Got a Quick Question for a Car Dealer?

grandtotal

So, should I elevate this further?

Yes, at the very least the dealer should be buying one of your tires. It would be a welcome gesture on their part if they bought the other one too. Talking to a salesperson probably won't get you very far, try the GM. If that does not get you anywhere (defined as the dealer buying you at least one of the tires) go to Acura.

corvette

See if you can find Acura's CPO criteria. I know that General Motors doesn't allow plugged tires on their CPO cars.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep I think they fired a fastball past you while you were kicking the dirt off your cleats. Definitely talk to higher management and use words like "dangerous" (politely, as a question).

Probably an honest oversight but IMO unacceptable for a CPO vehicle.

oldfarmer50

"...what number do I call to bill the car out to Edmunds at these prices they are willing to give for trade ins..."

Well, the dealers around me all ask 2K ABOVE KBB retail for used cars, maybe customers need those high trade prices to compensate. :confuse:

joel0622

Now come on OF, you know that asking and getting are two totaly different brands of beer.

We use Black Book and have for as long as I can remember. It is a split on the banks here. Some use NADA and some use BB. 90% of the time NADA is allot higher then BB

oldfarmer50

"...you know that asking and getting are two totally different brands of beer..."

I know, if you don't ask, you don't get. All I'm saying is that maybe the customers have caught on to that too. They're making outrageous demands for their trade to offset the outrageous asking prices.

BTW, don't try to confuse me by bringing up my favorite beverage, because it will work. :confuse:

venture

On the 150Pt inspection it states "Tires free of road hazzards" Can three plugs be considered a road hazzard?

Actually it says "Tires (No road hazard damage/proper tire pressure)". That is definitely road hazard damage or it wouldn't have had to be plugged.

http://www.acura.com/content/PreOwned/CPO_150pt.pdf

joel0622

Here is my .02. The car was sold to you below CPO standards. You paid for it to be brought to the standard and they failed.

I would secure a copy of the standard and call and ask for an appt. with the UCM or GM.

My experience is that if a customer comes in the door guns blazing, cussing out every one he sees and demanding things he does not get much except an invitation to leave through the same door he entered.

Those who come in and act like an adult and both speak and listen in a calm proffesional/friendly manner usually get the results they deserve.

The problems that don't get resolved are the ones when both party's involved start on the defense. The customer thinking they were intentionally ripped off and we thinking you are wanting something for free.

isellhondas

The problems that don't get resolved are the ones when both party's involved start on the defense. The customer thinking they were intentionally ripped off and we thinking you are wanting something for free.

Very true.

I have no idea what the exact rules are but I know I don't like any kind of "plug" in my tires. The proper way to repair a tire is by an inside patch.

peetert

I would like to thank everyone for their replies. My wife dropped by there yesterday and was able to get reimbursed for the cost of one of the tires. But, even this took a bit of work.

When she got there she immediately saw our salesman outside. When she told him of the issue he said "Go see the GM". Turns out the GM was out yesterday so she waited for the UCM. After the UCM intially told her "tough luck", my wife persisted a bit more. When the UCM started ignoring her (hoping she'd go away) and shuffling papers on her desk, my wife lost her cool and in a loud, but controlled voice told her, if she was that busy she'll come back at a more convenient time for both of them. That is when the offer to pay for one tire came out.

The funniest part came when the UCM left to cut a check for my wife. Our 4yo asked her "Mommy, are you mad at that woman? Is she going to get a timeout?"

I'm satified that they owned up to the issue, but were still a bit peeved that it had to come down to a near yelling match to get satisfaction. I'm also a bit ticked off that our salesman would brush us off so quickly (I'm sure most the guys here would have gone to bat for us). I asked my wife if he was with a customer and she said no. I told my wife that I think we are still going to end up writing a letter to the GM. If not for anything else, but that he, being the overall authority, should know how his customers were treated.

Once again, thanks everyone
Peeter

grandtotal

I have no idea what the exact rules are but I know I don't like any kind of "plug" in my tires. The proper way to repair a tire is by an inside patch.

