ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

Hi Guys,

Went to my first few dealerships today for my new car purchase and here are my experiences.

I went to Sydney City Mitsu because I wanted to look at the Lancer R close up. I REALLY like the rims of the Lancer R so very tempting. But the service wasn't as great!!!

I was standing there unattended for about 20mins, until I had to physically walk up to the counter and ask for help. To which they just said that they thought I was already being attended to.

They then called out a bloke who didn't really know much about the new 2011's, because what he was saying to me was completely wrong. And the prices he gave me were RIDICULOUSLY higher then the prices stated on this forum.

I decided to end the conversation short and head over to Sutton.

BIG DIFFERENCE in service! I walked in and within the first minute of looking at the Lancers a bloke by the name of Chris came out to attend to me.

Nice bloke, very casual, straight to the point, knew what he was talking about and prices quoted were reasonably close. Of course he gave me RRP, but did mention it was negotiable.

After getting a rough quote from him and leaving the dealership within 5 minutes I received a quote from TERRY, the manager. He told me that the price given to me was RIDICULOUSLY too high because I was a CJ member, and that they take care of members from this forum and can definitely do a MUCH MUCH MUCH better deal than that.

He continued to say he was a bit angry at his Rep Chris, because of the high price quoted, but it was fine because he did mention to me that he was just giving me the RRP. So no harm no foul.

But felt great to be called back and seems like joining this forum was the BEST thing I've ever done.

Got to do a bit more research but seems like what I'm leaning towards is the 2011 Lancer VR, with the RSV kit but we'll see how it goes.

Apologies for the essay, just felt like sharing.

Cheers.

Got my car from Suttons as well.. Chris was the one who took care of it for me and also Terry when Chris got sick for a few days.

Terry called me occasionally to give me updates on the delivery cause there was a bit of a hiccup which is fine cause they were proactive in letting me know.

Chris really does know a lot about cars, you can ask him anything. Test him and I assure you he would know.

Also you get 3 years free carwash from Suttons and an extended dealer warranty to add to the manufacturer's warranty which kicks in three years after owning the car so that give you a bit of assurance.

The also gave me a good price on my bodykit two months after getting the card too. They even have that handy first aid kit they give away which you can put in the car and a membership rewards card which you can use for discounts in retailers, hotels, restaurants and such (my wife has that, she probably won't use it but it did make her feel like a part of the transaction when Chris gave her the card).

After getting a rough quote from him and leaving the dealership within 5 minutes I received a quote from TERRY, the manager. He told me that the price given to me was RIDICULOUSLY too high because I was a CJ member, and that they take care of members from this forum and can definitely do a MUCH MUCH MUCH better deal than that.

He continued to say he was a bit angry at his Rep Chris, because of the high price quoted, but it was fine because he did mention to me that he was just giving me the RRP. So no harm no foul.

Sounds a bit to much like "bad cop, good cop" (ie. they deliberatley quoted you high and then called back to make you feel looked after,etc). But if the price they gave you is ok well then just go with them.

But I would look at some more dealers and then play them off on each other's prices.

I found the guys at Sydney City quite rude and abrupt. I was working at Epsom Rd, Rosebery (I wont say where)... and walked down and talked to them and tried to talk price, the guys basically said in effect, "if you can get it cheap, then go buy it from there", the guy was basically an irrate crackpot salesman (maybe a bad day).

I bought mine from Suttons in Arncliffe, they were accomodating and pleasant enough, even when I was being pushy, there were nice back to me, to let me know i was pushing the boundaries without being rude... that's true salesmanship....
Just my thoughts....

Does seem a little like good cop bad cop now come to think of it?

Thanks for opening my eyes to that, and course I'm still going to look at other dealerships, still have a contact from a dealership that I'm going to leave till the end.

Few people on this forum though talk positive about Suttons, so seems promising.

thanks for letting us know that. ive been looking at cjs for a month or so now and i really want to buy one. this is gonna be really helpful.
cheers mate

Since you're in Sydney, why not give Phil Gilbert (at Lidcombe) and McGrath (at Liverpool) a shot? Try and see what they're willing to give you, especially now you have a better understanding of what the numbers are like.

EDIT: There's other dealers as well, depending on where in Sydney you are.

my 2c, McGrath at liverpool seemed okay, the guy "ray" there (I understand he doesn't/may not work there anymore) was very attentive at my first visit, but I didn't follow up as the suttons deal just happened...

