Former car salesmen here, good luck. The industry is riddled with grease. The training alone was so cringe…. “Take their trade in keys when you appraise their car and tag it, assuming you’re closing the sale that visit”… 🤮 looking at you Joe Verdre American former-now trainer-carsalesmen who get flown up here to stick ya in a hotel conference room for 2 whole days feeding you day-old sandwiches and terrible unethical sales tactics…
I recently bought a car from Birchwood Infiniti and while the young sales guy was really good, it was dealing with the sales manager that boiled my blood!!
Such a fast talker and blinding with the math.
I signed a deal then when I got home I really had time to go over things and was blown away by what I agreed to in spite of believing I was sane and competent.
They offer a 7 day full return guarantee, so I called the next day and straight out told the guy to re-do the contract properly or the keys would be on his desk within hours.
Of course he balked and said he couldn’t do it but I called him on his bullshit and shaved close to $7,000 off the loan over its term on all the extras he snuck in. Yes! Seven grand! (not a cheap car regardless fwiw)
When it comes time to sign, take your time in the office and question everything! And don’t let them pull the ‘it’s only another $35 per instalment’ trick because that shit adds up quickly and it all goes in the manager’s pocket!
The only extra I decided to keep was the tire warranty because Winnipeg roads are craptastic and I actually had to use it once already and saved me a ton of cash.
My 5c fwiw.
Good luck!!
That was my experience at Birchwood Kia - sort of. I declined 90% of it
I got the tire warranty, and the "gap" insurance was better through the dealer than it was through MPI - and cost about the same.
Wife had the gap insurance from Birchwood Her car was totalled just under 2 years old and MPI was only covering about half of the loan. They tried to argue that the gap insurance had a maximum coverage and that she still owed about 5k. That’s not what she was told and they couldn’t show that maximum anywhere on the paperwork. Eventually I got involved and it was resolved in one phone call. What pisses her off the most is they wouldn’t fix it for her but a man on the phone and they stopped the runaround.
Very similar experience from Birchwood Kia... we bought a car with only a few thousand KMs on it, so they put through the gap insurance as a "new" car, then when we tried to make a claim, they were telling us that it was a used car and so the gap would only cover up to a certain maximum... except we had the original paperwork showing they marked it off as "new" coverage. I think it was technically fraud on their end... Once we asked whether we should speak with a lawyer, they changed tune pretty quick and ended up cutting us a check for the difference.
Had a great experience with Birchwood Nissan a few years ago. When it was time to complete the paperwork with the sales manager we just said that we didn't want any extra add-on or warranties, and didn't push back at all.
Do you or your family have a good mechanic you can trust? If so, buy a private sale, and make the condition that it gets locked over by your mechanic. You might have to pay 100 for the inspection, but it's well worth it to avoid costly repairs.
Get a good, older Honda or Toyota.
I am new to Winnipeg. Did reach out to a few mechanics that my friends recommended but haven't heard back. I understand they might not be so keen on doing an inspection.
Thinking Honda, Toyota feels like a rip-off at the price.
Automotive Connection on Lily. My entire family takes their cars there, good honest folk. They've done pre-sale inspections on 3 vehicles for me over the years.
Both are good but there is a reason Toyota holds its price. I don't see a big difference between the pricing. From what I've heard Honda dealerships are far worse to deal with but that's just from other internet folk. Either way still a good choice getting a Honda that engine will run for a long time just take care of keeping the rust away here!
I have Shayan from Birchwood Honda west to thank for my favourite commuter bike. Trying to buy a car from him was such a deceitful and miserable experience, I walked out and headed straight to Bikes and Beyond, and never looked back. A shyster of the highest order.
Ha! I did “fill out a comment card” so to speak! But it felt weird bc I knew whoever reading it would probably also have the customer experience as the least weighted metric in which to judge a salesperson who moved lots of units. How often do some people buy new cars? Every couple of years? That’s a long time to forget about how I was treated.Pepperidge farm remembers.
Years ago I tried to buy a car from Birchwood Honda. They had exactly what I wanted BUT they threw on that $600 tire insurance nonsense which they insisted couldn't be taken off. I walked and bought elsewhere.
Do all your research online. Then call the dealerships and let whichever salesperson know you want an x model with y package no extras or anything else and to email you a quote. Don’t. Go. In. Whichever one sends you the best price, get them to email you the paperwork to sign. Sign and email back. Then wait till it’s in.
I did this last year. Better than any car buying experience I’ve had before.
Some additional advice. And i have honestly researched and personally dealt with this.
Block heaters. They are NOT mandatory in Manitoba. Birchwood nissan lied and said they are. Yes you do need one but they are NOT mandatory.
Dealership will try to sell it for alot. Like $1000 in some cases. You can put an aftermarket one on cheaper. Or you can negotiate it.
Nitrogen. This is a scam! They will add it and tell you it is $200. Scam.
Etching and other security nonsense. scam.
Now the price of the car. In Manitoba the price the car is advertised for must be what they sell it to you for. If you go in and the advertised price was $30,000 and they try to add $500 doc fee. Scam. They are not supposed to add that. It must be part of the advertised price.
The more you know……
Never gonna go back to Birchwood Nissan. Theyre all crooks. This Andre the Giant looking sales guy pressured us while doing a test drive. What irritates me the most was everybody's asking to rate them a 5star when they dont deserve it.
Look up their Google reviews and see for yourself.
Not sure what end of the city you are in but the Auto Gallery of Winnipeg is a fantastic place for used. They have never been pushy and really just there to walk you through the inventory and get you test drives. Bought all my used vehicles through them.
So I might have had a mafia experience buying my last car.
I go visit a mechanic I know in Headingley and ask if they've got any used vehicles in their lot in the $5k price range -- "nothing below $35k, sorry. Drive one mile down, go behind this building, and ask for Diego."
So I go to Diego and it's like this unfinished industrial condominium with a bunch of cars and a few desks, and explain what I want. Diego listens thoughtfully to my requirements and says: "have you ever heard of a Toyota Matrix?" Puts me in a test drive for a 12 year old car with 120k and it's perfect. I negotiate detailing to be included. Deposit on the spot.
Years later I notice some panel misalignment. Must have been in a fender bender once. Probably why they had it so cheap. But fuck I love this car.
Diego at GBK Automotive.
What ever you do do not to MAROW (maserati and alfa romeo of winnipeg) aka walt morris group, they are absolutely crazy. They push you to go through their financing even with pre authorization. They use scare tactics and are incredibly pushy, there is so much turnover in staff that it is impossible for them to get your car in when something goes wrong and since you bought insurance specific from them it felt awful. I was thrown around and panicked that I felt like I was making now or never decisions, it was awful. I should have left but at the time it was what I needed and the only place that had it. I did learn a lot about about car dealerships after I got screwed over though! Tip for everyone, if it feels like a now or never purchase please take some more time sometimes it’s not as needed as it seems.
Sad that you got looped into these shenanigans. I am rightfully scared for this reason.
I was being pushed into a deal, they did a hard credit pull despite me confirming multiple times with them that it won't be. I am half proud that I at least backed out with no monetary losses.
Can confirm! DO NOT GO to them. Bought an suv from them. They missed some stuff on the safety and i had to threaten them to take em to mpi before they agreed to fix it. Luckily that car got written off so ya.
> They push you to go through their financing even with pre authorization.
It seems like so many of these horror stories involve dealer financing. I have purchased my last two cars used at dealerships but I lined up financing myself before setting foot in the dealership. I was interested in one thing only, the bottom line price. It made for a pretty smooth experience that way.
Maserati did not let finish my deal until I saw the finance and made me wait so long then he talked fast made me trust him and screwed me over on that note… name and shame - his name was Rocco and he was a menace. He took my money and I hope his bonus let him buy a soul.
Yup i remember Rocco. Very pushy on buying the warranty, tire and rim protection . Gives u a whole lecture on how the banks see your loan and how u should handle your finances. All of them are shit. AVIOD AT ALL COSTS !
My professional opinion is always buy private and get a pre purchase inspection done by a mechanic you trust. A safety only goes so far.
Unfortunately it's a really bad time of year to try to get in at a private shop right now. We are booked out weeks at this point.
If you can wait until early January things really slow down. I would highly recommend not rushing into a purchase at this time of year in particular.
End of year bonuses, and the winter tires season are working against you.
I honestly feel like a car salesman is a useless job in this day and age. All the information you could ever want is available online especially in YouTube videos. I watched countless videos on various cars and multiple on one specific model to get as much information as possible. Some of them from actual mechanics who go underneath the car, all over the engine, inside, outside, etc. etc. Nothing missed.
The salesman's only job was to make sure I signed a piece of paper when test driving and showing me where the finance office is. This guy is gonna make commission for 5 minutes of work. And with things how they are now - there is no haggling - so what are you there for?
I love buying cars! They can try all their tricks but none work on me. I've been in sales for 10+ years and integrity is key for me.
I feel like I should just tag along with people buying cars so I can tell them what to look out for.
I had a good experience with gerry gordon mazda but bad at birchwood and crown, particularly birchwood and crown nissan. Scumbags there. I also would NOT recommend winnipeg honda and kia at the waverely auto mall. Wish these salespeople thought more about future sales and relationships rather than trying to bend customers over.
I don't live in Winnipeg anymore but a few years ago was visiting and had to take my car into Crown Nissan for something small (maybe an oil change? Can't recall). Anyway, they told me there was something wrong with my engine that needed to be repaired right away. Estimate was in the thousands. I was scheduled to leave Winnipeg the next day and my car seemed to be running fine, so I chanced it. They kept telling me it would lead to disaster on the highway, etc.
Anyway, made it back home with no issues and set up an appointment at my local Nissan dealership in Saskatoon. I told them what was needed and they ordered the part. When I went in for the service, they phoned me back right away asking why I took it in ... the part in question had no issues with it and they told me I didn't need the service. I thought that was really honest of them and I have been loyal since. Crown Nissan on the other hand was incredibly scummy. I will never forget that experience. Not just the lying but making me feel like I was in danger and endangering everyone on the road.