I imagine they were not plugs, but patches. From outside they look like plugs. I would not mind one patch (unless I was buying new or CPO) but three is too many.

corvette

I think the tire manufacturer's association now recommends the use of an "umbrella plug" which is a combination plug & patch. This allows a speed-rated tire to keep its speed rating.

traindriver

Glad you got your reimbursement. I still think a call to Acura is warranted. If your dealer is not properly "CPO-ing" their cars, Acura should be made aware of this. Acura may not give a rip but they should. Not only is the dealer degrading their reputation but Acura's CPO program as well. You paid a premium for the CPO designation and deserve to have the benefits you paid for.

jipster

my wife lost her cool and in a loud, but controlled voice told her, if she was that busy she'll come back at a more convenient time for both of them. That is when the offer to pay for one tire came out.

Bravo, a good play by your wife. Like joel said, start out calm and friendly. But, be prepared to show some frustration, increased volume and tone, if you're getting the brush off or not being treated properly/fairly.

Unfortunately, being too "friendly" can be seen as a sign of weakness by some in the biz. And sometimes you have to "give time-outs" and show that you'll stand your ground to get satisfactory results.

As for your salesman not going to bat for you, I'd find another salesman.

boomchek

I agree with the rest, contact Acura via a letter or email. A dealer like this does degrade Acura's CPO standards. I am sure Acura puts a lot of money into promoting it as a very comprehensive inspection, and I am sure if their dealers just ignore it to cut costs, then Acura wouldn't be too happy about it.

And yes, the salesman should have batted for you, and the UCM shouldn't have played stupid either.

I'd find another dealer for servicing as well.

fezo

My current van is a CPO Ody that was not in any way up to the standards of a CPO. I made the mistake of letting the dealer say he'd make good on it. They never did and when I called Honda they said to talk to the dealer.

I have generally done very well with corporate Honda. This was a disappointment. i had to replace all four tires and the paint has loads of chips that they had made appear to disappear but showed up again within a couple of weeks. Maybe once a year have it detailed and they make the chips go away but they come back.

Mechanically it's great and the interior is fine so i just write it off as experience.

volvomax

Appearence isn't part of the CPO process, so the chips are just part of buying a used car. The only surefire solution is to repaint the offending panel or panels which most dealers would prefer not to do.

How long after(and how many miles after) did you have to replace the tires?
If they were clearly below min standards, you should have had the dealer replace them as part of the sale and agree to do it IN WRITING.

grandtotal

How long after(and how many miles after) did you have to replace the tires?
If they were clearly below min standards, you should have had the dealer replace them as part of the sale and agree to do it IN WRITING.

Even better, have the tires replaced before taking delivery.

oldfarmer50

Just got a mailer from a local screamer ad dealer telling me to come on down because I might have won a 2008 Kia Sportage. They even sent a key to try in the car.

As I tried to figure why anyone would want a Kia (even a free one) I noticed the odds of winning the grand prize--1:749,982. That's about twice the population of the entire metro area I live in.

There were other prizes also. 42" plasma TV. Odds of winning--1:749,982. $1000 Wal-Mart gift card. Odds of winning--1;749,982. $100 Wal-Mart gift card. Odds of winning--1:749,982.

They also had a $5 Wal-Mart gift card that was almost even money to win. :lemon:

So I have to decide weather it's worth an hour of my time to drive to the dealer to get 5 bucks to spend at Wally world. I'm sure I would get some high-pressure sales work while I'm at it. :mad:

What is the purpose of sending these mailers out? Do they think that people are THAT stupid? Even if you get a bunch of low IQ types to crawl into your store, what kind of credit are they going to have. :confuse:

Why don't dealers do it like the high-end store that Graphic Guy was telling us about. Get them in with free shrimp, get them all boozed up and then let them take a test drive. They'll either buy the car or smash it up. Either way they end up paying for it.

