Down Payment

Ah....! The memories.... All came flooding back and I've still got it. What is it? Well.... negotiating a price for one. Two is the thrill of the game. Three is that I'm still good at it.

Quite simply it was negotiating the trade in price of a car and the price of a new car. A Wira Aeroback for a new Vios.

And I must admit some disappointment along the way. And it's all to do with Toyota sales people. I went to three different Toyota dealerships to get the best price possible. One thing I do know now is that Toyotas sell themselves. Their sales staff are pretty much not very good. To be fair, just the ones I dealt with although I must say that at the Aman Suria dealership, it wasn't really the guy's fault. He's young and 2 months into his first job.

We live in an area where we have many dealerships to choose from. Too bad for them. When buying a new car, always, always play them off each other to get the best deal. They are after sales targets don't forget. I have TTDI, Aman Suria, Dataran Sunway, Bangsar and Section 19 to choose from.

Dealer 1. TTDI dealership. The sales woman sided the second hand dealer for the trade in and his first price was a full two and a half thousand what I finally negotiated in the end with the dealer we put the down payment with. Sales woman didn't handle herself well for someone who should have experience behind her. Not impressed. One pushy broad with eyes only to sell as quick as possible and commit us to a down payment.

Dealer 2. Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara. Sales man handled himself well. Second hand dealer on hand at the showroom. Made a reasonable offer. Sided customer in negotiation with second hand dealer. One thousand more than TTDI's final offer on trade in. Appeared quite professional. He shot himself in the foot after I rang him later to tell him I got a better price from the Aman Suria dealer. Lost his composure and became pushy.

Dealer 3. Aman Suria. Young guy who seems somewhat unsure of what he's doing. 2 months into the job and 4 cars sold so far. Committed to a trade in price 500 bucks more than Dataran Sunway. Obviously desperate for a sale. Messed up trying to get the trade in guy to view the car although I didn't hold it against him. Committed to a price two and a half thousand more than the first offer we got. I shook on it and we booked the car the very next day. We were pleased to give him the sale though we think he's too sweet a guy to be a sales person. Anyway, if you're buying a new Toyota, go see Edward at the Aman Suria showroom. You can tell him the Mr. Tan who bullied him over the trade in of a Wira for a Vios sent you. LOL!

Perhaps I should sell cars to pass the time. Although it will be very different on the other end of the stick. One thing I've always realised is that the guy with the buying power and a few choices always has the advantage. Don't you forget it eh?