Need some guidance because I really don't understand what is going on. Had a 2018, it had an accident in 2019, front bumper, grille, likely front wheel panels replaced, maybe hood too, one airbag went off -- all repaired paid for by insurance. At the time I talked to adjuster who said the insides were fine and they would repair. It has been in excellent working condition since, no issues with engine, A/C, really been perfect TBH.

I just traded it in a few weeks ago, dealer said they were likely to resell on their lot. Days later dealer called me and said they discovered problems and asked me questions about the accident. I sent them picture of accident and it really didn't look bad, just as I remembered it. They claimed now they can only auction it for half the trade-in value and will take a big loss. Guy even confessed dealer is thinking about reversing the sale.

I'm calling the insurance company to see what happened during repair.

But I'm total confused WTH happened to cause this? I mean the dealer of course ran the VIN number when we were negotiating so this came up much later. The title should be the same right?

What should I be prepared for. What kind of information can the insurance company give me?

Thank you sincerely.

Gotten 3 pre approvals and all are basically double digit interest. My fico 8 across the 3 is 711,690,701 down 40 points from a month ago with 32% utilization. Wanted to get something before the end of the month for a trip we are taking but that’s before my cards will report and bring me back down on util. Is it worth it going now or would a dealer for sure give me a junk rate?

If you’ve ever considered a career as an F&I manager, fucking don’t. If that doesn’t dissuade you, then come eat some crayons with me and play in my sandbox. I’m an F&I manager at a large Audi dealer, and I’ve aged at least 30 years in my last decade in the box.

This job forces you to become a banker, a shark, a lawyer, a jester and a coke addict within the first year. It’s a miracle I’m still alive, and it’s deals like this one that put me one step closer to my grave.

We had a sales call come in for an SQ6 from a buyer in a shoulder city in our province right in the middle of a blizzard. He may or may not have been calling from our nation’s capital, and he was calling from the side that doesn’t say ‘wah’ instead of ‘yes’. Our top-closer/junkyard dog/latchkey sales rep was lucky enough to answer the call.

The buyer didn’t ask for anything unreasonable - he wanted to do all of the numbers over the phone before making the long ass trek to our store. He’d need 3 business days to get home since he was picking up an EV, so all seemed normal.

They agreed on a price, he sent over his driver’s license, we took a deposit on his credit card over the phone and all mostly seemed ok.

Mostly.

My sales rep brought me the file and it was set up in a slightly unusual way for an EV. We write up leases on EVs like candy since the values fall off a cliff before your pen has even touched the paper. This one was set up as a low equity finance.

For the savvy buyers out there, one of the worst ways for your wallet to buy an EV is brand new and in cash. One of the even worse ways is to take out a loan for a millennia with minimal cash down.

Which is exactly what our buyer Sean was doing. Red flag 1.

The sales rep shrugged it off and said he seemed like an upstanding citizen on the phone in the 10 minutes it took to go from ‘hello’ to taking a deposit. Red flag 2. He’d also point blank refused to do our remote ID verification, citing that he works in cybersecurity and that’s how the fraudsters get you. It appears the irony of that statement was lost on Sean.

Fuck it dude, it was cold as shit outside and I had nothing better to do so I may as well do my job. Let’s see if I can help this guy make a huge financial mistake.

We go through the credit app and all seems normal - good job, mortgage, kids, dog, no coke addiction (he wasn’t in the car business) so all seemed ok. I asked him about picking up the car and the drive back and he told me he could do tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

It was late evening when we were chatting and he was apparently living over 5 hours away in the middle of a blizzard. How the hell would he make it down here by tomorrow?

Alarm bells started going off like crazy, so I went on to ask him what he was going to do about winter tires. The 21 inch hockey pucks on the car were great for warmer weather, but would be absolutely useless in the shizzard taking place outside.

Sean must have rehearsed everything up to this point because he had no idea what to say. He asked if he really needed them and if they could just be in the payment.

Well hold up there Seanzy, why don’t we do some creative accounting for you? If I stick them in your millennium loan you’ll have to pay luxury tax and interest on them and they’ll cost you an extra $2k (thanks Trudeau).

We can settle them up over the counter and you can handle the rest with the CRA yourself, how’s that for a plan?

