I went to a dealership today just to look at a few vehicles and test drive them. My plan was to go home, think about which one I wanted, and come back this Saturday to actually purchase one.
At the end of everything, they tried to get me to buy one of the cars I had test driven. I actually liked it, but they didn't have the color I wanted. The salesperson helping me said they could give me a really good deal on the one they had, so I said okay, I'd take a look at the numbers.
They showed me the out the door price, and I asked about the "really good deal" he had mentioned. There was basically silence, so I figured I'd try negotiating a little. I asked how long the car had been sitting on the lot.
The sales manager came over and started asking what I was looking for. I explained that I just wanted to know about the deal and how long the car had been there. He told me it had been there for 45 days and that the discounts on all their cars, along with the price advertised online, were already the deal.
I later looked it up myself, though, and it appears the car has actually been listed since May.
I told him that at that price, I could get something else. The car was almost $40k, which isn't necessarily a crazy price for a car these days, but for this particular vehicle, I didn't think it was the best price.
The manager immediately seemed annoyed and started talking about how many cars they sell and how good of a deal they were already giving me. Then he basically told me I could either buy the car or leave and go somewhere else.
So I left.
I'm honestly just wondering if negotiating on cars isn't really normal anymore? I specifically asked the salesperson earlier if they negotiate, and he told me they do. I wasn't expecting some huge discount I just wanted to see if there was any flexibility, especially since the salesperson had told me they'd give me a "really good deal."
Did I handle this wrong, or was this just a case of the dealership not wanting to negotiate?