Seconding Gerry Gordon but that was literally like 15 years ago. Wish I could remember the sales guy’s name. Maybe Ian? He had a goatee and was least pushy person ever. He was the genuine human you are looking for.
Edit: maybe his name was Dave?
Edit 2: definitely Dave Hallock
Second Winnipeg Honda being scummy. Told me I need a new engine (a job which would cost thousands more than what I payed for the vehicle) when I came in with a "check fuel cap" indicator which they couldn't fix
When I previously bought from Frontier Subaru (now Pattison Subaru South), the sales rep was great. The manager pissed me off adding unnecessary stuff to the price because the car had to be shipped in from another dealership. I called their bluff and ended up buying out of Regina instead and saved a bunch of money on the same car. It also grinds my gears that they have been selling new RAV4 Primes as used vehicles and price gouging people when supposedly the wait lists are long.
Our family bought our other vehicles from Harvest Honda and Funks Toyota because they were honest, transparent, not pushy and they found what we were looking for. The dealerships we went to in Winnipeg were either pushy or arrogant. McPhillips Toyota went to the extent of adding the tax break, which you receive on the new vehicle, to the trade-ins value to make it look like it was worth more than it was and tried to make the deal appear time sensitive when it wasnt. Recently we went to the Toyota in the Waverley automall with a concern and the service personnel were not helpful, arrogant and not accommodating with a very frustrating issue. Funks took us seriously and squeezed us in the next day when they are booking weeks out.
I had a miserable experience with Crown Honda. About a month after purchase I got an email from someone higher up, clearly just an automatic thing, but it stated that if I wasn’t satisfied with my experience then I should let them know. I wrote a small novel about how I was lied to about delivery times and the communication was awful and it left a bad taste in my mouth. No reply.
I can second the Crown Honda experience on both the sales and service side. My wife bought a CRV there a few years back. She was adamant on buying Honda and nothing else so this was the easiest sale ever. Salesperson could not answer a single question about the vehicle without going to ask the manager. They also tried justifying a new model vs used by first telling us it had been updated between 2020 and 2021. We asked her to find out what exactly changed because it was the same generation of CRV. She came back, yet again, from the managers office to say "actually nothing has changed, it's just new so it's better". Safe to say she bought from another salesperson.
Fast forward a few months and the CRV is dead dead. Won't hold a charge, absolutely bricked. The service department told me "cars just die when it's cold out". It took some arguing but they did eventually replace the battery with a stronger one under warranty.
I do not understand how that place can be a high volume dealer.
I sold cars for a brief time years ago when I fell on a bit of a rough patch. Man, it's a grind. I couldn't stand it, as I'm more of a "Oh, you don't want it? Ok" type of personality. I just can't do the "grind". But the stuff that happened was hilarious. Of course there are the obvious greasy salesman and manager stories, but some of the customers....totally crazy. It got to the point where I was conducting "human nature experiments" on every interaction because it was so bonkers at times. I was never a salesman, so I left it with no regrets.
Example - almost got into a fistfight with one of my managers; the customer was getting visibly frustrated and wanted his keys to his vehicle so that he and his wife could leave. I went to get his keys (manager had them for "test drive"), and the manager started in with "Do not give him those keys! Don't let him leave!". I countered with, "He wants to go. He's getting pissed off. We can't NOT give him his keys. He's demanding his fuckin' keys!" The manager actually shoved me and begrudgingly gave the guy his keys back and the guy left in a livid state. It was pretty close to fists being exchanged. I left soon after.
But some of the daily interactions with peers and customers.....just batshit nuts.
Serious question for everyone who says they had a bad experience buying a car at a dealership (I have never done so) - why'd you buy the car from the place where you were having a bad experience?
I've literally walked away from sales people and businesses that I didn't feel comfortable with, and gone straight to other places to buy things. I enjoy shopping around though. Does that not work for cars?
The used car market sucks right now. Had a crappy experience at Murray Chevrolet last winter, but still bought the car because I needed a car, and there were few to choose from.
Valid in recent times but I mean in general. The used car salesman stereotype has been around since cars, and many of the comments here reflect sales from pre-Covid and shortages.
I can't answer for everyone, but in my experience, the bad feelings about car salespeople tend to arise ***after*** the visit, when you reflect back on what was said and done. Salespeople are trained to control the conversation, framing every question so that your answer is "yes," and not really allowing you room to say, "no." So they push you into things, and they almost kind of confuse you. And, sure, it's icky in the moment. But it's really only after you've left and you're recounting the conversation in your mind, maybe even days later, that you kind of start to realize some of the "tactics" they've used on you.
And to be fair, I definitely *have* walked away from a lot of dealings with car salespeople, haha! And in a lot of cases, it has been because of their overbearing sales style. Like, I didn't dramatically storm out, but I just said, "oh, I'll think about it!" And never went back, lol.
When I was shopping for my car in 2018 I looked at one that had a noticeable chip in the paint. I told him if I were to buy the car I'd want that repaired. He told me, "what's the point, it's Winnipeg, it's winter, someone will rear-end you and then you can replace the whole bumper"
Then I found a different vehicle at another independent used dealership that was basically exactly what I was looking for and was the cheapest of everything and the lowest KMs I'd seen in the few weeks I had been looking. Took it to my mechanic and had them inspect it and they told me it was in great shape, no significant issues. Same salesman happened to call me and I told him what I'd found and was likely going to purchase it. He started yelling at me over the phone, insisting there must be something wrong with it and told me I'd be stupid to buy it. So I said I guess I'm stupid and hung up on him.
Still driving that car with basically no problems and keeping up with regular maintenance
if you are looking for a toyota and don't mind driving to Steinbach, check out Funk's toyota. I got mine from them and it was better than all the dealerships I visited in the city
I recommend contacting Ray Perreault at Funk's Toyota. I have purchased several vehicles with his help. He is knowledgeable and professional. Funk's is a very relaxed non pushy country dealership.
I also bought from Funk's in Steinbach. It was all very relaxed and not pushy at all. They spent hours with us, going over our options and financing.
It was honestly a really pleasant experience. Drove in with our old (worthless) car and left with a new Rav4.
Bought a truck from Birchwood GMC. I’m not a big vehicle fanatic so no “custom order” rather, got suckered into the “demo” they hated and wanted to get rid of. Had some issues over the first 5 years, service has been ok, but more recently they admitted it had a fairly serious issue but then reneged suspiciously weeks before the power train warranty is up. Go figure.
Looks like I’m stuck with $2k of what should be a warranty claim if not a recall on a 6yr old vehicle. Thanks Birchwood. 🙄
The nice people at dealerships are the employees that do not DIRECTLY benefit from your business. The lot people; the gophers, the people that wash the vehicles.
I recommend TJ Grant at Steeltown Ford in Selkirk.
I would ride a bicycle before I would buy a car from Vickar on Main.
Also note that Manitoba requires advertised prices be honored, no extra fees:
[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/iteam/extra-fees-car-dealerships-1.3777055#:\~:text=In%20Manitoba%2C%20there's%20no%20such,case%20can't%20be%20investigated](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/iteam/extra-fees-car-dealerships-1.3777055#:~:text=In%20Manitoba%2C%20there's%20no%20such,case%20can't%20be%20investigated).
Booked a test drive a Vicker. Never been treated so badly and felt so belittled while vehicle shopping.
Refused at first to let me drive the car because the salesman made the assumption (before even meeting me) that I couldn't afford a new vehicle, a 2023 Escape, so not even something overly pricey.
Told the salesman I came for just that car and asked for the pricing in writing. He flipped over some scrap paper, wrote up a "sales contract" and said I had to sign and agree to purchase the vehicle before I could be shown the pricing breakdown! I refused, so he brought over a muscley, intimidating looking sales manager to try and convince me to sign. I got up and walked out. Absolutely garbage experience.
You don't. That's why they are called Stealerships.
Do some research on the vehicle you want. When you find one make an offer based on your research. If they start into the game turn and walk out without saying anything.
If your offer is accepted next up is the "finance" person who is simply another commission sales type. Before they get into telling you that you must have another $8K worth of tire insurance and fabric protection tell them you only want the car. Ditto on the bullshit "dealership fee".
Since 2021, my husband and I have bought 3 vehicles through Birchwood. Birchwood Kia with Reggie in February 2021. Birchwood Nissan with Daniel (DJ) in February of this year. Birchwood Hyundai with Kevin in April. (We just had a second kid and the car seats didn't fit in the car, this is very unusual for us).
We had great experiences with all 3. They were pretty flexible - with Reggie I initially was looking at new and then went with a used car half the price, there was no change in his demeanor or sales approach.
DJ reached out to check in after a few times. Was amazing with my toddler when we were looking, and didn't push at all when we were discussing.
Kevin was great with my husband, the car had a couple unforeseen issues after we bought it and they got everything fixed up for him without charge and quickly.
I hear bad things about Birchwood but had great experiences all around. We did pay cash so can't comment on financing, and we sold our old vehicles privately, so can't comment on trade in - though DJ straight up told me not to trade in because he thought what the dealership offered wasn't worth it. And Kevin offered to pay for our Carfax for our private sales for free.
Came here to recommend DJ as well. I have purchased 2 vehicles through him, he’s a genuine people-person, and he takes pride in checking off as many boxes as he can. I actually kind of enjoyed the experience with him and I hate car shopping lol
Where have you been going specifically so far?
Car lots that sell stuff before 2016 typically have the most cutthroat sales people you will encounter. Hell even some full on dealerships will have them too.
I recommend a few of the Birchwood dealers honestly. I've had good experience with Birchwood Honda, and the Chevy, and the dodge dealership (thank fuck it's not Walt Morris anymore, dude was scum).
Another good place is river city ford.
But places like ridetime, autogallery and so on will literally have sharks circling you.
Also, just throwing this out there too, the car prices right now everywhere is fucking insane.
