I did a new car shop this evening. Everything went really well and the salesman did a great job......up until the time he asked for the sale and I explained that I was still going to look at an Odyssey and a Town and Country. I had asked him for a best price on the car. He had taken my keys and came back with an estimate on my car for $1000. I just paid $6500 for my car. I told Him that and he disappeared to see what else he could do. I asked for my keys at 7:10 PM and he vanished into the managers office. He kept returning and asking me more questions and every time I asked for my keys. I told him that I was going to look at the other cars. I told him I wanted his best price and not to consider my car. He still kept asking questions and still kept vanishing and not bringing my keys.. Finally, the manager showed up and asked me, "how are you doing?" I told him I wasn't doing very well. I told him that I had told his salesman nearly 45 minutes ago that I wanted my keys and that I was going to look at other cars before making a decision. I said that the salesman had been holding my keys hostage for 45 minutes even though I told him that I was not feeling well and needed to go home. I told the manager that if I didn't have my keys immediately that I was going to call the police because they were stealing my car. By that time I was so sick and so angry that I had already decided to blow the shop. I didn't disclose that I was the shopper but I sure want to do. This is the second time that I've been treated like that. Now these creeps have my telephone number and my email and I've already gotten an email. If my phone wasn't broken they probably would call me at 6 AM trying to sell me the car. I just sent a note to the MSC saying that I will not be writing the report. I've invested three hours in the shop for a whopping $22. If I spent two hours on the report I'll make less than four dollars an hour by the time you account for my gasoline. I'm not going to do it. Normally when I make a commitment I will follow through on it but I've been up half the night because of being so angry at this place. My health is worth more than the commitment at this point. The salesman in the manager practically chased me to my car and now have the best estimate in their hand. All of a sudden that thousand dollar car was now worth $7000. LOL I hate car lots. I will NEVER take another one.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2015 10:07AM by iblessyah.

With the offers nearing $40 around here, I am tempted to pick up the one auto shop I do per year, but they always make me feel bad.

If not taking some poor guys sales time, then it's a report kicked back to pull more narrative from my mental archives, or just a rotten feeling from being treated with disrespectfulness.

Thanks! I think I'll give myself a little gift and just let it go this time.

I know emotions are running high here, but if anything needs to be reported, it's this!
These people need to be called out. At this point it's not about the money, it's about the satisfaction of slamming a terrible group of people in a way that only a tiny percentage of the population can. I think if you can get through writIng the best damn report you can that causes these people as much grief as possible ( while still remaining entirely accurate ) you will be much happier for having done it in then end.

I advise all shoppers to keep one set of car keys with them at all times, ala our colleague JamesBond 007.5. That way you can get the hell out of Dodge (or Ford, or Toyota!) and tell them you will be calling the police as you leave the lot.

Thats disgusting. I"m so sorry you went through that. I don't do car shops anymore. I did 1 and the salesman became my new bff blowing up my phone every day. Ugh. I don't know who thinks they are worth the money, but they would have to double it for me to even consider it.

I've never had my car keys or my car held hostage while performing a car shop or IRL. I love walesmaven's suggestion posted above. $22.00 is selling yourself and other MS'ers short. I think the lowest I took was $32.00 (when I first started years ago) and that did not involve a test drive or an appraisal on my vehicle.

As for the email and phone calls, I never give my real email and phone #. I create a new email address for the shop and I have a Google Voice phone # which automatically sends me a text message when someone has left a V/M message.

No one gets the keys I carry. No good reason to let strangers have your electronic car key and the key to your house. Even the guys I love and trust at my favorite repair shop don't get my key ring. They get a single cheapie car key. Yes, I'd write a whiz bang report on that shop.

Here is a gentle cyber hug.

I think I can understand that this shop experience used up your personal energy that you would have used to report the shop.

Almost like catch 22...

Anyway, take gentle and good care of yourself.

