I got a wrong number text this morning from a local (ish) Kia dealer to a customer. The salesman sent several texts, including the potential deal, before I could reply that it was a wrong number.
This "deal" tells a story, and it isn't a good one.
$700/mo for a $26k Kia!
Such shady E36 M3.
$499 Theft guard
$499 MicroRepel
$10,000 trade allowance
$19,196 trade pay off
$9,196 negative equity on a '19 Civic w/ 30k miles.
$200 of that payment is paying off the 2019 Civic, so there's that.
Yeah, but is a 5 yr old civic with a low 30k miles worth more than $10k?
In reply to John Welsh :
Something has to be wrong with it, as even a base 2019 is worth $15k
John Welsh said:Such shady E36 M3.
$499 Theft guard
$499 MicroRepel
"See, they install that TruCoat at the factory. There's nothing we can do about that."
Text back asking which number they are trying to reach. If they respond, text THAT number that they are being scammed by the dealer.
slefain said:John Welsh said:Such shady E36 M3.
$499 Theft guard
$499 MicroRepel
"See, they install that TruCoat at the factory. There's nothing we can do about that."
Text back asking which number they are trying to reach. If they respond, text THAT number that they are being scammed by the dealer.
The number is on the deal. One digit off from mine. I am tempted to text him but really don't want to get in the middle of some nonsense.
Steve_Jones said:In reply to John Welsh :
Something has to be wrong with it, as even a base 2019 is worth $15k
The real question is, why trade in a 5-year-old Civic with low miles at all?
And judging from the add-ons, offering 50% below retail value is par for this dealership.
Perhaps he's way behind on payments and wants to kick the debt down the road awhile. Two sides to every story.
Duke said:Steve_Jones said:In reply to John Welsh :
Something has to be wrong with it, as even a base 2019 is worth $15k
The real question is, why trade in a 5-year-old Civic with low miles?
Have you seen the Kia Whatever-it-is? It's got great lines, it accelerates from 0-60, and... SUV (or Crossover)! Plus, it has such items as: features!
In reply to Duke :
They might have added a kid or something. Still doable in a Civic of course, but for only $700 a month, you can have more room for the kids, stroller etc.... !!!
If you can't stop the bad decision, text the owner and offer $11k for the Civic
Edit. I guess that won't work. It would require $19k to get the title.
As to why...
My assumption is "the want" is greater than "the need."
Against my better judgment, I texted him. His response:
"lol the car was in an accident that's why they are offering only $10k"
Not my business to take it any further but I can't help but be curious about the circumstances. Did he wreck the car and not have adequate insurance? Did he get hit and pocket the insurance payment instead of having the car fixed?
Hopefully he at least pushes back on the MicroRepel and Theft guard charges.
Edit: He just texted back thanking me and telling me that he'd look into the junk upsell charges.
Interesting that there are the two $499 charges but no dealer fee. Quite honestly, it's sort of a wash to the dealers that just add a $999 fee.
The dealer's low offer, irrespective of the car's condition isn't the issue - it's that someone still owes $20k on a 6 year old Civic. He's upside down even at KBB trade value.
glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:Interesting that there are the two $499 charges but no dealer fee. Quite honestly, it's sort of a wash to the dealers that just add a $999 fee.
The dealer's low offer, irrespective of the car's condition isn't the issue - it's that someone still owes $20k on a 6 year old Civic. He's upside down even at KBB trade value.
I'm wondering if he bought at the height of inflated values. Or carried negative equity from his prior vehicle. Or both.
In reply to Motojunky :
One of my wife's coworkers keeps buying new cars and rolling the negative equity into the new ones. I swear she doesn't even test drive them, she just buys an image and then moves on. They just traded in a truck that was 3 months old. I'd hate to see what the negative equity looks like now.
$50,000 in payments on an entry level Kia. Making bad decisions is expensive.
glueguy (Forum Supporter) said:Interesting that there are the two $499 charges but no dealer fee. Quite honestly, it's sort of a wash to the dealers that just add a $999 fee.
There's a Government fee, a proc/doc fee, and then a line item for taxes. Seems a little redundant. I'd like to see what each is specifically. Additionally, it's highly likely that when the papers are on the table to be signed, there will be another "required" fee tucked in there.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've known multiple people that do that. they keep rolling in negative equity into the next car. One of them had done it so many times they owed $38k on a 1 year nissan Sentra.
bobzilla said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've known multiple people that do that. they keep rolling in negative equity into the next car. One of them had done it so many times they owed $38k on a 1 year nissan Sentra.
And then they file for bankruptcy and start over...
When I bought my 2021 Mazda CX30 from a used car lot last year, it was stickered at $19.5k which was an awesome deal for a car with almost no miles. I test drove it and said I'll take it. The salesman brought me back a sheet similar to what's posted with the total sell price of almost $28k or something close to that. Had every single line item he could throw at it like "lifetime oil changes" for $900, dealer carwashes for something something, and a $5k aftermarket extended warranty. They also tried to get me to sign on the dotted line for a stupid high finance rate. I told the salesman no way I'm paying $5k for a warranty and he almost had a panic attack because I wouldn't buy it. I told him exactly what I'd pay for - the car, tag and taxes, and a small dealer fee. OTD was around $21.5k, which was better than most of the stickered cars close to me. I brought my own financing the next day and I heard about that warranty about 30 other times. Anyone I interacted with mentioned it. As I'm walking out the door, they said I could come back and buy the warranty anytime. I had to unsubscribe from their email list because they sent me "LAST WARNING" emails about how my car was out of warranty.
They don't make their money selling the actual cars.
bobzilla said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've known multiple people that do that. they keep rolling in negative equity into the next car. One of them had done it so many times they owed $38k on a 1 year nissan Sentra.
My sister rolled in a Buy here, pay here Bad loan in on a new Forester, and her payment was nearly $600/mo, back in 2014 or so... Lots of young people making poor financial decisions without the wherewithal to figure out that they're getting screwed before it's too late.
bobzilla said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've known multiple people that do that. they keep rolling in negative equity into the next car. One of them had done it so many times they owed $38k on a 1 year nissan Sentra.
It's funny that it was a Sentra....because I'm pretty sure that's the Nissan dealer's entire business model (I've used this example several times before seeing your post):
1. You start out with clean credit (not from any good decisions, but you graduated from HS or college and your slate is clean) and your first job, you buy a Nissan truck or SUV you can't really afford, but the numbers work for the bank and off you go.
2. You crash or neglect the maintenance on that first vehicle, so trade it in to the same Nissan dealer for pennies and roll the negative equity into an Altima or baby SUV, sure it's a worse car, but your monthly payment is only $100 more! What a deal!
3. Rinse/repeat the crash and/or lack of maintenance, and you're back 3 years later, and the only thing that maths out is a base Sentra, +$30k in negative equity from 1. and 2.
4. I'm not sure what happens after this.
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