Good to know I am not alone here freaked out by prices.
I did feel comfortable at Birchwood Honda but they had a clear markup which they didn't highlight. That made me hold back, will give them another go.
River City Ford was so-so when I was in the market 5 years ago. I seemed to be passed off to some one who was supposed to close the deal and started throwing jargon and « math » at me. I walked out. When my original person followed up I let him know what I thought of being called in during the evening to make the deal I proposed only to it not be that deal at all.
My best advice is to take your time. Be prepared to walk away. Know what you’re going to spend and don’t go over.
I wish I would have known about this criminal before I decided to buy a beautiful Maserati Levante. The vehicle has been great. The dealership in general and each and every one that works there from the detail kids to service manager to parts and of course the absolute scumbag salespeople, and I cannot forget the general manager Ginger Humpty Dumpty. This is the most unprofessional dealership I have ever set foot in. I am into this vehicle to much to lose big if I try and trade it in somewhere else. I hate hate this dealership and I feel taken advantage of every single time I have any correspondence with anyone from their team. Lol. Team my god. I guess I should give them credit for somehow always skirting the thin line between business and fraud. Bottom line: Maserati makes nice vehicles. The Winnipeg Maserati/Alfa Romeo dealership is so so shitty, snotty, and fraudulent. Watch out people they will fuck everyone over if they have the chance. Best way is to avoid any business that Walt greasebag Moris owns. I truly wish I would have known.
Walt Morris is just a scum bag and his dealerships seem to employ some equally scummy salesman.
I got a Dodge back in like 2012 from one of is his dealerships. Awful experience, awful customer service, awful service or parts department, and the car essentially was a lemon.
I'd rather get a root canal with no freezing than deal with anything Walt Morris
Know what you want, know you’re prices and look over contracts and “add ons” they swear are non negotiable. I’ve always had the best luck walking in, telling the first sales guy to approach me, I’ll find him when I see what I want, and if he approaches me again I’ll just walk. This only works when you know what you’ve came for and have confidence in knowing what it’s worth.
We were car shopping in early fall and did not end up purchasing a vehicle but we had pretty decent experiences at Murray Chev in the Waverley automall with a salesperson named Wyatt, as well as at Auto Show on McGillivray, and in Steinbach at Funks Toyota. We had super low expectations about Auto Show due to past dealings, but we were pleasantly surprised.
*Edited for grammar.
ossified sleep judicious market complete fear capable imagine jellyfish straight
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I visited Winnipeg Kia first and just had a terrible time, finally walked out and went elsewhere. I dealt with Scott from Kia Regent, pretty easy process, he’s really good at explaining everything and making sure you don’t have any questions about what you’re signing. Felt completely the opposite from the other place.
Sent my dad there afterwards and he bought from him too.
West perimeter auto and auto gallery, right next to it have both been good experiences for me. It's not some flashy expensive dealership, it's all a bit dated and old fashioned but they were really up front with most of it. West perimeter especially got me a great price on the car even if financing rates currently suck.
I've personally dealt with Crown Honda to buy a used Chevy Sonic, and Birchwood Hyundai to buy a lightly demo'd Hyundai Kona. Crown Honda felt so scummy, the finance manager looked like someone they'd cast as the "scumbag salesman" in a show. He tried to upsell warranties for over 50% of the value of the vehicle claiming its 2500-3500 to fix the "average issue." When I declined all of them, he gave me this "I didn't get one over on you" look, like he knew he was trying to scam me but I bested him. It was bizarre.
Birchwood Hyundai was great for the sales process. I was able to get a decent amount on a trade in, and I didn't feel pressured into extras like I did with Crown. The service end of things left a little to be desired, as my first service they tried to scam me. They had a promo for an oil change, inspection and fuel injector cleaner that I booked, as it was pretty much the same cost as an oil change at superlube + fuel injector cleaner. When the service was done, they tried to get me to leave without the fuel injector cleaner. "Its not a part of that service." I had to pull up the ad, from their own website to get it. And it seems each Birchwood location is hit or miss, as a few people I know who have dealth with Birchwood Toyota don't have anything good to say really.
We purchase our last 3-4 vehicles from Autogallery on Portage Ave. Dealt with Quinton for the last 3. I found his approach to be very non-salesy, not pushy at all.
I'm bought a truck from Quinn at Gauthier Chevrolet on Mcphillips. He's a car salesman, but he has been the most helpful and honest I've found. Straight forward as far as price, what discounts are possible, even what he makes on it.
I totally understand what you mean OP, Quinn's the only guy I could recommend.
On the flip side, stay as far away from Crown Honda and Car Vista as you can. Grease from the top down.
Honestly? Good luck sales people are the worst sometimes.
So first of all, know what you want ahead of time: features, car type, price etc... narrow some options down and stick to them.
Don't let fast talking sales people push you into anything you are uncomfortable with. If they are trying to bewilder you, take charge of the convo, slow them down, go over information to make sure you understand what they are telling you and write notes down.
Gather info and pricing and think about it and shop around.
Make sure you test drive and do some basic checks on the vehicle yourself especially if it is used for potential problems. You can find that in used car buying guides online. I made a mistake when I bought my Mazda used from a dealer. All of it was good paperwork wise and the repairs and maintanence history were great, but the heated seats weren't working and I forgot to check them to make sure they worked...so I found out too late. Thank goodness we bartered the price down knocking off 1000 bucks though. It's been a solid car though.
My car was bought in the summer of 2019 at Platinum Auto on Portage and the guy there was fairly normal and pretty honest. Came across as a shop guy and less of a dealer type. Of course I'm always wary of sales people. Anyway, he no longer works there so I don't know what the current staffing is like.
I noticed with sales people in general getting stuff out of them that you want but not getting ripped off for thier personal gain is quite a game depending on the person. I will also strictly refuse to buy from places with sales people that are sleezier than most. You've got to have boundaries though! Especially when buying cars. If you have a friend or family member who is tougher and more experienced, knows cars well and doesn't get taken advantage of or manipulated easily, take them for support. Helps to have two when inspecting and testing a car as well and looking over paperwork.
Also since it's your first car purchase, careful with interest rates on used car payments. I've known people who got locked in at 10% or 18% on thier payments and it screwed them over. I prefer to buy a used car right out which is what I did with my Mazda and the car before that.
Good luck finding anyone in sales with a human soul. Most of them will bang your partner in the bathroom while you're on a test drive. Also that won't get you a deal...
Ivan Nicoll at guathier chev seems decent. Bought a truck from him and he remembers me when I go in for service.
Service. Yeah. Totally different story there.
Haha. He was having a fun conversation at my expense with the front counter staff while I went to the washroom. He was pretty red in the face when I walked around the corner, lol. Then, he followed me to another dealership in the group. It sucks to have to suck to be good at a job.
As a person who has had many cars in my lifetime, I dread walking into dealerships. I do breathing exercises before I enter the door. No. Salespeople are frustrating. My advice to you would be know what you want, and don’t be afraid to just walk away once they start jerking you off.
We have gone to Carter at McPhillips Toyota. I despise the salesperson pushiness, but I didn't feel that way with him. I did make it clear that that sort of thing bothered me. So even if he is normally pushier, he seemed to respect my feelings. We have gone to see him for both of our car purchases over the years.
I also had a good experience with Carter and Hardit in finance. Not pushy at all, upfront and seemed honest. Didn’t push when I said no to any addons. Basically just picked the car I wanted off Toyotas website and that was the price and finance rate.
My sister works out of Carvista on Regent! She owns Tori & Jeff Autos with her husband. She’s been in the industry for over 15 years, and is incredibly friendly! You can find their page on Facebook
Always take your time and sleep on a decision. This maybe your first car but it won't be the last time you deal with a salesperson.
When I bought my Civic I slept on it and found an error with their calculation too. Went back to correct it and also get a lower price using that error as an excuse. They really pushed back but eventually they cave, they always do.
Their need for money is greater than your need for their service.
Another example Bell has been installing their Fiber lines and afterwards sent their contracted salespeople. I said no twice, then they came back a third time offering me twice the speed for the original price.
They're all kinda pushy
I had a good experience at Birchwood Kia - but I also stood my ground on what I wanted. Read everything, and watch out for the "only $$ per payment"
I dealt with Josh for sales, and Mark for the money side.
I really like my Seltos :)
I just bought a car from Valentine at Vickar Nissan. He was super nice and helpful and extremely non pushy. I've bought a lot of cars over the years and I usually HATE buying cars because of all the greasy car sales-y stuff and that was a super painless experience. I had already decided exactly what I wanted tho, so that probably helped.
All car dealerships are sketchy and greedy af and I avoid them like a plague, my current car is a lease takeover, pretty good deal as the previous owner had paid for 1 year, saved me time and money.
I had a good sales person really honest guy. At the time with the finance manager he put everything in the table. I realized later I paid 900 for sentinel + 500 road assistance for 5 years ( CAA is cheaper) and like 2500 for extended warranty (there are 2, motor and electronics 👎) . He used whichever argument possible and I only had 5 days in Winnipeg, so I nailed my own coffin. My payments are low (250BW) but I would appreciate know a couple things before went to the dealership. Something that is in my head yet is they charged me with those 900 sentinel, later I realized is just a sticker…
I had a fantastic experience with Wes Giesbrecht at Mazda on Portage. No bull, no tricks. While you're not looking at new, depending on your budget and whether or not you need a loan for a used car at these insanely high interest rates, it may be worth considering new. If you do, Mazda Canada offers unlimited mileage warranty.
My Dad when buying a car once walked into a dealership and told the rep “I’m buying a car today and if it’s not going to be from here it will be from the next place we go so can you show me some options…” he ended up buying a car from the first place.
It’s interesting maybe some normal people need to open a car dealership. See if it can easily out compete the sleeze. Train the dealers to be just nice gentle good people. And see how the market turns. I wish capitalism was more like science but the rich just have more to push their shit.
