Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

fezo

No. I threw him under the bus for $55 per tire (I was replacing a whole set). I'm all for local business but that's $210 in my pocket vs his, I'm very loyal to my new mechanic who is a one man shop. The one I no longer patronize got too big and to into upselling.

I like using local guys both on the principle and service but Costco had him beat on service, included Hazard insurance in the price of the tire (vs $100 extra from the local guy.

If the local guy had budged at all from his price he likely would have had me. No more.

abacomike

@venture said:

"I really like that Sam's Club allows business members in between 7 and 10 am. It's not nuts like the rest of the time. Of course if one would want to sample all the food items - they aren't available at these times. Me? I just want to get in and get out."

Ditto on the "...I just want to get in and get out!"

abacomike

Speaking of small vs. large, the small independent retailer works on a higher profit margin because he must - his volume is a mere fraction of what the large retailer's volume is.  Personalized Service and trust is what the small business offers while the large retailer offers better pricing.

When I bought tires many years ago for my vehicles, I always went to my local Sears Roebuck store.  They had reasonable prices and excellent service.  I don't know if their approach continues to this day.

The tires I bought for my 19" rims are not stocked by large retailers.  My Mercedes dealer had to special order them from a large supplier.  These tires will barely give me 10,000 to 14,000 miles because of the low profile stance and softer composite for performance.  The dealership said that I should price the tires before changing them and they will match my best price.  I couldn't ask for a better deal than that.

I have always tried to do business with the small retailer if at all possible - and am willing to spend a little more for the service and personalized sales approach.

stickguy

speaking of Sears, my wife stopped there a few days ago for some reason. Later she said she doesn't expect them to be in business much longer. not a nice store, and no customers (and this was just before Xmas!).

BJs? I got tires there once. Good price, but limited selection in the store. Can be slow also, because for some reason they tended to only have 1 guy working, so running front end while trying to do tires. Road hazard was cheap. But a big drawback, they don't do alignments.

abacomike

@stickguy‌

I rarely go into the Sears store in the Boca Town Center mall because when I need some sales help, there is never anyone around.  It's like a ghost town, but there is plenty of merchandise - just no sales help and few, if any, customers.

Your wife may be correct, however Sears has been like this for several years.  Their appliances are excellent as are their tire center.  But that's about it.

berri

I saw Sears and K-Mart are having trouble filling customer layaways and orders. I've got to wonder if they are having trouble getting merchandise? Slow vendor paying perhaps? Personally, I wouldn't tie myself to any long term extended warranty through either one of them.

driver100

berri said:

I saw Sears and K-Mart are having trouble filling customer layaways and orders. I've got to wonder if they are having trouble getting merchandise? Slow vendor paying perhaps? Personally, I wouldn't tie myself to any long term extended warranty through either one of them.

That's a good thing to keep in mind. One year we gave our top employees a $50 gift certificate for a nice restaurant in town. The restaurant burned down the next week!

From then on I said if we are ever going to do that again, I would choose a chain restaurant (with more than one outlet) that seemed to be in good financial shape.

graphicguy

I've tried to buy appliances a couple of times at Sears. They weren't competitive price wise at all. They had a Kenmore fridge which was a clone of what I was looking at (LG, I think?). Best Buy was all over matching prices, even from on line retailers. Plus, they threw in free delivery and set up.

Not Sears. They kept insisting their fridge was different (different badge on the door...that was it) and were charging several hundred more than Best Buy for the same thing. Had to pay for delivery up front and send in some sort of rebate form to get delivery refunded. Why do that? It's easier for everyone to just offer free delivery.

Ended up going to a local appliance store. They beat everyone's prices and service was exemplary.

Really should get the car washed for Christmas duty next week. But, it's getting too cold. Called the dealer to see if they offer a car wash service. They said to bring it in Monday as that's their slowest day. They'll do a complete detail, in and out.

I asked "how much?"

No charge. A little far to drive jut for a detail, but free is something I just can't pass up.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Really should get the car washed for Christmas duty next week. But, it's getting too cold. Called the dealer to see if they offer a car wash service. They said to bring it in Monday as that's their slowest day. They'll do a complete detail, in and out.

I asked "how much?"

No charge. A little far to drive jut for a detail, but free is something I just can't pass up.