He wouldn’t bite. Red flag 3.

Credit came back good to go, but something wasn’t sitting well. How the hell was he expecting to come down here tomorrow to pick up the car? How the fuck would he drive home in 2 feet of snow on summer tires? Why the fuck is he ok to pay $2k in interest/taxes for seemingly no good reason?

The boffins at AFS and I decided to have a little chat and after lots of digging, we decided Sean was up to no good. His credit app came back without issue, sure, but something stunk worse than the shits in my poop app (link in my bio).

The crew at HQ decided it wasn’t worth the risk. They flagged him as a possible ID theft and we never heard from him again.

Until 2 weeks later when he tried the same thing at my sister store.

My former colleague/fellow F&I manager at the store gave me a buzz wondering if I recognized Sean’s name. He submitted a credit app and it was flagged instantly as possible fraud.

You mean the ID thief? Yup, rip your deal in half. Buying an SQ6 on a long term finance? Take that ripped up deal and refill your toilet paper supply with it. That ones gotta go straight down the tubes.

Turns out, my old colleague gets a justice boner serving the long dick of the law. He didn’t take kindly to what Sean was doing, and decided to work with the popo to set a trap.

They scheduled pick up for Sean for the next day as if all was ok, and had a nice little sting operation ready for him once his ID scan failed. He rolled in thinking he’d be driving off in his new EV, but instead got the shock of his life from a group of Toronto’s finest.

Justice has been served.

Hi!
So on September 30 I bought a brand new electric Audi. It’s a 2025 that they were trying to get off the lot. Four days later I got a high voltage warning and it said I shouldn’t drive it. I called the dealership. They said it was fine to drive if when I turned the car off and on the warning cleared, which it did. I then drove the car home because it was full of groceries and scheduled to bring my car in. I couldn’t get it in for a week but they said it was fine. I took my car in on Monday, October 12 and patiently waited to hear back finally yesterday the 20th I heard back from the service department and they said that there’s an issue with the 12 V battery and they have to order one and it will be 3 to 4 weeks before it comes in.

I know that I’m probably stuck but is there anything I can do about this? I would never have bought the car if I thought problems would arise within 4 days. I spent months researching cars and my anxiety has been through the roof over buying it because it was my first car purchase. I also hate that I have to make a car payment on a car I haven’t even had physically in my possession for a full week yet. I just want my broken down old Mazda back 😭

I live in California so I know there’s a lemon law but from what I can tell, if they’re working on the car it might not apply even though I’ll probably hit the 30 day threshold with this problem.

Edit: info because it says I needed to put it
I know these isn’t a sale, but still think it applies? I financed the car, put money down and traded in my old car.

Hi everyone! I’d love to get your perspective, especially if you work in the California auto business or own a dealership.

My team is based in the Middle East, and we help a client who owns three dealerships find pre-owned cars that meet his criteria. We send him about 5–10 cars a day, but he usually buys only one or two every two or three days. We’re paid $100 for each car he purchases.

Does $100 per purchased car sound like fair pay for this work, considering the time spent sourcing cars he doesn’t end up buying? I’d really appreciate your honest advice.

I have a 8500km 2025 CX-5 GX, great condition minus some very small paint chips on the left rear passenger door. I am going on parental leave soon and won't need a second vehicle for over a year. Don't want it to just sit there unused and will probably want an EV when I return to work. I paid about 35k plus GST a year ago for it. Any idea what I'd be able to get if I sold it privately?

This will probably sound dumb so dont come at me for it, I just want advice. My credit score is 746 which isn't amazing but its solid. However i only have 3 credit cards and those are a combined 1500 dollar limit. I also dont have a job currently because I am a full time student. There is a 22k car i want to get, and I have a 10k trade in and can put down an additional thousand or two to get my loan to 10k or lower. Is this even possible to get a loan through a credit union or dealership since I dont have a job? I have plenty of money stashed away from when I did have a job for 5 years so paying a little 200 dollar car note is nothing for the next 2 years or so before i can get another job.

I got a soft-check pre-approval this week before going to look at a couple of used cars, and the lender said not to tell the seller my maximum budget. A salesman told me pre-approval can make the deal easier, but another person reckons dealers just use it to work out how much they can extract through repayments. Does having finance ready give you any real negotiating leverage, or is it better kept completely to yourself?