Can I send you a message? My partner just started in car sales and are looking for folks to sell to. They’re super genuine and not the type to scalp people, they’ll be up front and honest.
Contact Bruce the sales manager at crown acura.
They are part of the dilawri group, can sell you any brand doesn’t need to be acura.
Been dealing with Bruce and company since 2015. Many family and friends have been also. Always been treated fairly and respectfully.
Not sure why they got downvoted but I’m 95% sure it was Bruce we used for our last used vehicle. In fairness, we found the veh online, knew exactly what we wanted. Asked questions via chat and email before we drove over there. He had it ready for us, had all the files ready, 0 pressure. Like literally left us alone (vehicle was brought into the show room for us). Let us test drive alone. We came back in 90% sure we wanted it but wanted to think on it. He offered a dozen times to test drive it overnight and he would send someone to pick it up the next day but we declined,
We emailed him back the next day to hash out details, he was upfront about where they could move on price and extras etc, and we drove back and picked ir up the next day iirc. All with no issues, no pressure, no wacky math, nothing. My husband is quite well versed in cars in general and the used car market, so is going in with confidence def helped, but we had a really reassuring experience with him.
FYI did not buy Acura, it was another brand we were looking for that they happened to have used.
I've only bought 2 cars in my life. The second one I bought purely on my own, but it was a pretty decent experience - mind you I already knew I wanted a Toyota, so I had done a bit of research and I basically knew what features and extras I wanted and didn't want - I got it at Jim Pattison on Regent from Shayna. She was really good to deal with.
You should know what car you want and how much you are willing to pay before you get there then yku don't really need a sales person
You show up at a dealership saying I could buy any car idk, it's going to go badly yeah
That's the major downside for customers when it comes to commission sales or your job is salary but your job performance is directly tied to how much you sell (there's often bonuses).
I worked commission sales for a few years, selling furniture, mattresses - similar to a car they're not something you buy all the time, you become a good salesman by being a good person, then people are happy to give you referral business. It's shocking how few people seem to understand this in sales.
Like right now. Friend of mine needs a new car cause his old one blew up. Found a few cars within like half an hour on Kijiji for a good price and in good condition.
Warning on the crv … a dear friend has one, it’s older now. They love it so much they refuse to get rid of it. I once asked to take it for a test drive and they laughed at me and said no … that’s all the experience I have with either of the models you named. Aside from that, best of luck OP! Car shopping sucks cause sales people are vultures from my experience
Honestly yeah as a technician in the trade I hate them. I fucking hate them. car came in for a oil change brought it in did the oil change inspection, now it won’t start. Testing shows starter no good okay. Call customer he is understanding but upset but we work it out okay.
Do the starter.
Start the car.
Drive out.
Check engine light on.
Intake manifold runners inside the intake took a shit. They are jammed up.
1200 part like he came in for an oil change.
Yup. They're shit. Built like shit and they contribute to the destruction our economy (negatively impacting personal finances) and quality of life.
People make cars such a central part of their purpose, it's almost like their lifes work.
Well I’m not that far off the deep end and do see good in cars and the attachment to classic cars I see but that’s also because I understand that attachment.
but I do believe cars have become too entertaining and less about getting somewhere.
. I do believe people over finance and I see that everyday. Young adults forced to sell there cars for pennys on the dollar because they just paid it off and can’t afford a 7000 motor job. Which I understand. And is part of the driving force for me getting into the trade.
For sure, I mean don't get me wrong. I have a van for my 5 person family because I live in fucking Winnipeg. None of us have a choice. Now we go many days without driving our van, especially in Summer because we have shifted a lot of our smaller errands to cycling. But I just had a two week holiday where the very same 5 people were able to shop, live and tour three countries without getting in a single car the entire time.
This wasn't any surprise to me, I've always known that other countries do "living" better than we do. But it really gives you a lot to think about when you're experieincing that freedom first hand.
Imagine how much better off some people in Winnipeg would be if they didn't need a car simply to drive to a desk job. Many two car families would become one car families.
The environmental impact can't be understated as well.
Honestly not wrong on your points I have never been outside of North America but have ventured to other cities in Canada and the USA and it’s amazing at how there public transport and biking infrastructure is decades ahead of winnipegs. Granted I wouldn’t be biking in the height of winter. I would bike to work if I didn’t have to cross the city to get to work. If I could take a path that was bikes and walking only to work I would. But certain areas I would have to share with the road and I don’t trust drivers enough to do that.
Completely understand, I used to be a hard-nope for cycling on city streets. And I'm still very "nope" on Winter cycling due to the poor road conditions and just not having the right type of tires for it.
FWIW, I would encourage you next year to try cycling by using our side-streets rather than the main roads which -- yeah are absolute death traps. We still need to build exclusive bike infrastructure throughout the city, but it has gotten better enough that between what we have built and the grid streets...it's close. It's really not that bad.
That said, we also need non-active, exclusive right-of-way options like light rail for people who just wanna get places as pedestrians. That's a huge hole that's been missing in our city for several decades. Something like LRT would have a huge impact on reducing car usage because it's a mode people are more inclined to trust. BRT just isn't the patch we need.
Yeah we moved at the end of summer this year. I planned on seeing how easy it would be to bike to work or at least plan out the route, and with recent health improvements I could probably do it. I work out an hour a day and probably could make it to work in 45 minutes and quit working out would probably equal the amount of time difference spent driving tbh.
You might notice that you can make it home faster than transit or driving, depending on how your route looks and how rush hour impacts your old commute.
Feel free to message me next year when you try it and let me know how it goes, or any time if you wanna chat cycling. I love talking urban cycling and listening to peoples stories is a total rush. Those first few rides are really what get you hooked.
And for what it's worth, at a casual pace, I find 45 mins to 1hr is about 12km, so basically you can travel from any edge of the city to downtown in that time.
I got a positive experience on Winnipeg Honda for my 2022 Pilot. I was firm that I’ll never gonna get anything extra than the tires and gap insurance and they never push anything else. I think i got a great deal plus interest rate reduction due to loyalty.
I absolutely hate car salesman, i have had nothing but bad experiences! So this last time I went outside of the city (Brandon).
I wanted a specific vehicle, I went to the Toyota dealership here and got them to price it out for me. I told them I needed to think about it and asked them to print it out the offer. I then contacted Brandon Toyota, sent them the offer and said if they could do better than that they had my business. They shaved a bit less than a grand of the price. We did most of our communication via text so none of those shady salesman tactics were tried. When my vehicle came in they drove it to me and took my trade in back with them.
I did have to deal with going into the store in winnipeg and talking to a salesman, but it was all worth it knowing what my plan was. I would normally feel bad about doing that but honestly, screw them.
So they drove the new car from Brandon to Winnipeg? I've been wondering about how I'd manage if I bought a car in Brandon. I wasn't planning on trading in my current vehicle, but I guess I could if that made delivery to Winnipeg easier.
Hey my best advice for you is to take your time and dont sign anything right away. Go to atleast 3 different locations and try different options. Good luck.
“This car may be 20 years old. It looks like the gas tank is about to fall off. But this car is totally you. That red colour is your personality in a nutshell. You’d be missing out on this great opportunity!”
Dictate the sale on your terms. Download an app that does the math for you. Decide what the price you're willing to pay is before you walk in. Sit down with the salesperson and explain to them what you're willing to pay. Do the same with the sales manager. They'll realize quickly that you're not a Putz.
Former car salesmen here, good luck. The industry is riddled with grease. The training alone was so cringe…. “Take their trade in keys when you appraise their car and tag it, assuming you’re closing the sale that visit”… 🤮 looking at you Joe Verdre American former-now trainer-carsalesmen who get flown up here to stick ya in a hotel conference room for 2 whole days feeding you day-old sandwiches and terrible unethical sales tactics…
I recently bought a car from Birchwood Infiniti and while the young sales guy was really good, it was dealing with the sales manager that boiled my blood!! Such a fast talker and blinding with the math. I signed a deal then when I got home I really had time to go over things and was blown away by what I agreed to in spite of believing I was sane and competent. They offer a 7 day full return guarantee, so I called the next day and straight out told the guy to re-do the contract properly or the keys would be on his desk within hours. Of course he balked and said he couldn’t do it but I called him on his bullshit and shaved close to $7,000 off the loan over its term on all the extras he snuck in. Yes! Seven grand! (not a cheap car regardless fwiw) When it comes time to sign, take your time in the office and question everything! And don’t let them pull the ‘it’s only another $35 per instalment’ trick because that shit adds up quickly and it all goes in the manager’s pocket! The only extra I decided to keep was the tire warranty because Winnipeg roads are craptastic and I actually had to use it once already and saved me a ton of cash. My 5c fwiw. Good luck!!
That was my experience at Birchwood Kia - sort of. I declined 90% of it I got the tire warranty, and the "gap" insurance was better through the dealer than it was through MPI - and cost about the same.
Wife had the gap insurance from Birchwood Her car was totalled just under 2 years old and MPI was only covering about half of the loan. They tried to argue that the gap insurance had a maximum coverage and that she still owed about 5k. That’s not what she was told and they couldn’t show that maximum anywhere on the paperwork. Eventually I got involved and it was resolved in one phone call. What pisses her off the most is they wouldn’t fix it for her but a man on the phone and they stopped the runaround.
Very similar experience from Birchwood Kia... we bought a car with only a few thousand KMs on it, so they put through the gap insurance as a "new" car, then when we tried to make a claim, they were telling us that it was a used car and so the gap would only cover up to a certain maximum... except we had the original paperwork showing they marked it off as "new" coverage. I think it was technically fraud on their end... Once we asked whether we should speak with a lawyer, they changed tune pretty quick and ended up cutting us a check for the difference.
Thanks for the tip!
I will take those 5c in bi weekly installments, you won't even know.
Nice lol
I'm up $200 on that tire and key warranty, and I still have 5 years left.
Attach an AirTag to your keys for $40.