My Mercedes dealer has free wash every day from 9 to 5. I wonder if they say anything if I went in every day. I go to the DIY for $4. I am sure if I take the car in I will pay for it someway.

The dealer phoned yesterday to see how the car was going. I said great, love it, had it for a month and a half and it has 2400 miles on it.....because of the trip to Florida. She said she would let them know, and why haven't we used our free gift certificate for their spa? I said we have been in Florida and won't be back until April. She said she would make a note to extend the time period. How much do you want to bet the spa won't end up being free? My wife has no intentions of using their spa.

isellhondas

graphicguy said:

I've tried to buy appliances a couple of times at Sears. They weren't competitive price wise at all. They had a Kenmore fridge which was a clone of what I was looking at (LG, I think?). Best Buy was all over matching prices, even from on line retailers. Plus, they threw in free delivery and set up.

Not Sears. They kept insisting their fridge was different (different badge on the door...that was it) and were charging several hundred more than Best Buy for the same thing. Had to pay for delivery up front and send in some sort of rebate form to get delivery refunded. Why do that? It's easier for everyone to just offer free delivery.

Ended up going to a local appliance store. They beat everyone's prices and service was exemplary.

Really should get the car washed for Christmas duty next week. But, it's getting too cold. Called the dealer to see if they offer a car wash service. They said to bring it in Monday as that's their slowest day. They'll do a complete detail, in and out.

I asked "how much?"

No charge. A little far to drive jut for a detail, but free is something I just can't pass up.

At age 23 I was the youngest Division Manager at the largest volume Sears store on the West Coast. I was proud to work for Sears! Our store sparkled and bristled with energy! It was a great place to work for a number of reasons.

I walked in that store a couple of years ago and I felt sick. Half the lights were burned out, the displays were sloppy and the (few) employees dressed poorly and looked bored. I asked an employee a question and she barely spoke English.

I heard recently that they are closing over 200 stores.

In my opinion Sears brought much of this on themselves but competition is brutal now from sources that never existed before. Price shopping is so intense that stores struggle to make expenses. They hire sub standard employees and the results show.

I predict Sears and JC Penneys are in their final days....sad.

Mr_Shiftright

You can't rest for a moment in the retail business these days, especially in automobiles. Any kind of insularity, or inability to make bold decisions and change course quickly, will eat you alive.

isellhondas

You have that right. It's a harsh, unforgiving marketplace that allows for few mistakes.

It's kind of scary too. Amazon may rule all markets soon.

graphicguy

driver....If I'm not mistaken, I think my dealer offers weekend car washes, too. I wanted a total detail, with tire shine and a hand wash/dry/vacuum. I was willing to pay. Getting that for zilch.....well, it's the small things around Christmas time that give me joy.

Craig and Shifty....agree with both of you. The local Sears isn't very well kept. It's in a mall where the better days are behind it. I keep trying to give them chances to get into my wallet, but they fail every time. Appliances are one dept they fail, their lawn tools dept is another. A few years ago, I had them give me an estimate to replace my HVAC. They weren't even remotely competitive. They used to be so much better. Things seemed to start going down hill when they merged with K-Mart.

I think JC Penny is making what probably amounts to a "mini" comeback. Don't see the same for Sears as they just don't seem to care one way or the other, at least from outward appearances.

Amazon....comopetitive prices. And, it's customer ratings on products are just as good as having a sales person. Plus, with Prime, products show up on my doorstep in two days plus I have Amazon TV, which is every bit as good as Apple TV or Netflix, particularly with Prime membership.

driver100

graphicguy said:

Amazon....comopetitive prices. And, it's customer ratings on products are just as good as having a sales person. Plus, with Prime, products show up on my doorstep in two days plus I have Amazon TV, which is every bit as good as Apple TV or Netflix, particularly with Prime membership.

Just to illustrate how good Amazon is: I went to a local shoe store to get a pair of shoes I wanted. They didn't have my size, so they called their 4 other stores to see if they had them...one size larger than what they did have. None of the stores had it.

So, now I had the model number and name, and I knew my size. So, I order them on amazon...no muss no fuss, and I can read the reviews and get other pertinent information. They arrive within one week, they fit perfect, and I like them so much I want another pair to leave in the Florida home. So, I look at my purchases on amazon, and order another pair exactly the same. Same with jeans, I know what works, why go to a dozen stores looking, I can order exactly what I want online, without leaving my own home.