Hello, hope I can get some advice.

I am planning on acquiring my mother's vehicle as she has moved out of province and no longer needs it. This would be a title transfer only and not a sale. The ministry website says the vehicle owner must be present to perform a gift transfer to family member. Is there no way to gift a vehicle to a relative remotely? What would be the most efficient steps to do this? Otherwise I would have to perform the transfer as a sale and pay taxes on it which I'm hoping to avoid. Thanks.

So almost bought a car in CA and i was intending to pay 9k cash and rest via personal check or next day certified check. However the Lithia dealership kept insisting they needed my SSN for first OFAC and then policy. I said I did not intend to give that since i did not need financing or leasing. Got really frustrated on repeat to and fro and walked out on a really good deal (somehow wasnt into the car though). Is a credit check or SSN required to purchase a car without finance ? I remember they did the same run around for a lease buyout but eventually accepted the cashiers check to pay the lease off to Toyota.

I’ve been out of the market for quite some time, but very familiar with the auto industry as a whole.

I’m looking at purchasing my wife a pre ownedToyota Sequoia. 2023-2024 year. (Can’t afford new models that are fetching $85-$95k MSRP and I KNOW Toyota dealers don’t give away their inventory like Stellantis does with 20% discounts.)

However, we’re wrestling with the trim aspect. I’m leaning into the TRD models in limited colors like solar flare for the better marketability and resale value down the road if we choose to let it go… the problem is we can get a limited trim for $5,000 - $8,000 cheaper.

My question to those of you that are savvy and current in this market:

Is there still ridiculous hype around Toyota? Enough so that it’s justified to factor in the higher trim models and limited colorways into a purchase or have things somewhat died down?

For context, I am leasing a 2024 Toyota Corolla LE in Southern California and my lease matures next month. My plan is to renew my lease with a new(er) car. I currently pay ~$325/mo and I'd really like to stay as close as possible to this monthly rate.

1) Is this possible? I currently have about just over 21,000 miles on it, so I might have some positive equity. Could I put this towards my new lease? I also have very good credit if that helps.

2) I saw that a Toyota dealership near me is currently running a promotion for 2026 Corolla LE for $239/mo (with $3,121 due at signing).

• How can I ensure I can lock in this rate when I go to renew my lease?
• If I don't want to put any money down, can I roll the "due-at-signing" costs into my monthly payment instead? Or better yet, use my current car's equity towards those fees?

3) Or is leasing in general a bad deal and I should consider buying out my lease or buying used instead?

Honestly, the whole positive-equity/residual value thing kinda goes over my head. I'm a woman in my 20's and I don't want to get a bad deal, so any advice here would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Everyone

i am looking for mid range aftersales DMS system i am searching but all what i find expensive ones which would cost me hundreds of dollors and yet my business still a startup

any options ??

Hey guys, I just started working at a dealership and I want to know how to make a lot of sales. I don't want to be the typical salesman in the office; I want to be part of a broker group where I can sell cars online and get my commission. I want to know how that works—if we give a reduced price to the broker and also part of the commission of the car sale on the front and back end, how would you guys do that to really improve your sales and be part of a network that helps each other? Also, what is the best way to market cars? I feel they are doing it wrong here because we get a lot of leads, but they are not really worth it. If someone knows about this, I would really appreciate your knowledge

Got off a brief call with the Nissan dealer. They said that the car only has 10mi, has been inspected and is a fleet car. In my mind, that's basically a new car. Fleet cars normally have more mileage for dealership use. Why would Ford move a car to Nissan when Ford can easily sell it as new. The Mach-E sells well in South FL.

Am I missing something? Is there any specific questions I should ask?

https://www.nissankendall.com/used-Kendall-2025-Ford-Mustang+Mach+E-GT-3FMTK4SX7SMA48390

So I just left a dealership in Boston extremely confused. On their website, they have a 2025 Honda CR-V EX listed for $30,067 that is certified pre-owned. I was interested, so I made an appointment for a test drive. I work in healthcare, and the dealership isn't far from my job, so I decided to go right after work. I arrived about five minutes early and went to the front desk to ask about the Honda CR-V and its certified pre-owned status. The gentleman at the front desk looked confused and walked over to the sales team. They then told me they were sorry, but the Honda wasn't certified pre-owned. "But it's advertised across the internet as certified pre-owned," I said. Then someone from finance tried to offer me an Acura because it supposedly had more punch.