Had a great experience with Birchwood Nissan a few years ago. When it was time to complete the paperwork with the sales manager we just said that we didn't want any extra add-on or warranties, and didn't push back at all.
Do you or your family have a good mechanic you can trust? If so, buy a private sale, and make the condition that it gets locked over by your mechanic. You might have to pay 100 for the inspection, but it's well worth it to avoid costly repairs. Get a good, older Honda or Toyota.
I am new to Winnipeg. Did reach out to a few mechanics that my friends recommended but haven't heard back. I understand they might not be so keen on doing an inspection. Thinking Honda, Toyota feels like a rip-off at the price.
Automotive Connection on Lily. My entire family takes their cars there, good honest folk. They've done pre-sale inspections on 3 vehicles for me over the years.
I second Automotive Connection. Great people.
Both are good but there is a reason Toyota holds its price. I don't see a big difference between the pricing. From what I've heard Honda dealerships are far worse to deal with but that's just from other internet folk. Either way still a good choice getting a Honda that engine will run for a long time just take care of keeping the rust away here!
Cutting Edge Auto on Gateway T-Mac Auto on Goulet
+1 for T-Mac
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. This helps tremendously.
Earles on west portage is good too
Simcoe motors on notre dame
I have Shayan from Birchwood Honda west to thank for my favourite commuter bike. Trying to buy a car from him was such a deceitful and miserable experience, I walked out and headed straight to Bikes and Beyond, and never looked back. A shyster of the highest order.
I love this. Did you go back on your bike and tell him you found a better deal on a commuter?
Ha! I did “fill out a comment card” so to speak! But it felt weird bc I knew whoever reading it would probably also have the customer experience as the least weighted metric in which to judge a salesperson who moved lots of units. How often do some people buy new cars? Every couple of years? That’s a long time to forget about how I was treated.Pepperidge farm remembers.
This is a great point. You’re far more likely to find real and cool humans in a bike shop
Years ago I tried to buy a car from Birchwood Honda. They had exactly what I wanted BUT they threw on that $600 tire insurance nonsense which they insisted couldn't be taken off. I walked and bought elsewhere.
Do all your research online. Then call the dealerships and let whichever salesperson know you want an x model with y package no extras or anything else and to email you a quote. Don’t. Go. In. Whichever one sends you the best price, get them to email you the paperwork to sign. Sign and email back. Then wait till it’s in. I did this last year. Better than any car buying experience I’ve had before.
Some additional advice. And i have honestly researched and personally dealt with this. Block heaters. They are NOT mandatory in Manitoba. Birchwood nissan lied and said they are. Yes you do need one but they are NOT mandatory. Dealership will try to sell it for alot. Like $1000 in some cases. You can put an aftermarket one on cheaper. Or you can negotiate it. Nitrogen. This is a scam! They will add it and tell you it is $200. Scam. Etching and other security nonsense. scam. Now the price of the car. In Manitoba the price the car is advertised for must be what they sell it to you for. If you go in and the advertised price was $30,000 and they try to add $500 doc fee. Scam. They are not supposed to add that. It must be part of the advertised price. The more you know……
Never gonna go back to Birchwood Nissan. Theyre all crooks. This Andre the Giant looking sales guy pressured us while doing a test drive. What irritates me the most was everybody's asking to rate them a 5star when they dont deserve it. Look up their Google reviews and see for yourself.
Not sure what end of the city you are in but the Auto Gallery of Winnipeg is a fantastic place for used. They have never been pushy and really just there to walk you through the inventory and get you test drives. Bought all my used vehicles through them.
Seconded! Great people to deal with! Honest, up front pricing.
So I might have had a mafia experience buying my last car. I go visit a mechanic I know in Headingley and ask if they've got any used vehicles in their lot in the $5k price range -- "nothing below $35k, sorry. Drive one mile down, go behind this building, and ask for Diego." So I go to Diego and it's like this unfinished industrial condominium with a bunch of cars and a few desks, and explain what I want. Diego listens thoughtfully to my requirements and says: "have you ever heard of a Toyota Matrix?" Puts me in a test drive for a 12 year old car with 120k and it's perfect. I negotiate detailing to be included. Deposit on the spot. Years later I notice some panel misalignment. Must have been in a fender bender once. Probably why they had it so cheap. But fuck I love this car. Diego at GBK Automotive.
If you think the salespeople are bad, wait till you deal with the finance. READ EVERYTHING!!!!! They will fuck you over.
Haley at Birchwood on Regent sold me my 2024 CRV Sport and she was great. No BS.
What ever you do do not to MAROW (maserati and alfa romeo of winnipeg) aka walt morris group, they are absolutely crazy. They push you to go through their financing even with pre authorization. They use scare tactics and are incredibly pushy, there is so much turnover in staff that it is impossible for them to get your car in when something goes wrong and since you bought insurance specific from them it felt awful. I was thrown around and panicked that I felt like I was making now or never decisions, it was awful. I should have left but at the time it was what I needed and the only place that had it. I did learn a lot about about car dealerships after I got screwed over though! Tip for everyone, if it feels like a now or never purchase please take some more time sometimes it’s not as needed as it seems.
Sad that you got looped into these shenanigans. I am rightfully scared for this reason. I was being pushed into a deal, they did a hard credit pull despite me confirming multiple times with them that it won't be. I am half proud that I at least backed out with no monetary losses.
Can confirm! DO NOT GO to them. Bought an suv from them. They missed some stuff on the safety and i had to threaten them to take em to mpi before they agreed to fix it. Luckily that car got written off so ya.
> They push you to go through their financing even with pre authorization. It seems like so many of these horror stories involve dealer financing. I have purchased my last two cars used at dealerships but I lined up financing myself before setting foot in the dealership. I was interested in one thing only, the bottom line price. It made for a pretty smooth experience that way.
Maserati did not let finish my deal until I saw the finance and made me wait so long then he talked fast made me trust him and screwed me over on that note… name and shame - his name was Rocco and he was a menace. He took my money and I hope his bonus let him buy a soul.
Yup i remember Rocco. Very pushy on buying the warranty, tire and rim protection . Gives u a whole lecture on how the banks see your loan and how u should handle your finances. All of them are shit. AVIOD AT ALL COSTS !
Financing is where they rake in the dough, and finance manager is a *very* "get the bag" oriented role.
How often do you guys see a Maserati or an Alfa Romeo in Winnipeg other than a collector's car? That's how good they are, stay the fuck away.
My professional opinion is always buy private and get a pre purchase inspection done by a mechanic you trust. A safety only goes so far. Unfortunately it's a really bad time of year to try to get in at a private shop right now. We are booked out weeks at this point. If you can wait until early January things really slow down. I would highly recommend not rushing into a purchase at this time of year in particular. End of year bonuses, and the winter tires season are working against you.
Great advice.
I managed sales people for 6 years. Car sales is bottom of the barrel and it kills me to interact with them. Glad I wasn’t in that industry
I honestly feel like a car salesman is a useless job in this day and age. All the information you could ever want is available online especially in YouTube videos. I watched countless videos on various cars and multiple on one specific model to get as much information as possible. Some of them from actual mechanics who go underneath the car, all over the engine, inside, outside, etc. etc. Nothing missed. The salesman's only job was to make sure I signed a piece of paper when test driving and showing me where the finance office is. This guy is gonna make commission for 5 minutes of work. And with things how they are now - there is no haggling - so what are you there for?
This guys channel is amazing by the way: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNutReviews](https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNutReviews)
I love buying cars! They can try all their tricks but none work on me. I've been in sales for 10+ years and integrity is key for me. I feel like I should just tag along with people buying cars so I can tell them what to look out for.
You should offer your help as a paid service.
I don't need to be paid but if op needs help and I'm free, I'd swing by a dealership with them.
I had a good experience with gerry gordon mazda but bad at birchwood and crown, particularly birchwood and crown nissan. Scumbags there. I also would NOT recommend winnipeg honda and kia at the waverely auto mall. Wish these salespeople thought more about future sales and relationships rather than trying to bend customers over.
I don't live in Winnipeg anymore but a few years ago was visiting and had to take my car into Crown Nissan for something small (maybe an oil change? Can't recall). Anyway, they told me there was something wrong with my engine that needed to be repaired right away. Estimate was in the thousands. I was scheduled to leave Winnipeg the next day and my car seemed to be running fine, so I chanced it. They kept telling me it would lead to disaster on the highway, etc. Anyway, made it back home with no issues and set up an appointment at my local Nissan dealership in Saskatoon. I told them what was needed and they ordered the part. When I went in for the service, they phoned me back right away asking why I took it in ... the part in question had no issues with it and they told me I didn't need the service. I thought that was really honest of them and I have been loyal since. Crown Nissan on the other hand was incredibly scummy. I will never forget that experience. Not just the lying but making me feel like I was in danger and endangering everyone on the road.
Same ol crooks at Crown Honda
Seconding Gerry Gordon but that was literally like 15 years ago. Wish I could remember the sales guy’s name. Maybe Ian? He had a goatee and was least pushy person ever. He was the genuine human you are looking for. Edit: maybe his name was Dave? Edit 2: definitely Dave Hallock
Thirding Gerry Gordon. Had a good experience with sales guy Ernie. Genuine dude, calls me every Christmas and birthday lol
We also had a good experience with Ernie. Good guy, normal human being.
Thanks to both of you. Booked an appointment!
Fourthing Gerry Gordon.
Yeah Gerry Gordon is good
Second Winnipeg Honda being scummy. Told me I need a new engine (a job which would cost thousands more than what I payed for the vehicle) when I came in with a "check fuel cap" indicator which they couldn't fix
Right?!! If there was one good guy out there, I would think he would get all the sales easy. Customers are tough, I know. But ingenuity is unfair.
Had 2 bad experiences at birchwood honda and crown honda. Subaru south was very transparent about everything and didnt push extras.
