - we have never bought any from the local dealerships. They refuse to match prices and are usually stupidly high priced compared to other advertised prices of other dealers (not necessarily big city dealers). I am looking at 2 2016 Ford XLTs V8 extended cab pickups for $26,800 each (black Friday pricing is in effect). Lowest the local dealer will go on a similar XL (not XLT) is 30,000 even. We aren't paying $3,200 (10%) just so we can buy local - especially given the fact the pickup won't be used locally.
 
always been true around here... you cant get any service in the big city like you can with good ol home town folx
 
Seems to me that the big dealers in the city have the attitude "If you don't pay this price the next guy will."
 
I've always been curious. When you make a "bid" on a new vehicle at a dealership, how do you formulate what your "bid" should be ? What research do you need to do in order to "bid" intelligently ?
 
I still prefer small town dealers.

I was a Snapper dealer for 25 years. Snapper had three levels of dealers. The GOLD dealers got freight paid on all orders plus got a larger discount. I was a BRONZE dealer. Had to pay freight on all mowers also had a smaller discount.

There was no way I could sell a mower for the same price as the larger dealer. I would lose $150-200 if I did.

There difference is how the dealer takes care of you AFTER the sale. The big dealers are closed on weekends and holidays. I fixed a lot of mowers after hours and on Sundays. I took care of my customers.
The big dealers will not help you after hours.

I had two cemeteries that bought two mowers every other year. The week before Memorial day I learned not to make evening plans. The cemeteries would be in my yard needing repairs or trimmer string.

I kept 5# rolls is string and stocked all the belts/ blades there mowers needed.

After I quit selling Snappers the cemeteries still brought there mowers to me. The big dealer would not service there mowers on Saturday evening at 6:00 like I would. The big dealer wouldn't stock the five pound rolls of trimmer string for them either.

What really cracked me up was when someone would come into my shop and tell me they won't buy from me unless I give them a deal. They act like they are going to set the price!

I would tell them they get the same deal I give everyone. They would leave.
 
(quoted from post at 06:52:06 11/22/16) Shopping for a new truck so went to big city thinking of a good deal. They woudnt accept my bid so came back to home town and found more expensive truck for less money than I offered big city boys. Plus you walk into big city dealership a year from now they dont know you where the home town dealer will know you 5 yrs from now.

Just my experience.
Click to expand...

How about a mega-dealer in a small town? I just bought my last truck from Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID. I doubt many of you have heard of Kellogg since it is so small...but DS is the largest Dodge dealer in the world and largest GM dealer in the northwest. This was my 6th vehicle I bought from them and they have always treated me well. They sell on average 1300 vehicles a month, have shuttles running from the Spokane airport daily as people fly in from all over the country to buy.
 
I would Love to be able to get a better deal here local,,, sadly here anyway they are a joke to deal with,, their sales people are only interested in getting your SS # so they can run your credit ,, and a couple here Chevy and Dodge do this as both are owned by the same company,, they Do Not let you drive anything with out running your credit,,, I almost never finance one anyway and even less through the dealership,, when I tell them I will write them a check if I want it they look at ,e like I have the plague,, I can go to any of the used car dealers and drive what I like ,,, and always used to be able to at the big name ones they say everyone does it this way now,, Wrong I can drive 60-100 miles and drive a brand new Challenger or Vett at those so for us here local is a sad thing to deal with any more truly Sad as I much prefer spending money at home
cnt
 
My experience is that the small dealers are higher priced than the larger ones because of volume sales. Same way Wal Mart beats most pricing. Home town dealer may sell 8 or 9 new vehicles a month while the big city guy may sell that and more a DAY. With that kind of volume they don't need as much profit a per unit.

Funny someone should mention mowers. Wife works for a guy who sells Husqvarna and TORO. This guy really knows who to take care of customers! Now we have a lot of people here who have summer lake homes and live in the twin cities. The last couple of years these people have been buying mowers and snow blowers from Dale and taking them home to the cities to use. One guy this spring bought 4 zero turns. One for his lake home, one for at home and one each for his two adult children. 3 of em went to the cities.

Rick
 
Get prices, then go to your small town or favorite dealer, show him other's best offer and ask if he can match it. Last week a friend went over 30 miles to buy tires at a "super tire store". He said he didn't like how he was treated. I asked at a local tire store if he can get most any brand, he said yes. I also asked if he would match the super store's price and he said yes, most likely. If you have a problem he's close by to take care of it.
 
I know a guy that operated a huge business selling snowmobiles and atv's, lawn mowers etc. He said he would much rather charge a higher price and sell less units than to sell dozens of the same model and make a couple of bucks on each one. He always used to get a kick out of the places that would lowball him on price and they were worthless on helping with parts and service. He used to compare selling things at rock bottom prices as a time consuming "hobby" that he wouldn't participate in.
 
I like to shop local as much as the next guy, but in buying two vehicles this year, neither a Chevrolet 2500 4x4 crewcab truck or a Chevrolet Traverse SUV could be bought local without paying a much higher price. Both times I tried my local dealer, and didn't like the prices I was quoted. Went to dealers 90 miles away, one east and one west, had great experiences both times, and saved myself about $10,000 on the two vehicles I bought. Sorry, but that is too much money for me to pay out of my pocket simply to buy local. I would highly recommend either of the dealers I bought from to anybody.
 