Sometimes it is nice just to browse around and look for something you wouldn't normally buy. But that share of the market is very limited. I don't see much of a future for most brick and mortar stores.

abacomike

@driver100‌

Driver, I don't know if you knew this, but Sirius/XM has a mobile application. Just download the SiriusXM application to your phone and/or labtop. Go into your Sirius XM account online and create a new user name and password for "online listening". Then, go to your mobile app and sign in using those usernames/passwords. It's awesome. You can plug in you earphones on your mobile phone and listen to your favorite music. You have choices on the app that you don't have on the radio in your car. It's good for 6 months trial, so why not give it a shot.

Your traffic and weather are good for 3 years.

ab348

driver100 said:

Just to illustrate how good Amazon is: I went to a local shoe store to get a pair of shoes I wanted. They didn't have my size, so they called their 4 other stores to see if they had them...one size larger than what they did have. None of the stores had it.

So, now I had the model number and name, and I knew my size. So, I order them on amazon...no muss no fuss, and I can read the reviews and get other pertinent information. They arrive within one week, they fit perfect, and I like them so much I want another pair to leave in the Florida home. So, I look at my purchases on amazon, and order another pair exactly the same.

Same here. I have a very tough foot to fit and when I find a shoe model that works for me I try to stick with it. I was in Seattle in 2004 and walked into the New Balance store there. The sales guy suggested a pair of Dunham dress/casual shoes that fit me perfectly. I bought them and wore them until they were shot. Went to the only place locally that sells them, whoa, $170 plus taxes! I think I paid just around $100 in Seattle. No thanks.

Turns out Amazon has them. I have bought my last 4 pairs there, the price after all fees and taxes works out to less than $100. I would be happy to support local, but not when the differential is that much. You just feel like you are being ripped off.

isellhondas

Speaking of Sears...

Today I was driving by our nearest Sears in Bellevue and I decided to stop and walk through.

The store was neat, clean, well lit and organized.

The tool department had at least two dozen displays of Christmas items. Very attractive and well priced. They have so many different styles of wrenches now. The inexpensive raised panel wrenches and some that look and feel as good as the stuff the trucks sell.

And...the store was almost totally devoid of shoppers. It was DEAD!

As I looked at the tools I wondered just WHO buys them now? The DIY people are, for the most part, incapable of working on today's cars and the professional techs rarely buy Craftsmen Tools or Craftsman toolboxes.

Harbor Freight has a large store right across the street.

abacomike

In this morning's newspaper, I found 20 pages of advertisements for new cars.  It brings back memories of when I was in the car business.

The next 2 weeks are the busiest times of the year for new car dealerships.  Sales managers will bend over backwards to sell a car during these last days of the year.  The days between Christmas and New Years Eve are truly in favor of the car buyer.  This is especially true for the largest dealers in the area.  When I worked for Lexus and Infinity, the dealerships were, and still are, the highest volume dealerships in the U.S. For those brands.  We would literally "give cars away" those last 7 days of the year in order to maintain our highest volume dealership in the U.S. title/ honor.

If a car cost me $51,000 and a customer offered me $2000 under invoice, the dealer principal authorized me to take the deal if the buyer was ready to walk.  If anyone is in the market for a new car, now is the time to shop and make the deal of the year.

stever

@ab348, check out Joes New Balance Outlet. NB has three or four different lasts but if you figure out the last that works for you, mail order works great. Usually discontinued models. Just got a pair that was actually made (or at least assembled) in the USA. (Well, that means something to some of us down here, lol. No idea if they'd ship to NS either).

The owner of Harbor Freight just sold his LA house for $40 million. Probably buying something fancier. I shop there, but the store here doesn't seem all that busy either.

Edmunds just issued a press release saying that "new car sales during the final week of December will be 78 percent higher than the average week earlier in December, while typically the last week of any month averages just 40 percent higher than the sales in earlier weeks." Leasing should hit an all-time high that week.

explorerx4

I'm pretty sure I know what I want to buy, but I'm hoping to wait until February.

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

I'm pretty sure I know what I want to buy, but I'm hoping to wait until February.