Mr_Shiftright

"Why don't dealers do it like the high-end store that Graphic Guy was telling us about. Get them in with free shrimp, get them all boozed up "

This works very well for Barrett-Jackson during classic car auctions. If you can get someone to pay $150,000 for a Dodge you can surely get them to pay MSRP for a Kia.

joel0622

What is the purpose of sending these mailers out? Do they think that people are THAT stupid? Even if you get a bunch of low IQ types to crawl into your store, what kind of credit are they going to have

They work, every mass mailer we have ever done has resulted in a good day, and allot of residual sales also.

We get quality customers out of every one. The only reason we don't do them every month is they are costly. A 15,000 piece mailer runs you around $10K and you are looking for around a 1% return. That is people walking in the door not sales. If you get a 1% return then that equates out to around 35 sales. Which means your mailer cost you around $300 a copy of sold units

Some run higher some run lower. if it didn't work then you wouldn't get one a week in the mail. Google auto sale promotions some time and see how many companies there are out there doing it.

boomchek

Joel explained it very well, but here's my 2 cents worth.

CReate some hype, bring people in, even if they don't want to buy. Everyone like chances of winning stuff and getting free stuff.

When you have lots of traffic in the showroom and lots of excitement, it creates a good atmosphere, and people sometimes are more likely to buy.

Sometimes it's a mentality, when one person sees someone else doing something and havig fun at it, they want it too.

To give you an example, back at Honda I was with customers looking to buy a Civic. As I'm showing them a showroom car another salesperson came and put a SOLD sign on the window fo that car,

All of a sudden, my customers wanted a "showroom car" as well. :confuse: :confuse:

I offered them one off the lot, but they insisted on a "showroom" car.

Don't ask me why....

volvomax

What is the purpose of sending these mailers out? Do they think that people are THAT stupid?

No, they KNOW people are that stupid.
Look at all the people who play the lottery, or go to Casino's.
We all want to believe in something for nothing.
As Joel pointed out, with the right crowd, this type of promotion does work.

ray80

'To give you an example, back at Honda I was with customers looking to buy a Civic. As I'm showing them a showroom car another salesperson came and put a SOLD sign on the window fo that car,

All of a sudden, my customers wanted a "showroom car" as well.

I offered them one off the lot, but they insisted on a "showroom" car. '

Sorta reminds me of a car I bought from the dealer group Britishrover works for. I had ordered it and when I went to pick it up it was in the showroom. I guess it may have been so I could say 'I drove it off the showroom floor' (Which I did,drove it off that is)

wlbrown9

The late Bill Heard Chevy dealership in SE Memphis used to send me the promotions. Go in and get 10 $1 coins. I would take them up on it when I was going down that way to play golf with my brother in law. Otherwise I would not burn $7 worth of gas and 1 hour time just to get $10. Come out a little better on the $$$ but way behind on the time factor. I never expected to win one of the larger prizes, but if it did happen I would not be disappointed.

I don't guess any of will be getting any of these from old Bill in the future.

jipster

There were other prizes also. 42" plasma TV. Odds of winning--1:749,982. $1000 Wal-Mart gift card. Odds of winning--1;749,982. $100 Wal-Mart gift card. Odds of winning--1:749,982.

I'd take the $5 gift card over the Kia Sportage. :sick:

I'm curious as to how they worked out the odds on the Sportage and other "prizes". I'm sure they didn't mail out 749,982 pieces of mail. :confuse:

joel0622

I'm curious as to how they worked out the odds on the Sportage and other "prizes". I'm sure they didn't mail out 749,982 pieces of mail

The promotion company does a co-op with dealers all over the country. Those prizes were being drawn for at maybe 75 different dealer ships. So that one dealer did not do that many malilings but a combination of all the dealers together equaled that.

We have been approached by these companies before and have always passed

imidazol97

>I'm curious as to how they worked out the odds on the Sportage and other "prizes". I'm sure they didn't mail out 749,982 pieces of mail

That explains it. I read the odds statement on the mailings. Locally they seem to offer a free trip to somewhere as one of the high probability winnings. I suspect the "free" trip has fees that come up so it ends up not being free after all either.

