Husband And Wife Go To The Car Dealership. Then The Salesman Refuses To Make A Sale: 'We Are Going To Buy It Outright'

Buying a car is a big financial decision that takes time, research, and test drives to decide what car fits your needs. For some, the investment in a vehicle is the biggest asset they will own.  

So, considering that thousands of dollars are spent when buying a new car, buyers expect to be able to test-drive the vehicle before signing on the dotted line. 

Well, Chelsey (@chelsmaries) shares what happened to her and her husband when trying to buy a car outright with cash at Ken’s Auto Sales in Hinesville, Georgia. 

“So, we went to go look at cars because we need a second vehicle, and we are going to buy it outright. Keep that in mind. We are buying it outright,” Chelsey begins. 

Chelsey says she and her husband were looking to buy a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica that they found at Ken’s Auto Sales. When they arrived at the dealership, the salesperson immediately asked how they planned to pay for the car, Chelsey says. 

“Are you financing or paying cash?” Chelsey reports him asking.

The couple was ready to buy that day with cash outright if they liked what they drove. However, the salesperson had different plans.

“He went into the office, came out with all the paperwork, and was like, ‘This is exactly how much it would be after tax, tags, and all that,’” Chelsey shares. 

Chelsey says they then asked the salesperson whether they could test-drive the Pacifica. According to her, the salesperson declined the request.

Chelsey’s husband immediately decided to take their business elsewhere unless a guarantee was provided. 

“A guarantee on what?” Chelsey reports the salesperson asking. 

The couple was looking for protection for their purchase, with a guarantee that the dealership would cover repairs if something were wrong with the car, since they weren’t able to test-drive it. 

Chelsey says the salesman told them they couldn’t test drive the car because the dealership was short-staffed. According to her, another worker overheard the salesman declining their request and called him into her office. Chelsey says she ripped him a new one for declining a test drive to customers looking to buy outright that day.

Chelsey says the second employee came back out and tried to save the sale, saying they could “make it work” for the couple to test drive, but the hole was already dug too deep. 

“Nope. Automatically, you lost our business. We are going elsewhere,” Chelsey says her husband replied.

She says they left the dealership in disbelief over their experience.

“What, who does that? Like, you can’t test drive a car, but you are going to put down thousands of money outright. That’s crazy,” Chelsey concludes. 

Did They End Up Finding A New Car?

Motor1 spoke with Chelsey via TikTok direct message and received an update on her car-buying process with Ken’s Auto Sales. 

She says they ended up finding another car. “We went to a different dealership,” she wrote. “We ended up going to Savannah, Georgia to Keller’s Auto and had an amazing experience! I would recommend them to others! Truthfully, Kellers was the best and easiest experience I ever had buying a car and I’ve lived in 3 states and bought numerous vehicles over the years.”

She says Ken’s was a preliminary stop on their car-buying journey, and they didn’t expect to seal the deal there.

“The place I made the video about has a horrible reputation and multiple people I know personally have had bad experiences and their cars break down within weeks of buying from them,” she shares. “However, we were only just starting to look, I didn’t plan to buy from them.”

Despite the negative reputation, Chesley was still open to doing business with Ken’s Auto. 

“I was still interested in the test drive just to get a feel for that particular vehicle,” she continues. 

She is still in disbelief over the denied test drive.

“The most shocking part was honestly that [the salesman] expected someone to pay over $12,000 without a test drive or a guarantee on anything if something happened. He acted insulted that we even suggested that,” Chelsey shares. 

According to her, the reason he denied a test drive was more complicated than being understaffed.

“The other employee that was there overheard and questioned him about what he said,” she wrote. “She came up to me as we were leaving and said that he didn’t explain it correctly. The owner is apparently in a class to get their recertification as a dealership, which is why he would need to ask the owner if we were allowed to test drive the vehicle. But she insisted that we could test drive it if we wanted.” 

Still, the explanation did not change the couple’s mind about Ken’s.

“The entire experience solidified all the negative reviews. Between the first salesman, the other [saleswoman] reprimanding him in front of us then pulling him in the office to do it again and asking us to wait while she did it, and even afterwards what she told me about asking the owners was really unprofessional in my opinion,” Chelsey concludes. 

When Should You Tell The Dealership You're Paying Cash?

Viewers believe the couple made a mistake by immediately revealing they are paying cash outright. 

“They make money in financing. They hate cash buyers,” one TikTok commenter shared. 

“They make their money on financing, just FYI,” another added.

While other viewers offered suggestions and tips for the next dealership visit. 

“Don’t tell them anything, not if your financing, not if your trading in, nothing until you have an out the door number,” one commented.

“Never tell a dealership that you are paying cash. Because they won’t negotiate with you as much. Because they lower the price on the car in the showroom, because they think they are going to make a lot of money on the financing and extended warranties and other crap they sell. Just say you’re financing. But when you get back to the finance office and say you changed your mind, you’re paying cash. Because now the price of the car can’t go up,” one suggested. 

As mentioned, dealerships offer financing options in which the interest collected becomes profit for the dealership. Financing is almost expected by dealerships, as a third of American car buyers are taking out six-year loans to purchase cars.  

KBB reports that cash transactions can potentially mean a lost commission opportunity on loans or extras, including extended warranties and accessories.  

This is why experts suggest keeping quiet about cash when buying. When the buyer reveals they are paying cash, their buying power is taken away. Buyers should negotiate the deal first before revealing they are paying cash. Once the price is written on paper, the buyer can share that they are paying with cash.

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When the buyer shares too early, the dealership will know that the earning potential is limited. So even if the buyer knows they are paying cash, they can tell the dealership they are open to financing or are still deciding. 

Motor1 has reached out to Ken’s Auto Sales via email. We also attempted to call, but no one answered, and we were unable to leave a message. This post will be updated if they respond.

 

 

 

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