I think the real question is "...how much more would/could I save buying a new car before January 1st than if I waited until February?"  As a guess, the answer is probably $500 if bought this coming week and $750-$1000 if bought December 29th, 30th or 31st.

Special financing and/or money factors on leases increase after January 1st, or perhaps January 3rd this year.

isellhondas

The store where I worked, Decembers were pretty quiet UNTIL the week between Christmas and New Years! Nobody took a day off that week and I remember selling four cars three days in a row one year. We didn't give cars away or lose money (ever!) but we moved a LOT of cars!

Used cars also flew out the door that week!

explorerx4

@abacomike, I'm leaning toward an F150, so with the new aluminum models becoming available, I'm hoping the old heavy 2014's will get some extra incentives.

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

@abacomike, I'm leaning toward an F150, so with the new aluminum models becoming available, I'm hoping the old heavy 2014's will get some extra incentives.

Definitely!  I saw that Chevy add about 20% off MSRP on several models.  That is significant.  With all the fleet discounts and additional incentives, I still didn't get 20% off MSRP on my new car - close to 20% though.  With the wheels and tires, my car MSRP'd at $74,000+ and I paid $61,250.

I believe other GM products are advertising that 20% off MSRP.  I have not seen any similar discounting or incentives from Ford - at least not yet.

Waiting the 6-8 weeks to buy or lease the F-150 may or may not pay off for you.  It's the old story about being in the right place at the right time.

driver100

abacomike said:

@driver100‌

Driver, I don't know if you knew this, but Sirius/XM has a mobile application. Just download the SiriusXM application to your phone and/or labtop. Go into your Sirius XM account online and create a new user name and password for "online listening". Then, go to your mobile app and sign in using those usernames/passwords. It's awesome. You can plug in you earphones on your mobile phone and listen to your favorite music. You have choices on the app that you don't have on the radio in your car. It's good for 6 months trial, so why not give it a shot.

Your traffic and weather are good for 3 years.

I'd love it but I don't know anything about apps, and my old clamshell phone doesn't have apps. I have a $70 phone that's about 10 years old, it's a pay as you go...I load it with $100 once a year and use about $12 a year in calls, mostly to home if I am going to be late or forgot what I was supposed to get at the store. I only have it with me about 2% of the time.

The last thing in the world I want is people phoning me at inopportune times. People who need me either email or call me at home. But, that does sound like a great thing...sometimes it would be nice to have Sirius while doing things....like walking the dog.

driver100

abacomike said:

If anyone is in the market for a new car, now is the time to shop and make the deal of the year.

Now you tell me!

driver100

stever said:

Edmunds just issued a press release saying that "new car sales during the final week of December will be 78 percent higher than the average week earlier in December, while typically the last week of any month averages just 40 percent higher than the sales in earlier weeks." Leasing should hit an all-time high that week.

Those are amazing statistics. I thought December would be a slow month for car sales as everyone is out shopping for gifts, and budgets get shot at this time of year. Besides, there's usually snow and muck about.

I did here these 3 days...Fri, Sat and Sun before Christmas are the days with the highest accident rates. With Sunday being the biggest day for accidents, they think because people are rushing around and they have so much on their mind. Drive carefully.

imidazol97

.

robr2

abacomike said:

Definitely!  I saw that Chevy add about 20% off MSRP on several models.  That is significant.  With all the fleet discounts and additional incentives, I still didn't get 20% off MSRP on my new car - close to 20% though.  With the wheels and tires, my car MSRP'd at $74,000+ and I paid $61,250.

I believe other GM products are advertising that 20% off MSRP.  I have not seen any similar discounting or incentives from Ford - at least not yet.

Waiting the 6-8 weeks to buy or lease the F-150 may or may not pay off for you.  It's the old story about being in the right place at the right time.

Keep in mind that 20% off only applies to the dealer's oldest 15% of inventory. If it's been in stock that long, you may get great deal but it'll be on a bright pink Sonic.

stickguy

darn. Looks like I should have stuck to my plan, and gone out to buy NY eve. Rats.

abacomike

stickguy said:

darn. Looks like I should have stuck to my plan, and gone out to buy NY eve. Rats.

Nah - you got a great deal Stick.  I would guess you really couldn't have done any better.

jayrider

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

darn. Looks like I should have stuck to my plan, and gone out to buy NY eve. Rats.