Locally we've had a run of mailings and full page newspaper ads about car auctions wtih cars to be marked at $99 (at least 1) and you have to be in the car at 4 pm on the day of the sale to be allowed to buy it at the price they put then on the windshield. The catch is you have to have put in a credit application or information sheet prior to the day of the "sale."

I was stunned at our monthly lunch get together for folks with whom I used to work when one of them said his adult son went to the dealer and found used Century that he liked and bought.

joel0622

That is basically a "slasher" sale. They work like this

We put every used car on the lot in a fenced in area and mark outrageous retail prices on the windshield with promises of some cars as low as $99.

You show up the morning of the sale and "Pre-Register". That means you fill out a 5 line credit app. We pull a quick beacon score and give you a gate pass to get into the sale.

What you might not notice is that there are 3 different kinds of gate passes. Red Yellow, and Green.

Green means your credit is good, yellow means that you are average, and red means be polite to you but you can't buy chit.

Once you get in the gate you go find a car you want to buy and sit down in it. Then after a awhile the UCM comes buy and slashes the price to what we will really sell it for.
If you want it you blow the horn, if you don't then you get out and the next person in line can buy it.

We did one back in 2002 and moved about 40 used cars in 8 hours time in a driving down pour of a rain storm. It was raining sideways that day. Some fool of a customer thought it would be funny to put the convertible top down and leave it.

I got real drunk that night

oldfarmer50

"...If you want it you blow the horn, if you don't then you get out and the next person in line can buy it..."

Boy, if that first guy was sitting there all day before getting up, I'd check the seats for wet spots before I got in. :mad:

madmanmoo

Ever watch the documentary called "Slasher"? What a fantastic piece of film. I recommend renting it if you would like to see a slasher sale crew at work.

snakeweasel

So I have to decide weather it's worth an hour of my time to drive to the dealer to get 5 bucks to spend at Wally world. I'm sure I would get some high-pressure sales work while I'm at it.

I have gotten those in the past, every so often its no to out of my way too stop and see if I win (never have), I have never even been approached about buying a car.

joebert

I'm looking around at minivans, while I have been mainly focusing on the 2008s, I periodically see 2007s still sitting on the lot, generally the higher end/luxury. I have several questions.

A) Do the 08 incentives still apply to these vehicles.
Having sat outside all year, are they going to have more problems than the 08s?
C) Realistically, if there is a base model, mid-level, and luxury version of this vehicle, would a still new 07 luxury model go for an 08 base model or 08 mid-level price, or neither? I can't imagine them selling an 07 luxury at an 08 (or 09) price, but I also can't imagine them holding onto it for another 6 months.

Not sure if that made sense, but I don't want to waste a dealers time with an insulting low-ball offer.

joel0622

I don't know about all Brands but with ford after a certian date there are no more programs on the prior year model its called final pay. If we still had 2007's on the lot they would be our problem not the manufactures.

boomchek

We still have three 07 models sitting here, but our showroom is huge, so they're inside (Charger, Compass, and Caliber AWD with Navi). Even if they'd be outside, there won't be any problems, Same as you parking your purchased vehicle outside all year.

The vehicles get moved around too and once in a while they'll go out on a test drive. Full warranty applies to them from the time someone buys them.

The discounts applied would be the maximum possible at the time that last rebates were available on them (spring of 08?). For example the Charger is loaded and MSRPd at $39k, we're selling ot for $28k. Rebates, less gross. We want to get rid of it at cost, and the GM might even take a small loss on it.

Research to see what the deals are on comparable 08s of the same make and model, and if they're similiar, then make an offer on the 07 that you'd be happy with that's a lot lower than 08s. Would you take a same 07 if it's $1000 less? $2000 less? $4000 less? Decide what you'd be comfortable with and present your offer.

They might just take it.

jipster

Full warranty applies to them from the time someone buys them.

