Ohio Chevrolet Car Dealers

We just purchased a 2011 Nox FWD 2LT, Mocha, with Two tone brown/black Leather, Roof, 18's and Power Liftgate. We paid $28,336, which was just under TMV ($28,357). I would rate our overall experience a 6 out of 10, however, not due to our dealer or salesman, whom we both liked and would recommend again, but due to the industry practice known as "not giving a sh*t about what the customer wants, aka - usual practice." We had wanted on one the Espresso Brown LTZ's, but of the dozen or so that were sitting on other dealers lots within our region, our dealer, looking to trade, was told all of them were "already sold" or "demo's." Our salesman admitted to me afterward that had I called as an off the street customer, I no doubt could have driven home in probably any one of those vehicles that day. The reason I didn't is because I wanted to remain loyal to the dealer, whom I felt was treating me fairly. Perhaps it's not a "Chevy" issue, or maybe it's "the way it's always been done," but that's not an excuse. In the end, we the consumers didn't get what we really wanted because we remained loyal to our local dealer, and we didn't want to wait 6 or 8 weeks while the exact vehicle we wanted got built. Not sure why we should have to, especially if there's 12 copies lying around unsold at other dealers in the region. We settled on the 2LT because my wife was getting tired of the process of seeing cars advertised for sale on dealer websites and cars.com, then having our dealer try to trade, and being told "sorry" it's not really for sale. Sloppy internet inventory management at best, downright lies at worst. Chevy obviously has no control over the dealer to compel them to "play nice in the sandbox," with other dealers, and that's frustrating. Look, it's one thing if a dealer is sitting one a new ZR1, but come on, an Equinox? Can't they put a clause in the dealer contract that says, any vehicle with an MSRP under $50k you have to trade? Oh, well, I think in the end we'll be happy, just as long as we can wring 26 or 28 MPG's out of it!

A reporter is interested in talking with recent owners ( within the last month) or people who are considering purchasing a hybrid or a pickup truck. If you are interested in commenting on your experience, please reply to pr@edmunds.com no later than 12pm PST on March 1st, 2011 and include your name, state of residence, the model year of your vehicle and your phone number.

It's a '99 or new GM vehicle that qualifies. Saturn is a GM vehicle, so it qualifies. But dealerships will do anything to squeeze money out of you. When I bought my 2011, I knew I qualified for the $1000 Loyalty Rebate. But I let the salesman play his game asking me if I owned a '99 or newer GM car, then looking excited like I was going to get a great deal. The "deal" was $1000 off MSRP! Nice try. When making your offer, all you can do is use those bogus Edmunds numbers. I say they're bogus because they come from GM (they HAVE to), and why would GM be honest about what it really costs them to build their cars? What they WANT is for you to THINK you're getting a great deal. But the reality is those numbers HAVE to be padded and even if you nail a deal at invoice, the dealerships are STILL laughing all the way to the bank! So go to Edmunds and build your car and calculate the invoice price including destination charge. It'll probably be around $1300 below MSRP. Make an offer BELOW this number (a few hundred bucks) and work UP to it. THEN deduct the $1000 Loyalty rebate from that (plus any other discounts you might have like GM 'dollars'). If you qualify for multiple discounts, say the USAA rebate (if it's still on), call GM first to find out which rebates can be used together. You don't want to be caught flat-footed at the dealership with a salesman giving you bad information (always in their favor, by the way). As for the dealer you're dealing with ... try another salesman. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater just yet. And if you're a woman, I'd bring a man in with you. Just a guess, but I think women making deals by themselves end up with bad deals. You have to be nice with these people (a woman's strongpoint), but you can't let them run the show. And don't be afraid to walk out if you feel you're being pressured. The car you want is probably sitting at multiple dealerships. Get a price from all of 'em. It doesn't matter where you buy the vehicle, you can get it serviced at any dealership. OH - forgot to mention .... make sure you ask UP FRONT what the dealership's stupid "doc fee" or "admin fee" is. This is a scam that dealerships started about 20 years ago. It's a way to tell you the vehicle costs $X, but then write you up for $X + fee. It's very common for these fees to be as much as $300 - $500 !!! And it's all legal. All the dealership has to do is charge everybody the same fee. But if you KNOW about it and factor it into the offer so you know what the ACTUAL cost of the vehicle is, it's no problem. If you can buy a $20,000 for $15,000, the "fee" can be $14,999 as long as the vehicle only costs $1.

I'm not saying it's better or worse. I just read here that some folks are wringing their hands at the low supply which translates to high prices for the equinox, and perhaps the high price is well deserved. We have a 2010 santa fe that we're happy with, but I'm not here to knock the equinox at all. In fact, if the situation was reversed and the santa fe was a new model in low supply, and the equinox had been out a few years and they were discounting as normal, we'd probably have gotten the equinox.

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