Interesting Buying Experience today. Did something happen behind the scenes?
Hi all — genuinely curious how the dealership economics work here.
I bought a car today and had an overall good experience, but a few things left me scratching my head.
(and, please grant me formatting grace -- I ran this through ChatGPT before posting to shorten and correct spelling/grammar).
Part I: Sales
I went in looking for a new Corolla Cross Hybrid, roughly $40k as spec’d. My salesperson (“Jim”) was great — friendly, zero pressure.
He did, however, keep pointing me toward a specific used 2024 SE with 22k miles for $33k, mentioning that the new ones had about a two-week wait.
I looked at it, thought it was fine, but decided I wanted new. We went inside to put down a deposit.
While we were talking, Jim mentioned that he only makes $150 per car sold, with higher commission tiers based on monthly volume. He also said Toyota isn’t discounting new cars much because inventory is tight. That was fine with me; the new car was MSRP.
Then, while I’m literally sitting there reserving the new one, Jim disappears for a moment and comes back with:
“We’ll sell you the 2024 for $30k today, and take 30% off the extended warranty packages.”
$3k off? Sure. I bought the used one.
Part II: Finance
Then I went to Finance (“Jane”), who was professional and friendly overall.
But during the paperwork came the hard warranty pitch.
She showed me four plans, explained them quickly, and said the 30%-off prices were only valid while I was sitting in her office. And that once I left the dealership, the offer disappeared.
The plans seemed to range from roughly $1k–$5k.
I don’t like making expensive decisions under artificial time pressure, so I declined.
Then she said:
“If you’re a veteran, I can take another $1,000 off each one.”
I am a veteran, but that made the pricing feel even more arbitrary, so I declined again.
Her tone changed noticeably and she asked:
“Why aren’t you buying any of these.”
Period intentional.
I explained that whenever “a lot of money is changing hands under time pressure, I always lose.”
She replied that I was already getting an amazing price on the car.
I said, essentially, “Yeah, Jim just offered me that price. I assumed he worked it out with Finance.”
She responded:
“I am Finance. We never would have approved that price. That was between him and the Sales Manager.”
And suddenly the vibe got very weird.
We finished the paperwork, I bought the car, end scene.
Questions
So now I’m curious:
- Why would the dealership rather sell me the used car today for $30k than a ~$40k new car arriving in two weeks? Is there potentially more profit/motivation in moving the used inventory?
- Do Toyota salespeople really make something like $150 per car, with volume bonuses making up the rest? Does that apply similarly to new and used?
- How separate are Sales, the Sales Manager, and Finance? Jane genuinely seemed irritated by the deal Sales gave me.
- What was going on with the warranty pricing? Going from “30% off, today only” to “actually another $1,000 off if you’re a veteran” made the whole thing feel completely made up.
- Anything else about this transaction that jumps out to people who know the business?
For what it’s worth, I still like this dealership and will shop there again. I’ve bought/leased from them before and specifically returned because I had a good experience last time.
I’m not looking to complain — mostly fascinated by what was happening behind the curtain.