Phil Gilbert, (maybe the salesman's fault), but it was just bumbling and incompetent, didn't have the current pricing, didn't have this, that or the other, come back in couple of days...

The ones out at Penrith or Campbelltown. Penrith has the same cheek as Sydney City.
Campbelltown, enough effort to get them to pay attention to you. "Yeah, those are our cars, have a look".

Lander, young guy was too pushy (maybe eager to get his sale), but it was very off putting... something just wasn't "quite right" about the potential transaction (gut feeling - and I always go with gut feelings).

Heartland were okay, jovial guys, but happy to declare their hand, that they could not match (or were not willing to match the price I got).

Brookvale, sales manager, young guy, wanted to push me into an Aspire (as he had one going cheap), but also same as the Heartland guys, happy to admit he could not match price...

Tynan, Kirawee - god some of their salesman are just utter pigs....

They're my rough recollections....hope that helps

I've only checked out two dealerships so far, I really need to check out a few more aye? I'll probably give the McGrath one a go at Liverpool, and maybe the Alto at Penant Hills; some good reviews on those dealerships too.

Will share experiences from other dealerships once I've gone.


Actually I do have a question, since I'm new to this scene.

I understand the sales rep won't give me their exact BEST price until I'm 'ready to buy'. So therefore, how will I compare/find the best/cheapest price for the car I want? Do I just base it on their initial RRP they give me, and start negotiations with the dealer that provides the lowest RRP?

Or do I actually sit down with them requesting their final best price so that I can compare with other dealers?

Don't really know how it works.

Once again, any feedback is great.

Oh I forgot, Jason @ Alto, nice guy. Heard lots of good things about him on these forums. I dealt with him once, he was kinda busy (in the middle of winning a sale from another couple) at the time (understandable) but nice guy. I didn't go back, because the Suttons deal kinda feel into my lap and it was too good to refuse at a price point I deemed was a good deal for my pocket.

You should go see around 5 dealers. Don't go and see as many as I did, I had the free time and I happened to be in the various areas at the time... Feel to see as many as you want if it's not out of your way and have time.
Go in at least a couple of times, meet and greet with a salesperson, take a business card. If you go in a 2nd time and see the same salesperson and just talk about the car, they'll know you're serious and not some "type kicker" that's just walking past the dealer and having a pointless browse.
Talk rough pricing, don't talk about add-on accessories yet. Talk base price, it's less confusing to compare across dealers that way... Also taking ballpark figures, you can get a sense of the dealer's/salesperson's attitude/mood to price negotiations and how much they can be pushed.

Have a look at this thread http://clubcj.net/viewtopic.php?t=812 to guage what the current pricing is like nationally - gives you a ball park figure to know how much "flex" there is in the dealership pricing.

Dealers will never give you their "best" price, their "best" price is the largest price they can get away with that someone is willing to pay. Your best price is different from someone else's idea of a best price.

Don't settle for "this is the best price, only for today, if you do a deal now" - avoid the pressure tactics, avoid decisions under duress. That was my experience with Lander, I walked. They even wanted me to put a small deposit then and there. Just tell them that you left your EFTPOS card at home for the purpose, that you can't make an impulse decision, tends to get them off your back, as they realise it's futile. (I had my EFTPOS card in my wallet anyway).

How soon are you going to buy? They say end of month is the best time as dealership wants to make their monthly sales quota numbers, even better is end of quarter (end of Sept, which is approaching fast...), especially when their numbers might be lagging after the approach of the 3rd month in the quarter. I got mine on the 2nd last day of Sept, at the time, seemed Suttons were short on their quarterly numbers. The sales manager wanted to get the transaction sorted before the 30th, and it did.

Cars/colors in stock will be easier to negotiate down on, other than colors that have to be back ordered.

At the end of the day, you're the customer, they're a business to make a profit. Don't be unreasonable with your price demands or walk in demanding a particular price that you see in the pricing thread. They'll just shut your ass down in an instant. Be nice, flexible and reasonable. You'll know from other prices you see in the threadl, and pricing you get from other dealers if the deal being offered to you is good or not.

Best of luck....

Hoges wrote:I duno if a guy named Anthony is still working at Syd Cit, but when i was looking around i went there and he couldnt have been any better. Not a fan of the service guy calling my car, 'the little blue lancer' at Syd Cit either

Bwahahah "The little Blue Lancer that could", I'm sure I've read that book.....