Thank you for this. I've never done a car shop but have been tempted because I have a teenaged son who's been begging me to visit dealerships to test drive cars "for fun," since he was 5 years old. This post was a great reminder of why so far I haven't even told him car dealerships are an option.

(Newcomer here, by the way. This is my first post, though I've been reading along for a few months. I've shopped in Portland, Oregon since 2005 and just started back up in April after a long hiatus.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2015 02:36PM by Alisonj3.

I recently did one of these shops. It took longer in the haggling stage than anything else, so that was frustrating but I feel so bad for you feeling like you were a prisoner there not being able to get your keys back. Do you think they ever find out which customer was their shopper? Obviously in this situation, well, hopefully they don't do this to everyone, but I've wondered about car shops specifically if the client will remove shoppers info. Turn around employment at car lots is pretty high, so by the time you go back hopefully you have a whole new set of salesmen.

@Alisonj3 wrote:

Thank you for this. I've never done a car shop but have been tempted because I have a teenaged son who's been begging me to visit dealerships to test drive cars "for fun," since he was 5 years old. This post was a great reminder of why so far I haven't even told him car dealerships are an option.

Welcome to the forum. I got the impression from your post that your teenage son wants you to take car shops so he can tag along for the fun test drives. If that is what you meant, all of the car shops that I have performed over the years have all said that you have to perform the shop alone. No husband, no kids, no pot-bellied pig. It is probably best not to say anything to your son.

I've only done the $50 luxury car shops, and good luck getting those guys to follow up with you after the shop. I've never given them my keys or car to look at, I'm always "keeping it". I figure since I have unlimited amounts of dough why should I need to trade in my car. :-) I agree you should write up the shop. These clowns cannot keep getting away with this sort of behavior.

I would unleash the wrath of righteous indignation upon them and write a very accurate and DETAILED narrative the likes of which would compete with Shakespeare. I would use exact quotes, behaviors and timings and let my words set fire to their pantaloons.

It will take hours to write what needs to be said. I can't afford the energy or the time. I have a very full day booked and must move on. If the MSC contacts me and asks for the report after what I told them, I mat spend the time, but for now, I have to get to work. Yes, I understand that it is exactly what most of us signed up to do. To do something that might improve customer service for others is important. But I can't let all my other shops hang to write this one when it will take up all of my limited energy for the day.

That sounds like pure hell.

I bought a new car two weeks ago. It took 5 hours to negotiate exactly what I wanted. I am a patient woman when I can get what I want. That's why I don't even take the NV jobs that pay up to $100 since I fit the demographic (age, income, current car type).

I would rather give birth or get a root canal than buy a car.

No lie, they were so slow when I bought the SUV when my son was a baby that after two hours I offered to breast him him in the middle of the showroom if they did not speed up the process. You never saw a group of men that looked more scared than that.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2015 04:36PM by SoCalMama.

@Sybil2 wrote:

Welcome to the forum. I got the impression from your post that your teenage son wants you to take car shops so he can tag along for the fun test drives. If that is what you meant, all of the car shops that I have performed over the years have all said that you have to perform the shop alone. No husband, no kids, no pot-bellied pig. It is probably best not to say anything to your son.

Good to know, I hadn't looked into any of them closely enough to see that. He'll just have to wait until he fits the demographic and do them himself!

I think practices may vary by the part of the country. Florida was the worst I have experienced. Now I live in Illinois where so far everyone has been mild mannered.

Ouch that sounds horrible. Another reason not to do car shops. After doing a car shop for $17 and realizing that I was making about $3 an hour - never again. That was in my first year of mystery shopping and in four years I have never done another car shop. Too much stress for too little money IMO.

I love haggling - cars, RVs, even my first house - but especially cars. Is there something wrong with me?

I've been wondering about the auto sales shops. Thank you for posting your experience. I have debate over and over about these shops. In real life I hate dealing with auto salespeople. I've always bought used from an individual or through craigslist. I just cannot see subjecting myself to that. There are tons of shops that pay better for much less work. Who knows? I might try one down the road but it would have to pay well.