I didn't want to argue or cause a scene, so I simply walked out. Is this a common thing with dealerships? I thought false advertising was illegal. Was it because I was wearing hospital scrubs?

I'm so confused...lol.

Ive been journaling my sales the last year and its eventually developed into a serious undertaking of daily consistent focus.

However the last 3 months ive tried to avoid every other excuse other than “its the leads” because it feels easily dismissible.

If you compare my pipeline and leads to my coworkers you would see the amount of low intent leads or bad credit leads is pretty much whats filled my pipeline. I stress and work myself to death on people that wont committ enough to come in much less buy if i could get them approved.

I go through my previous sold leads for referrals and upgrades and honestly i feel tapped out as how many times can you ask the same things? Its too easy to say yiu dont know anyone but youll send them.

So everyday im on the hope system and the hope keeps getting crushed watching everyone else sell when mine cant get done.

Im trying to control controllables but i cant make subprime people get better credit. All i can control is my effort but the effort isnt met with the reward.

CarEdge, Axel, CarWhere, and a few other apps/websites brag that they can have their AI negotiate the deal for the customer, without them ever having to visit the store.

Curious how you guys (and gals) feel about this, because it *seems* to be getting more popular.

Has anyone had to deal with this? Does it work? Would you sort out a sale with an AI agent negotiating on behalf of a customer?

Is there some good deals on the 2026’s on the north east coast or in general?

Got quoted about mid to high 700s otd the door for a 2026 RX350 premium AWD. I actually prefer the the regular premium without the HUD. The car is just a base premium awd with the 14 inch navigation screen and a few small options like digital key. Sticker price is 60-62k depending which I choose. Lease OTD with no money down,just first month due at signing which is 750-780 a month. 36 months/7.5k miles

I know they are facelifting next year like the NX and changing the interior to look like the ES so I’m not interested in that and don’t want the hybrid. Just a vanilla car for my wife. She liked the previous gen RX,NX and ES350. Wants something simple. We looked at the Acura MDX also,those have deals on them right now for about 625-650 OTD for a 2026 tech package or A spec but it’s a 30 month lease instead of 36 month.

I see ads for 2026 premium awd for 559 a month with 4,999 or 6459 due at signing plus tax,title and fees so when I do calculations it basically comes out to the mid 700s or even higher 700s.

I signed a contract with 25% apr I owe $26k left. I’m paying $808/month I know it’s a bad deal I’m living with that. I don’t need negative feedback. I’m considering just getting it repoed because I can’t afford the payments. A car dealer is offering me a better car at 27k with 17%. 72 months $590/month. I don’t see that I can’t rebuild when everyone else is telling me no.

Hey everyone, I have a 2024 Hyundai Elantra N Line with around 250,000 km on it, and I still owe approximately $31,000 CAD on my car loan.
I’m struggling to afford my biweekly payments and honestly want to get rid of the car, but I’m not sure what my options are because of the high mileage and the amount I still owe.
Selling it might leave me with a huge remaining balance, and I’m not sure if I can return it to the dealership or finance company since I’m financing the car.
Has anyone in Ontario, Canada, been in a similar situation? What are my realistic options to get rid of the car without making my financial situation even worse?
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hey guys I have been in the car sales game for over 7 years.
I have been a salesperson, trainer, finance manager, sales manager and a general sales manager. I am burnt out.
I went back to just selling cars at a new dealer, to escape the high stress and to take a step back to view the whole process. Coming from management and looking at this dealer, there is some unethical stuff going on. All of it targeting salespeople and messing with their pay.
I feel like it just put another nail in the coffin and I am ready to get out.
But, I have a family. I am the sole provider and it is scary to make a change. Plus it feels like every other job needs some type of education. I’m just a sales guy.

What have you all done to get out of the business and what are you doing?
I have looked into supply chain procurement, kinda like the job I’m doing, but I don’t work commission or the hours.
Or I have looked into banking. But we can’t survive off of teller pay or most of the other entry level spots
I could use some advice