[srasaenz]

I took delivery of my new RAV4 Hybrid Limited yesterday and had what I consider an odd experience.

I have bought many cars in my life so I know the drill. You negotiate your price, then you get your trade valued, but you're not done until the final paperwork when you get the sales pitch for the add-ons and limited warranty.

None of that happened.

There was not a peep about a limited warranty! And, even though the dealer installed paint protection on the car--it was shown as a $400 dealer-installed option on an extra sticker on the car, and you can see it's there--no attempt was made to get me to pay extra for it.

Is this a new trend or something? Any ideas?

 

[Blogson]

Oregon has a law which says that the car dealer can't offer to sell an extended VSA or warranty as part of the deal - any initiative apparently has to come from the customer. Perhaps PA has a similar law? Don't know about the dealer-installed option. I had told my dealer exactly what I wanted regarding the RAV and options, and he delivered exactly what I had ordered.

 

[Brettanomyces]

Oregon has a law which says that the car dealer can't offer to sell an extended VSA or warranty as part of the deal - any initiative apparently has to come from the customer. Perhaps PA has a similar law? Don't know about the dealer-installed option. I had told my dealer exactly what I wanted regarding the RAV and options, and he delivered exactly what I had ordered.

Is this new because the dealership I bought mine at in Oregon last fall definitely tried to sell me an extended warranty when I talked to the finance guy.

 

[srasaenz]

There's no similar law in PA. In fact, every other car-buying experience I've had here has involved a fairly hard-sell for the warranty, and usually some other nonsense such as VIN etching.

I'm not bothered by the omission--I would not have bought the warranty if offered. I'm simply puzzled by it. Maybe in my dotage I've finally developed a "don't mess with me" face!

 

[Oli77]

My experience was similar actually, and only 2 days ago.
After everything was done but right before the final signature, the financial assistant just nonchalantly asked if we were the type of people who usually purchase extended warranties on things.
We firmly said No.
And that was that.

 

[srasaenz]

Perhaps that's it. It was a very busy day at the dealership and the woman doing the sales paperwork was backed up. Maybe they simply decided not to waste their time trying to sell us a warranty--especially if the next buyer in line seemed like the type who might buy one.

 

[RWMays]

You didn't mention the numbers you paid, and you don't have to do so, but it's also possible that you either overpaid for the vehicle enough or they undervalued your trade enough that they let you slide on that paint"extra". I doubt that they "forgot" anything...

 

[ny_rob]

Did you pick up the car right before closing time?

I did that once- late on a Friday night- the finance guy was in a huge hurry to make the last ferry to Fire Island for the night- I never got through financing so fast... probably less than 10min total in and out his office. No pitches, offers, etc.... gave me their lowest financing rate immediately.

Next time I purchase new- I'm going to employ the same strategy... schedule near their closing time before the weekend

 

[Oli77]

^ That was the case for us. Walked in there one hour before close on a Saturday night.
We got zero percent financing without paying the $500.

 

[Blogson]

Is this new because the dealership I bought mine at in Oregon last fall definitely tried to sell me an extended warranty when I talked to the finance guy.

I don't know about the date - in fact I haven't read the official legal stuff. The finance person where I bought my RAV early in 2012 had me sign a form which said that I was certifying that I hadn't been offered an extended warranty or a VSA - he said that state law made it illegal for the dealer to offer to sell a warranty or a VSA, and that the law said that I had to certify that I hadn't been offered either one.

 

[srasaenz]

Based on my research, I don't think I overpaid for the car or got ripped off on my trade. Nor do I think they forgot, although I have had experience with salespeople forgetting. I once got free wheel locks on a car that way.

My guess is that they were rushed. They were 30 minutes late taking us in for the paperwork and others were waiting. And I do see that others have had similar experiences--scheduling at the end of the day seems like a great idea!

It will be a while before I'm on the market for another car though. So far I am REALLY impressed with the Hybrid RAV4!

 

[Brettanomyces]

Did you pick up the car right before closing time?

I did that once- late on a Friday night- the finance guy was in a huge hurry to make the last ferry to Fire Island for the night- I never got through financing so fast... probably less than 10min total in and out his office. No pitches, offers, etc.... gave me their lowest financing rate immediately.

Next time I purchase new- I'm going to employ the same strategy... schedule near their closing time before the weekend

I went in an hour before closing Friday at the end of a slow month for them and got almost 20% off MSRP. By the time I got to the finance guy he already had his jacket on and was ready to go home so he breezed through everything and wasn't pushy at all. I already knew exactly what I wanted and how much I was willing to pay so it almost felt like I flipped the script on them and had them feeling pressure to complete the deal.

I don't know about the date - in fact I haven't read the official legal stuff. The finance person where I bought my RAV early in 2012 had me sign a form which said that I was certifying that I hadn't been offered an extended warranty or a VSA - he said that state law made it illegal for the dealer to offer to sell a warranty or a VSA, and that the law said that I had to certify that I hadn't been offered either one.

That's interesting, the only thing like that I had to sign was something saying they had shown me my credit score. I wonder if it might have changed because I can't find any reference to a state law like that either, not that I tried that hard. It does look like the state cracked down on third party warranties in 2010.

 

[Indian]

Uh yeah, I don't think there is a law in Oregon stating that you cannot offer an extended warranty. My salesman offered it to me, I said no; then the final "business manager" offered me the same at a reduced price, I still said no. I'm in Oregon.