@LJ wrote:

I love haggling - cars, RVs, even my first house - but especially cars. Is there something wrong with me?

Nope, just different. Thank goodness, otherwise we'd all want the same jobs!

I do plenty of car shops. Please keep leaving them on the board for me to pick up at a bonus!!! A couple of weeks ago I did two in one day for $50 apiece

I drive a pretty nice car already. It's now two years old, and I dress well when I go to the lot and play the part of the guy with plenty of money who switches to a new car every couple of years. I have a back story with a high-paying job that sounds totally believable, but vague enough and boring enough that they don't dwell on it during the small talk. If they ask, I tell them the car I drive now is going to my dad. I tell them I can bring about $18,000 for a down payment, and that gets me a great advantage if we need to negotiate later. They know I can walk and just buy a decent car with cash, so they usually don't jerk me around too much. I have four different email adresses, so I give them the one that doesn't bother me if they have it. I do give my real cell number because follow-up is part of the shop, and if I do have to speak to them again when they call, I just say that I've decided to wait longer since I'm not in a hurry. Otherwise, it can go to voice mail. I've been getting some good income from these and no mental anguish whatsoever.

Wow, I'm sorry that you had that experience, but why wouldn't you write the report? I think that the company would need to know about things like this.


**Never mind, after reading the entire thread I understand why you didn't write the report. Personally, the stubborn woman in my would have written the report I would have gotten my money.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2015 06:33PM by pammie8223.

Well this sure scares me away from car shops. I have not done one. There is currently one available that normally pays $17 but they have it bumped up to $85 right now of done by a certain date. Nobody really likes dealing with car salesman, but that is a huge fee. Still considering it, although much more hesitant now...

I sell cars for a living, I would never perform a related mystery shop even if I changed professions.

As for your potential report, the company may see everything as being by their way of doing business.

I work for a posted price dealer, I can provide a quote at any time, we do not negotiate. For appraisals, I return customers keys before presenting the numbers.

As for stating you can pay cash, unless that's part of the guidelines I would not include such verbiage. Dealers make money by arranging financing. Your lowball quote will be higher than for someone needing to finance. Keep it simple, you plan to cover all the tax, tags and fees, will finance the rest. That's if your guidelines allow this.

If anyone is actually looking to buy a car, you can PM me for some basic advice for today's environment, not the outdated stuff rehashed by the major portals from 30 years ago.

i did first 2 car shops today. Salesman were very sweet, especially the first. Absolutely no pressure

but my 2002 toyota4 runner got an appraisal of 1500 LOL. Considering it runs better than any sedan i can be offered for 20000 and had recently repairs of 2500+. Even at the test drive I lol'd, as the toyota camry is a toy in performance compared to my 4runner. Although I pretended I was impressed at the camry...

(note i know my 4 runner is old and all and breaks down like my liver, but it vastly outperforms many vehicles in acceleration, maneueverability, and many other cars ive rented or test driven)

I get the frustration and feel the pain, but isn't that the very reason why you should write the report? How will anything ever change if you bail on the report? Unless you want to blow the shop for the company and plan on calling corporate yourself to complain, then it is a waste of time and nothing will ever change. This is part of why we mystery shop, to help the client. Helping the client oftentimes results in helping the consumer. If it were me, I'd do something to help relieve my stress, but I'd also do that report with the satisfaction of knowing that those responsible were ultimately going to have to deal with repercussions. Karma!

I've never had my car appraised at a car shop. I always say I'm going to offer it to my son, who in his mid-20s has gone back to college full time.

Some new car shops require that you have a trade in evaluation done. Otherwise, yes, always tell them you are keeping it or selling it yourself.

As far as them keeping the keys. I ask for them once and then start dialing 911. Has happened to me twice.