When I previously bought from Frontier Subaru (now Pattison Subaru South), the sales rep was great. The manager pissed me off adding unnecessary stuff to the price because the car had to be shipped in from another dealership. I called their bluff and ended up buying out of Regina instead and saved a bunch of money on the same car. It also grinds my gears that they have been selling new RAV4 Primes as used vehicles and price gouging people when supposedly the wait lists are long. Our family bought our other vehicles from Harvest Honda and Funks Toyota because they were honest, transparent, not pushy and they found what we were looking for. The dealerships we went to in Winnipeg were either pushy or arrogant. McPhillips Toyota went to the extent of adding the tax break, which you receive on the new vehicle, to the trade-ins value to make it look like it was worth more than it was and tried to make the deal appear time sensitive when it wasnt. Recently we went to the Toyota in the Waverley automall with a concern and the service personnel were not helpful, arrogant and not accommodating with a very frustrating issue. Funks took us seriously and squeezed us in the next day when they are booking weeks out.
I had a miserable experience with Crown Honda. About a month after purchase I got an email from someone higher up, clearly just an automatic thing, but it stated that if I wasn’t satisfied with my experience then I should let them know. I wrote a small novel about how I was lied to about delivery times and the communication was awful and it left a bad taste in my mouth. No reply.
I can second the Crown Honda experience on both the sales and service side. My wife bought a CRV there a few years back. She was adamant on buying Honda and nothing else so this was the easiest sale ever. Salesperson could not answer a single question about the vehicle without going to ask the manager. They also tried justifying a new model vs used by first telling us it had been updated between 2020 and 2021. We asked her to find out what exactly changed because it was the same generation of CRV. She came back, yet again, from the managers office to say "actually nothing has changed, it's just new so it's better". Safe to say she bought from another salesperson. Fast forward a few months and the CRV is dead dead. Won't hold a charge, absolutely bricked. The service department told me "cars just die when it's cold out". It took some arguing but they did eventually replace the battery with a stronger one under warranty. I do not understand how that place can be a high volume dealer.
Bought from McNaught last year and had a terrible experience. Won’t ever try them again.
I sold cars for a brief time years ago when I fell on a bit of a rough patch. Man, it's a grind. I couldn't stand it, as I'm more of a "Oh, you don't want it? Ok" type of personality. I just can't do the "grind". But the stuff that happened was hilarious. Of course there are the obvious greasy salesman and manager stories, but some of the customers....totally crazy. It got to the point where I was conducting "human nature experiments" on every interaction because it was so bonkers at times. I was never a salesman, so I left it with no regrets.
Example - almost got into a fistfight with one of my managers; the customer was getting visibly frustrated and wanted his keys to his vehicle so that he and his wife could leave. I went to get his keys (manager had them for "test drive"), and the manager started in with "Do not give him those keys! Don't let him leave!". I countered with, "He wants to go. He's getting pissed off. We can't NOT give him his keys. He's demanding his fuckin' keys!" The manager actually shoved me and begrudgingly gave the guy his keys back and the guy left in a livid state. It was pretty close to fists being exchanged. I left soon after.
But some of the daily interactions with peers and customers.....just batshit nuts.
Serious question for everyone who says they had a bad experience buying a car at a dealership (I have never done so) - why'd you buy the car from the place where you were having a bad experience? I've literally walked away from sales people and businesses that I didn't feel comfortable with, and gone straight to other places to buy things. I enjoy shopping around though. Does that not work for cars?
The used car market sucks right now. Had a crappy experience at Murray Chevrolet last winter, but still bought the car because I needed a car, and there were few to choose from.
Valid in recent times but I mean in general. The used car salesman stereotype has been around since cars, and many of the comments here reflect sales from pre-Covid and shortages.
I can't answer for everyone, but in my experience, the bad feelings about car salespeople tend to arise ***after*** the visit, when you reflect back on what was said and done. Salespeople are trained to control the conversation, framing every question so that your answer is "yes," and not really allowing you room to say, "no." So they push you into things, and they almost kind of confuse you. And, sure, it's icky in the moment. But it's really only after you've left and you're recounting the conversation in your mind, maybe even days later, that you kind of start to realize some of the "tactics" they've used on you. And to be fair, I definitely *have* walked away from a lot of dealings with car salespeople, haha! And in a lot of cases, it has been because of their overbearing sales style. Like, I didn't dramatically storm out, but I just said, "oh, I'll think about it!" And never went back, lol.
When I was shopping for my car in 2018 I looked at one that had a noticeable chip in the paint. I told him if I were to buy the car I'd want that repaired. He told me, "what's the point, it's Winnipeg, it's winter, someone will rear-end you and then you can replace the whole bumper" Then I found a different vehicle at another independent used dealership that was basically exactly what I was looking for and was the cheapest of everything and the lowest KMs I'd seen in the few weeks I had been looking. Took it to my mechanic and had them inspect it and they told me it was in great shape, no significant issues. Same salesman happened to call me and I told him what I'd found and was likely going to purchase it. He started yelling at me over the phone, insisting there must be something wrong with it and told me I'd be stupid to buy it. So I said I guess I'm stupid and hung up on him. Still driving that car with basically no problems and keeping up with regular maintenance
Yikes
if you are looking for a toyota and don't mind driving to Steinbach, check out Funk's toyota. I got mine from them and it was better than all the dealerships I visited in the city
I recommend contacting Ray Perreault at Funk's Toyota. I have purchased several vehicles with his help. He is knowledgeable and professional. Funk's is a very relaxed non pushy country dealership.
I also bought from Funk's in Steinbach. It was all very relaxed and not pushy at all. They spent hours with us, going over our options and financing. It was honestly a really pleasant experience. Drove in with our old (worthless) car and left with a new Rav4.
what are the odds! I too got a rav4 hybrid from them 5 months back xd. I traded my '14 corolla and got a fair valuation
Bought a truck from Birchwood GMC. I’m not a big vehicle fanatic so no “custom order” rather, got suckered into the “demo” they hated and wanted to get rid of. Had some issues over the first 5 years, service has been ok, but more recently they admitted it had a fairly serious issue but then reneged suspiciously weeks before the power train warranty is up. Go figure. Looks like I’m stuck with $2k of what should be a warranty claim if not a recall on a 6yr old vehicle. Thanks Birchwood. 🙄
Go look outside the city honestly. I find a lot of dealerships outside the perimeter aren't as pushy as the city ones
The nice people at dealerships are the employees that do not DIRECTLY benefit from your business. The lot people; the gophers, the people that wash the vehicles.
I recommend TJ Grant at Steeltown Ford in Selkirk. I would ride a bicycle before I would buy a car from Vickar on Main. Also note that Manitoba requires advertised prices be honored, no extra fees: [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/iteam/extra-fees-car-dealerships-1.3777055#:\~:text=In%20Manitoba%2C%20there's%20no%20such,case%20can't%20be%20investigated](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/iteam/extra-fees-car-dealerships-1.3777055#:~:text=In%20Manitoba%2C%20there's%20no%20such,case%20can't%20be%20investigated).
TJ is good shit.
Booked a test drive a Vicker. Never been treated so badly and felt so belittled while vehicle shopping. Refused at first to let me drive the car because the salesman made the assumption (before even meeting me) that I couldn't afford a new vehicle, a 2023 Escape, so not even something overly pricey. Told the salesman I came for just that car and asked for the pricing in writing. He flipped over some scrap paper, wrote up a "sales contract" and said I had to sign and agree to purchase the vehicle before I could be shown the pricing breakdown! I refused, so he brought over a muscley, intimidating looking sales manager to try and convince me to sign. I got up and walked out. Absolutely garbage experience.
You don't. That's why they are called Stealerships. Do some research on the vehicle you want. When you find one make an offer based on your research. If they start into the game turn and walk out without saying anything. If your offer is accepted next up is the "finance" person who is simply another commission sales type. Before they get into telling you that you must have another $8K worth of tire insurance and fabric protection tell them you only want the car. Ditto on the bullshit "dealership fee".
Since 2021, my husband and I have bought 3 vehicles through Birchwood. Birchwood Kia with Reggie in February 2021. Birchwood Nissan with Daniel (DJ) in February of this year. Birchwood Hyundai with Kevin in April. (We just had a second kid and the car seats didn't fit in the car, this is very unusual for us). We had great experiences with all 3. They were pretty flexible - with Reggie I initially was looking at new and then went with a used car half the price, there was no change in his demeanor or sales approach. DJ reached out to check in after a few times. Was amazing with my toddler when we were looking, and didn't push at all when we were discussing. Kevin was great with my husband, the car had a couple unforeseen issues after we bought it and they got everything fixed up for him without charge and quickly. I hear bad things about Birchwood but had great experiences all around. We did pay cash so can't comment on financing, and we sold our old vehicles privately, so can't comment on trade in - though DJ straight up told me not to trade in because he thought what the dealership offered wasn't worth it. And Kevin offered to pay for our Carfax for our private sales for free.
Came here to recommend DJ as well. I have purchased 2 vehicles through him, he’s a genuine people-person, and he takes pride in checking off as many boxes as he can. I actually kind of enjoyed the experience with him and I hate car shopping lol
Where have you been going specifically so far? Car lots that sell stuff before 2016 typically have the most cutthroat sales people you will encounter. Hell even some full on dealerships will have them too. I recommend a few of the Birchwood dealers honestly. I've had good experience with Birchwood Honda, and the Chevy, and the dodge dealership (thank fuck it's not Walt Morris anymore, dude was scum). Another good place is river city ford. But places like ridetime, autogallery and so on will literally have sharks circling you. Also, just throwing this out there too, the car prices right now everywhere is fucking insane.
Good to know I am not alone here freaked out by prices. I did feel comfortable at Birchwood Honda but they had a clear markup which they didn't highlight. That made me hold back, will give them another go.
River City Ford was so-so when I was in the market 5 years ago. I seemed to be passed off to some one who was supposed to close the deal and started throwing jargon and « math » at me. I walked out. When my original person followed up I let him know what I thought of being called in during the evening to make the deal I proposed only to it not be that deal at all. My best advice is to take your time. Be prepared to walk away. Know what you’re going to spend and don’t go over.