Seems like I've always heard different viewpoints on this one. Yes, you get the full warranty in terms of years, say 3 years. But, the mileage part of you warranty starts from the factory, at 1 mile on the odometer, correct?
So, if you buy a brand new car that has a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, and the car you are buying has 500 (demo/test drive) miles, then you are actually getting 3 years or 35,500 miles of warranty... whichever comes first.

grandtotal

So, if you buy a brand new car that has a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, and the car you are buying has 500 (demo/test drive) miles, then you are actually getting 3 years or 35,500 miles of warranty... whichever comes first.

No, the warranty will end at 36,500 miles in my experience.

boomchek

As far as I know, jipster is correct as the warranty will END at 36k miles.

You don't get a mileage extension where the warranty starts from the exact mile you drive out of the showroom, and runs a full length of 36k miles.

However the left over 07s don't have more than 50-100 kms on them (30-60 miles), so its usually a non issue.

wesleyg

I've purchased/leased about 30 something new GM cars, and always the warranty is 3 years/and the current mileage plus 36000. My new car has 187 miles on it when it hit the street, so the warranty always states in writing 36187 miles and/or 3 years etc.

Again, I only know this for certain for GM, have no idea what other manufactures do.

oldfarmer50

"...I don't want to waste a dealers time with an insulting low-ball offer..."

I've said this before a 2007 is a two year old car no matter where it has been sitting. If you bought it in 2007 and parked it in your driveway for two years how much would the dealer give you as a trade-in?

I suggest you go to the dealer and tell him you won a car in a contest (exactly like the car on his lot) and it has been sitting in your garage since 2007. Ask for a trade-in price. Add a fair profit to that amount (say 5-8%) and make your offer.

After all the screaming and crying stops you can raise your offer or walk.

boomchek

the warranty is 3 years/and the current mileage plus 36000

Wow, I never knew GM is like that. You learn something new evey day!

grandtotal

It's not only GM. As I said, in my experience, that is the way it is. I must admit I've never bought a Chrysler vehicle though.

volvomax

It's not only GM. As I said, in my experience, that is the way it is. I must admit I've never bought a Chrysler vehicle though.

I can tell you for certain that Volvo doesn't work that way.
Or any other manufacturer that I have worked for.

snakeweasel

I can tell you for certain that Volvo doesn't work that way.
Or any other manufacturer that I have worked for.

May I ask what other manufacturers that you have worked for? Every car I have bought the warranty started from delivery. So if the car has a 3 year 36K mike warranty and you took delivery on it today and there are 60 miles on it the warranty will run out on 10/30/2011 or at 36,060 miles whichever comes first.

boomchek

Iffy topic. :surprise:

As far as I know the DATE does start from delivery date, but the mileage starts from 0, not from the numbers on the odometer at time of delivery.

This goes for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Nissan, Infiniti which I work/ed at.

How about you volvomax? Any one else care to contribute?

snakeweasel

Well I have bought Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Chrysler and Hyundai and each and every one I got a warranty certificate stating the mileage on the car and that the warranty went from X number of miles from that. I double checked both current cars and thats whats the paperwork states.

boomchek

hmmm. are you sure it went for X number of miles from the odo and not until X number of miles?

I just spoke with my finance manager who also worked for Toyota and said that it goes until X miles (until 36k) , no matter what's currently on the odo.

nascar9900

Add Nissan and Honda to the list that provide warranty for 36,000 plus the mileage at the time of purchase.

At least that is what I was implicitly told when I bought 10 months and 3 days ago.

jipster

Any one else care to contribute?

This is starting to turn into one of life's biggest mysteries... next to Bigfoot.

FWIW, my Mazda MPV didn't come with any warranty papers stating the 14 miles already on it would be added to the 48,000 mile warranty.

corvette

Just checked the manual on my GM vehicle. Pre-delivery mileage doesn't count against the warranty unless it was a dealer demo vehicle, has more than 1,000 miles, etc.