Ron Currier's Hilltop Chevrolet

I recently visited this dealership with the intention of trading my vehicle in for a new one. The new vehicle had an asking price of $53,200. While I began the negotiating process with the sales guy, one of the sales managers began reviewing my car. I offered $50,000 for the new car - a very reasonable offer for this vehicle. I hoped this might eliminate the back and forth, lengthy negotiation that can sometimes go on with dealers. I had done my homework...this offer was true market value - approx $1,000 over invoice and they were getting holdback. The average trade in value of my car (according to KBB) is $32,580 and the retail is $38,250. I brought printouts of two of the exact same make, model, year, and package listed on AutoTrader...both had even more miles and were listed for $37,599 and $38,900, respectively. My sales guy seemed especially interested in my payoff, not the actual trade in value of the car. That was the first red flag. Next, he told me that he had the same vehicle (that I was interested in) as a dealer demo that he could sell me for $50,000. The dealer demo was used and I know these vehicles well enough to know that it was probably worth $45k or less. I told him that was only interested in the new model. About that time, the sales manager came back with his offer on my vehicle - $14,000 - 57% less than the actual trade-in value. I thought this must be a mistake - there were several other customers in the dealership at the time so I assumed they had my car confused with someone else's. There was no mistake...the sales manager actually said "...you wholesale me, I'm gonna wholesale you." I was floored. This is the type of interaction that puts buyers on edge when they visit a dealership. I received my keys and registration and walked out the door...never to return.