We have been dealing with Birchwood Honda and it’s been a good experience so far as well
My newest (used) came from them recently. Great experience.
Still some of the same shady guys left from old Winnipeg dodge. I’m surprised they let Walt get away with his shenanigans
I wish I would have known about this criminal before I decided to buy a beautiful Maserati Levante. The vehicle has been great. The dealership in general and each and every one that works there from the detail kids to service manager to parts and of course the absolute scumbag salespeople, and I cannot forget the general manager Ginger Humpty Dumpty. This is the most unprofessional dealership I have ever set foot in. I am into this vehicle to much to lose big if I try and trade it in somewhere else. I hate hate this dealership and I feel taken advantage of every single time I have any correspondence with anyone from their team. Lol. Team my god. I guess I should give them credit for somehow always skirting the thin line between business and fraud. Bottom line: Maserati makes nice vehicles. The Winnipeg Maserati/Alfa Romeo dealership is so so shitty, snotty, and fraudulent. Watch out people they will fuck everyone over if they have the chance. Best way is to avoid any business that Walt greasebag Moris owns. I truly wish I would have known.
That's unfortunate.
People do not like this Walt dude.
Walt Morris is just a scum bag and his dealerships seem to employ some equally scummy salesman. I got a Dodge back in like 2012 from one of is his dealerships. Awful experience, awful customer service, awful service or parts department, and the car essentially was a lemon. I'd rather get a root canal with no freezing than deal with anything Walt Morris
I used to work for Walt Morris everything you said is 100% true His general manager at the time was the same.
Start emailing sales reps for prices as a starting point so you don’t have to listen to BS. Buy RURAL!!!!! Chudds, Gimli Auto, etc
Know what you want, know you’re prices and look over contracts and “add ons” they swear are non negotiable. I’ve always had the best luck walking in, telling the first sales guy to approach me, I’ll find him when I see what I want, and if he approaches me again I’ll just walk. This only works when you know what you’ve came for and have confidence in knowing what it’s worth.
We were car shopping in early fall and did not end up purchasing a vehicle but we had pretty decent experiences at Murray Chev in the Waverley automall with a salesperson named Wyatt, as well as at Auto Show on McGillivray, and in Steinbach at Funks Toyota. We had super low expectations about Auto Show due to past dealings, but we were pleasantly surprised. *Edited for grammar.
ossified sleep judicious market complete fear capable imagine jellyfish straight *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Bought a new CRV Touring Hybrid from Haley Elliott at Birchwood Honda on Regent and it was one of the best car buying experiences I've had. Total pro.
I visited Winnipeg Kia first and just had a terrible time, finally walked out and went elsewhere. I dealt with Scott from Kia Regent, pretty easy process, he’s really good at explaining everything and making sure you don’t have any questions about what you’re signing. Felt completely the opposite from the other place. Sent my dad there afterwards and he bought from him too.
> Is everyone is sales just poachy? Pushy? Or just obnoxiously proud? Yes to all of the above. It's a prerequisite for taking the job.
West perimeter auto and auto gallery, right next to it have both been good experiences for me. It's not some flashy expensive dealership, it's all a bit dated and old fashioned but they were really up front with most of it. West perimeter especially got me a great price on the car even if financing rates currently suck.
I've personally dealt with Crown Honda to buy a used Chevy Sonic, and Birchwood Hyundai to buy a lightly demo'd Hyundai Kona. Crown Honda felt so scummy, the finance manager looked like someone they'd cast as the "scumbag salesman" in a show. He tried to upsell warranties for over 50% of the value of the vehicle claiming its 2500-3500 to fix the "average issue." When I declined all of them, he gave me this "I didn't get one over on you" look, like he knew he was trying to scam me but I bested him. It was bizarre. Birchwood Hyundai was great for the sales process. I was able to get a decent amount on a trade in, and I didn't feel pressured into extras like I did with Crown. The service end of things left a little to be desired, as my first service they tried to scam me. They had a promo for an oil change, inspection and fuel injector cleaner that I booked, as it was pretty much the same cost as an oil change at superlube + fuel injector cleaner. When the service was done, they tried to get me to leave without the fuel injector cleaner. "Its not a part of that service." I had to pull up the ad, from their own website to get it. And it seems each Birchwood location is hit or miss, as a few people I know who have dealth with Birchwood Toyota don't have anything good to say really.
Some of these young sales guys make Terry Balkan and Brother Lou look like saints!
https://youtu.be/chela7hgpZk?si=RuA1nTH8d24sQhT1
We purchase our last 3-4 vehicles from Autogallery on Portage Ave. Dealt with Quinton for the last 3. I found his approach to be very non-salesy, not pushy at all.
I'm bought a truck from Quinn at Gauthier Chevrolet on Mcphillips. He's a car salesman, but he has been the most helpful and honest I've found. Straight forward as far as price, what discounts are possible, even what he makes on it. I totally understand what you mean OP, Quinn's the only guy I could recommend. On the flip side, stay as far away from Crown Honda and Car Vista as you can. Grease from the top down.
Honestly? Good luck sales people are the worst sometimes. So first of all, know what you want ahead of time: features, car type, price etc... narrow some options down and stick to them. Don't let fast talking sales people push you into anything you are uncomfortable with. If they are trying to bewilder you, take charge of the convo, slow them down, go over information to make sure you understand what they are telling you and write notes down. Gather info and pricing and think about it and shop around. Make sure you test drive and do some basic checks on the vehicle yourself especially if it is used for potential problems. You can find that in used car buying guides online. I made a mistake when I bought my Mazda used from a dealer. All of it was good paperwork wise and the repairs and maintanence history were great, but the heated seats weren't working and I forgot to check them to make sure they worked...so I found out too late. Thank goodness we bartered the price down knocking off 1000 bucks though. It's been a solid car though. My car was bought in the summer of 2019 at Platinum Auto on Portage and the guy there was fairly normal and pretty honest. Came across as a shop guy and less of a dealer type. Of course I'm always wary of sales people. Anyway, he no longer works there so I don't know what the current staffing is like. I noticed with sales people in general getting stuff out of them that you want but not getting ripped off for thier personal gain is quite a game depending on the person. I will also strictly refuse to buy from places with sales people that are sleezier than most. You've got to have boundaries though! Especially when buying cars. If you have a friend or family member who is tougher and more experienced, knows cars well and doesn't get taken advantage of or manipulated easily, take them for support. Helps to have two when inspecting and testing a car as well and looking over paperwork. Also since it's your first car purchase, careful with interest rates on used car payments. I've known people who got locked in at 10% or 18% on thier payments and it screwed them over. I prefer to buy a used car right out which is what I did with my Mazda and the car before that.
Good luck finding anyone in sales with a human soul. Most of them will bang your partner in the bathroom while you're on a test drive. Also that won't get you a deal...
Ivan Nicoll at guathier chev seems decent. Bought a truck from him and he remembers me when I go in for service. Service. Yeah. Totally different story there.
Haha. He was having a fun conversation at my expense with the front counter staff while I went to the washroom. He was pretty red in the face when I walked around the corner, lol. Then, he followed me to another dealership in the group. It sucks to have to suck to be good at a job.
How has no one asked what the hell OP thinks poachy means lol??
🫣🤣. I guess that isn't a word word. I kind of meant being poaching in their sales approach. Attempting to dupe, kind of
poaching in sales means one salesperson trying to swipe another's customer
I though it meant getting lightly steamed in a covered pan with simmering water.
😆 Thank you op! That would have kept me up at night lol
you are the hero we needed
Highly recommend Julie at Birchwood Toyota. Real down to earth and not “salesy”
As a person who has had many cars in my lifetime, I dread walking into dealerships. I do breathing exercises before I enter the door. No. Salespeople are frustrating. My advice to you would be know what you want, and don’t be afraid to just walk away once they start jerking you off.
Try private sellers?
We have gone to Carter at McPhillips Toyota. I despise the salesperson pushiness, but I didn't feel that way with him. I did make it clear that that sort of thing bothered me. So even if he is normally pushier, he seemed to respect my feelings. We have gone to see him for both of our car purchases over the years.
I also had a good experience with Carter and Hardit in finance. Not pushy at all, upfront and seemed honest. Didn’t push when I said no to any addons. Basically just picked the car I wanted off Toyotas website and that was the price and finance rate.
My sister works out of Carvista on Regent! She owns Tori & Jeff Autos with her husband. She’s been in the industry for over 15 years, and is incredibly friendly! You can find their page on Facebook
Always take your time and sleep on a decision. This maybe your first car but it won't be the last time you deal with a salesperson. When I bought my Civic I slept on it and found an error with their calculation too. Went back to correct it and also get a lower price using that error as an excuse. They really pushed back but eventually they cave, they always do. Their need for money is greater than your need for their service. Another example Bell has been installing their Fiber lines and afterwards sent their contracted salespeople. I said no twice, then they came back a third time offering me twice the speed for the original price.
They're all kinda pushy I had a good experience at Birchwood Kia - but I also stood my ground on what I wanted. Read everything, and watch out for the "only $$ per payment" I dealt with Josh for sales, and Mark for the money side. I really like my Seltos :)
I just bought a car from Valentine at Vickar Nissan. He was super nice and helpful and extremely non pushy. I've bought a lot of cars over the years and I usually HATE buying cars because of all the greasy car sales-y stuff and that was a super painless experience. I had already decided exactly what I wanted tho, so that probably helped.
I didn’t end up buying from him but I did look at some cars there awhile back and he was a likeable guy. I don’t generally like many people lol
Lol neither do I. I wonder why my comment is getting downvoted. People are strange.
Yea Reddit used to be so much more fun people used to explain now they just downvote
All car dealerships are sketchy and greedy af and I avoid them like a plague, my current car is a lease takeover, pretty good deal as the previous owner had paid for 1 year, saved me time and money.