(quoted from post at 08:53:49 11/22/16)
(quoted from post at 06:52:06 11/22/16) Shopping for a new truck so went to big city thinking of a good deal. They woudnt accept my bid so came back to home town and found more expensive truck for less money than I offered big city boys. Plus you walk into big city dealership a year from now they dont know you where the home town dealer will know you 5 yrs from now.

Just my experience.
Click to expand...

How about a mega-dealer in a small town? I just bought my last truck from Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID. I doubt many of you have heard of Kellogg since it is so small...but DS is the largest Dodge dealer in the world and largest GM dealer in the northwest. This was my 6th vehicle I bought from them and they have always treated me well. They sell on average 1300 vehicles a month, have shuttles running from the Spokane airport daily as people fly in from all over the country to buy.
Click to expand...


That's how we normally go. Zeck Ford in Leavenworth KS makes the local "small town" dealership look like a joke. Even though the city size isn't that different Zeck moves 10-20 cars a day while the local Ford dealer would love to move that many in a week. Another one we like is Superior Ford in Siloam Springs Arkansas.

I don't know if its just Ford or if all brands are this way but a lot of the Ford Service Departments just plain suck. The Ford Dealerships in Emporia, Manhattan and Topeka have horrible service departments - bad enough that I would rather work on my own stuff than let them touch it for free under warranty.
 
I would lean toward the smalltown dealer. But it really depends on the owner and management, a smalltown dealer can be as cut-throat as one in a big city. My favorite smalltown dealer after 25 years is now getting too big for their bitches. I'll be looking somewhere else for my next vehicle.
 
Our Ford Dealer is The oldest dealership for the brand Tenvoorde Ford. They are in business to stay in business. 175K population Big dealership, but do
it correctly. Jim
 
Checked with them, as my neighbor had purchased two trucks there for his construction business within the last couple of years and had a good experience, but my 2500 pickup came from Alexandria Chevrolet, and the Traverse SUV came from Whitaker's GM in Forest Lake.
 
Tenvoorde Ford is another good dealership I would buy from. My brother bought a used, but fairly new, SUV from them this summer. It ended up needing some mechanical work after the purchase was finalized (dealership had dropped the price considerably for the sale), and they still covered all costs for it. Good folks to deal with.
 
(quoted from post at 09:48:08 11/22/16) I know a guy that operated a huge business selling snowmobiles and atv's, lawn mowers etc. He said he would much rather charge a higher price and sell less units than to sell dozens of the same model and make a couple of bucks on each one. He always used to get a kick out of the places that would lowball him on price and they were worthless on helping with parts and service. He used to compare selling things at rock bottom prices as a time consuming "hobby" that he wouldn't participate in.
Click to expand...

Yeah, how's that working out for him? Probably barely scraping by month to month, worried that he won't be able to keep the doors open.

You can charge however much you want but you have to be cognizant of the other guy who is undercutting you and costing you all your sales.

People overwhelmingly aren't concerned about service during or after the sale when they're buying. All they want is the lowest price. Then they'll complain when the dealer doesn't do this or won't do that even though they feel they're owed it.
 
I buy from my local dealer, been in business for generations. Most of the people that work there are family. I didn't even compare price because when my wife calls for service they take care of it and offer a loaner while they do it. So far only oil changes, but I'm sure it will be the same no matter what. That's worth more to me than a low price when I buy.
 
Wouldn't trust my small town dealer he charges two different prices one for the guys he likes a second for the ones he thinks he can steal from. He also likes to make a big noise giving to local events. Most people know where the money he gives away comes from. I do buy from a dealer in a small town not far away you can call him up tell him what you want and it won't be long he'll call you back everything is ready to go and financing is available if you need it. He also takes a picture of every car sales that's his wall solid pictures if you go in it only takes seconds and he'll show you the last one. Same way with servicing a vehicle I've got a little guy and he is great to work with . Wish I could work with the local guy but I'm not going to pay the extra price.
 
Years ago I was looking for a Ford 4x4- used were hard to come by then. Twice Tenvoorde shafted me...told him I"d be there that evening, they couldn"t find it...sold it before I got there. Next truck they raised the price from morning til evening...I told the story of both trucks, loud enough for potential customers to hear...and left when they threatened to give me a cop escort out of there. Salesman called the next day to apologize...he was an ex-Ford dealer from western MN, and just felt bad about how I was treated. Wanted me to reconsider at the first price...haven"t been back, certainly won"t.
 
Bummer......that is no way to treat customers, and I can see why you wouldn't want to go back.
 
What do you guys consider a "big town" and a "small town"?

The "big city" for me is 40 miles away with a population of 5000. They have three dealers, one Ford,one GM, and one Dodge. Now all owned by the same family.

. Most towns around here are under 500 population. 20 miles away in a town of 1500 Is the only dealer in the county. A GM dealer. I have gotten the best deals from him. GM told them they had to have a new fancier building or say goodbye.They are doing the dirt work now. There old building was remodeled and added a good size addition ten years a go to make GM happy.
 
In the Spring of 91 we bought a new mini van of the wife. Local dealer was close to 17K with incentives. Next closest dealer was about 15 for the identical vehicle. We drove 30 miles to a bigger town and paid just short of 12K. Now this was with the Military Appreciation deals right after Desert Storm. But 5K on a soldiers pay was a heck of a lot of money! I like supporting local businesses but refuse to be ripped off by them! Kinda like the local family owned lumber yard. They are about 1/4 higher than another local family owned lumber yard. The first is about twice the price of Home Depot. If I need a lot, Home Depot, no brainer there. A sheet of ply or a couple of 2X4s the 2nd one. I don't even go to the other!

Rick
 
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