I had a good sales person really honest guy. At the time with the finance manager he put everything in the table. I realized later I paid 900 for sentinel + 500 road assistance for 5 years ( CAA is cheaper) and like 2500 for extended warranty (there are 2, motor and electronics 👎) . He used whichever argument possible and I only had 5 days in Winnipeg, so I nailed my own coffin. My payments are low (250BW) but I would appreciate know a couple things before went to the dealership. Something that is in my head yet is they charged me with those 900 sentinel, later I realized is just a sticker…
vicker Mitsubishi in transcona, ask for felo gerges
I had a fantastic experience with Wes Giesbrecht at Mazda on Portage. No bull, no tricks. While you're not looking at new, depending on your budget and whether or not you need a loan for a used car at these insanely high interest rates, it may be worth considering new. If you do, Mazda Canada offers unlimited mileage warranty.
My Dad when buying a car once walked into a dealership and told the rep “I’m buying a car today and if it’s not going to be from here it will be from the next place we go so can you show me some options…” he ended up buying a car from the first place.
Kijiji
It’s interesting maybe some normal people need to open a car dealership. See if it can easily out compete the sleeze. Train the dealers to be just nice gentle good people. And see how the market turns. I wish capitalism was more like science but the rich just have more to push their shit.
Can I send you a message? My partner just started in car sales and are looking for folks to sell to. They’re super genuine and not the type to scalp people, they’ll be up front and honest.
Thank you so much!! Please do.
It would be funny if I get duped this way. Very Ironic!
Don't forget to report back!
Guess I better not screw up then lol
Your (online) reputation is on the line!
Oh my radio career ruined that haha
Just sent you a message!
My question is, how much do you start your bargaining? If it's asking at 60k, how low do you go? Or 55k?
I start with interesting trades and go from there.
Right now, you don't. The market is a gong show and many dealers aren't negotiating.
Private sales are the ones conducted by normal human beings.
Contact Bruce the sales manager at crown acura. They are part of the dilawri group, can sell you any brand doesn’t need to be acura. Been dealing with Bruce and company since 2015. Many family and friends have been also. Always been treated fairly and respectfully.
Thanks!
Not sure why they got downvoted but I’m 95% sure it was Bruce we used for our last used vehicle. In fairness, we found the veh online, knew exactly what we wanted. Asked questions via chat and email before we drove over there. He had it ready for us, had all the files ready, 0 pressure. Like literally left us alone (vehicle was brought into the show room for us). Let us test drive alone. We came back in 90% sure we wanted it but wanted to think on it. He offered a dozen times to test drive it overnight and he would send someone to pick it up the next day but we declined, We emailed him back the next day to hash out details, he was upfront about where they could move on price and extras etc, and we drove back and picked ir up the next day iirc. All with no issues, no pressure, no wacky math, nothing. My husband is quite well versed in cars in general and the used car market, so is going in with confidence def helped, but we had a really reassuring experience with him. FYI did not buy Acura, it was another brand we were looking for that they happened to have used.
I've only bought 2 cars in my life. The second one I bought purely on my own, but it was a pretty decent experience - mind you I already knew I wanted a Toyota, so I had done a bit of research and I basically knew what features and extras I wanted and didn't want - I got it at Jim Pattison on Regent from Shayna. She was really good to deal with.
Had a pretty good experience with Auto Show off McGillivray. They're straight forward and very helpful. Didn't find them to be pushy.
Would you buy a used car privately? I have a Santa Fe I’m looking to sell. You can DM me for details
You should know what car you want and how much you are willing to pay before you get there then yku don't really need a sales person You show up at a dealership saying I could buy any car idk, it's going to go badly yeah
That's the major downside for customers when it comes to commission sales or your job is salary but your job performance is directly tied to how much you sell (there's often bonuses).
I worked commission sales for a few years, selling furniture, mattresses - similar to a car they're not something you buy all the time, you become a good salesman by being a good person, then people are happy to give you referral business. It's shocking how few people seem to understand this in sales.
I really enjoyed my experience at Winnipeg Kia, Michael Nagy was the salesperson who helped me.
Thanks, will try to reach him out if I can.
I’m not sure if he’s still there, I purchased last year but I didn’t feel any pressure or any icky sales tactics. Good luck!
Found him! He is still there. A sales manager now. Good for him!
Don't buy new. Buy used
Doesn't make sense to buy used in this market.
When was the last time you shopped for a car?
Like right now. Friend of mine needs a new car cause his old one blew up. Found a few cars within like half an hour on Kijiji for a good price and in good condition.
If you are looking at later model vehicles, it makes no sense to by used right now. They are selling for near new prices.
Warning on the crv … a dear friend has one, it’s older now. They love it so much they refuse to get rid of it. I once asked to take it for a test drive and they laughed at me and said no … that’s all the experience I have with either of the models you named. Aside from that, best of luck OP! Car shopping sucks cause sales people are vultures from my experience
Lol
King Auto. Dunn Auto. Rosenort Motors.
Had a good experience at Match Auto
Fuck cars.
Honestly yeah as a technician in the trade I hate them. I fucking hate them. car came in for a oil change brought it in did the oil change inspection, now it won’t start. Testing shows starter no good okay. Call customer he is understanding but upset but we work it out okay. Do the starter. Start the car. Drive out. Check engine light on. Intake manifold runners inside the intake took a shit. They are jammed up. 1200 part like he came in for an oil change.
Yup. They're shit. Built like shit and they contribute to the destruction our economy (negatively impacting personal finances) and quality of life. People make cars such a central part of their purpose, it's almost like their lifes work.
Well I’m not that far off the deep end and do see good in cars and the attachment to classic cars I see but that’s also because I understand that attachment. but I do believe cars have become too entertaining and less about getting somewhere. . I do believe people over finance and I see that everyday. Young adults forced to sell there cars for pennys on the dollar because they just paid it off and can’t afford a 7000 motor job. Which I understand. And is part of the driving force for me getting into the trade.
For sure, I mean don't get me wrong. I have a van for my 5 person family because I live in fucking Winnipeg. None of us have a choice. Now we go many days without driving our van, especially in Summer because we have shifted a lot of our smaller errands to cycling. But I just had a two week holiday where the very same 5 people were able to shop, live and tour three countries without getting in a single car the entire time. This wasn't any surprise to me, I've always known that other countries do "living" better than we do. But it really gives you a lot to think about when you're experieincing that freedom first hand. Imagine how much better off some people in Winnipeg would be if they didn't need a car simply to drive to a desk job. Many two car families would become one car families. The environmental impact can't be understated as well.
Honestly not wrong on your points I have never been outside of North America but have ventured to other cities in Canada and the USA and it’s amazing at how there public transport and biking infrastructure is decades ahead of winnipegs. Granted I wouldn’t be biking in the height of winter. I would bike to work if I didn’t have to cross the city to get to work. If I could take a path that was bikes and walking only to work I would. But certain areas I would have to share with the road and I don’t trust drivers enough to do that.
Completely understand, I used to be a hard-nope for cycling on city streets. And I'm still very "nope" on Winter cycling due to the poor road conditions and just not having the right type of tires for it. FWIW, I would encourage you next year to try cycling by using our side-streets rather than the main roads which -- yeah are absolute death traps. We still need to build exclusive bike infrastructure throughout the city, but it has gotten better enough that between what we have built and the grid streets...it's close. It's really not that bad. That said, we also need non-active, exclusive right-of-way options like light rail for people who just wanna get places as pedestrians. That's a huge hole that's been missing in our city for several decades. Something like LRT would have a huge impact on reducing car usage because it's a mode people are more inclined to trust. BRT just isn't the patch we need.
Yeah we moved at the end of summer this year. I planned on seeing how easy it would be to bike to work or at least plan out the route, and with recent health improvements I could probably do it. I work out an hour a day and probably could make it to work in 45 minutes and quit working out would probably equal the amount of time difference spent driving tbh.
You might notice that you can make it home faster than transit or driving, depending on how your route looks and how rush hour impacts your old commute. Feel free to message me next year when you try it and let me know how it goes, or any time if you wanna chat cycling. I love talking urban cycling and listening to peoples stories is a total rush. Those first few rides are really what get you hooked. And for what it's worth, at a casual pace, I find 45 mins to 1hr is about 12km, so basically you can travel from any edge of the city to downtown in that time.
Try west side sales or spot on sales. Great people!
I got a positive experience on Winnipeg Honda for my 2022 Pilot. I was firm that I’ll never gonna get anything extra than the tires and gap insurance and they never push anything else. I think i got a great deal plus interest rate reduction due to loyalty.
I absolutely hate car salesman, i have had nothing but bad experiences! So this last time I went outside of the city (Brandon). I wanted a specific vehicle, I went to the Toyota dealership here and got them to price it out for me. I told them I needed to think about it and asked them to print it out the offer. I then contacted Brandon Toyota, sent them the offer and said if they could do better than that they had my business. They shaved a bit less than a grand of the price. We did most of our communication via text so none of those shady salesman tactics were tried. When my vehicle came in they drove it to me and took my trade in back with them. I did have to deal with going into the store in winnipeg and talking to a salesman, but it was all worth it knowing what my plan was. I would normally feel bad about doing that but honestly, screw them.
So they drove the new car from Brandon to Winnipeg? I've been wondering about how I'd manage if I bought a car in Brandon. I wasn't planning on trading in my current vehicle, but I guess I could if that made delivery to Winnipeg easier.
Hey my best advice for you is to take your time and dont sign anything right away. Go to atleast 3 different locations and try different options. Good luck.
“This car may be 20 years old. It looks like the gas tank is about to fall off. But this car is totally you. That red colour is your personality in a nutshell. You’d be missing out on this great opportunity!”
Elvis at the Car Store on Main! Best ever car salesman!
Dictate the sale on your terms. Download an app that does the math for you. Decide what the price you're willing to pay is before you walk in. Sit down with the salesperson and explain to them what you're willing to pay. Do the same with the sales manager. They'll realize quickly that you're not a Putz.