Nah - you got a great deal Stick.  I would guess you really couldn't have done any better.

Stick just regrets not being in "shopping mode" not whether he might have left cash on the table . Being in that wonderful zone is kind of like "the best Griswald family Christmas ever !"

driver100

imidazol97 said:

.

Imid....nice brief post....right to the point!

abacomike

@jayrider‌

Speaking of which, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is on Cable tonight at 10:00 PM on ABCFAMILY.  Love The Griswolds.

stickguy

Some company should come out with a 3 month lease. That sounds perfect.

abacomike

stickguy said:

Some company should come out with a 3 month lease. That sounds perfect.

I guess you can rent a car by the month from Avis or Hertz or National.

verdugo

abacomike said:

The next 2 weeks are the busiest times of the year for new car dealerships.  Sales managers will bend over backwards to sell a car during these last days of the year.  The days between Christmas and New Years Eve are truly in favor of the car buyer.
;If anyone is in the market for a new car, now is the time to shop and make the deal of the year.

Dealerships in my Sacramento, CA must be different. I got a letter earlier in the week from the Jeep dealer on my way to work (take it for service there.) Of course they wanted my Wrangler as a trade and they would give me top dollar. I wasn't in the market, but what the heck. For the right OTD price, I would get a Grand Cherokee.

As a courtesy I emailed the salesperson I bought the Jeep from (different dealership, farther away from my house.) All he did was be an order taker (Friends and Family price and factory order,) but I liked him. It's been 4 days and I haven't heard back from him.

So today I went to the dealership who mailed me the letter. There were no games when evaluating my trade. So far so good. I told the salesperson exactly what I wanted. They didn't have it in stock. So I asked him to search local inventory.

He said that it would take him a while to search the local inventory since it wasn't like he could just look at the push of a button. I told him "Actually, that's exactly how you do it."

I told him I was only interested in an OTD price and that I didn't want to play games. They had one shot to give me their best price. He comes back in a few and it's about $3k more than I wanted to pay based on my research. I thanked him for his time and I left.

A few blocks away I realized that when he gave me his price, he probably didn't include the rebates (we had discussed him rebates.) I called him from the car and sure enough he hadn't included the rebates. I asked him to crunch the numbers again and give me a call and see if we could agree on a price ... I never heard back from him.

I don't have time to buy before the end of the year, so I'll wait for the next big sale next year.

nyccarguy

Buying and Selling Cars: Sales Story

So it is official. We are trading in my Dad's 2011 LTZ Tahoe next Saturday for a 2015 LT Tahoe. He originally purchased the 2011 as a leftover in Feb 2012 with 0% financing for 72 months. We knew that free money really isn't free, especially if he wanted to trade in and get something new before the 4 year mark.

After 2 purchases (2.9% for 60 months for the 2010 Tahoe, then 0% for 72 months for his current 2011), he's decided to lease again. It isn't that much "cheaper" payment wise. His payment actually went up from $868 to $898 (mostly due to negative equity). Since the single biggest cost of vehicle ownership is depreciation, leasing allows his depreciation to be fixed. He drives a $60K SUV 20,000 plus miles per year and travels with a large Great Dane 6 days a week. In 36 months (of the 39 month lease), which will be X-mas time again he'll be about even with the car's ACV or there should be some sort of pull ahead program.

He's very excited! Now to work on my Mom's X5. I know she's not entirely in love with it, so maybe I'll do some research and see what I can do about getting her a MEGA-END OF THE YEAR deal on a 2015 ML350 4Matic.

driver100

verdugo said:

abacomike said:

The next 2 weeks are the busiest times of the year for new car dealerships.  Sales managers will bend over backwards to sell a car during these last days of the year.  The days between Christmas and New Years Eve are truly in favor of the car buyer.
;If anyone is in the market for a new car, now is the time to shop and make the deal of the year.

I don't have time to buy before the end of the year, so I'll wait for the next big sale next year.

Put out a notice of what you want right after Christmas - dealer you talked to and your current dealer at least. If a dealer needs to make his December or year end quota you will get a great deal...nothing to lose, you may score big time.

ab348

verdugo said:

As a courtesy I emailed the salesperson I bought the Jeep from (different dealership, farther away from my house.) All he did was be an order taker (Friends and Family price and factory order,) but I liked him. It's been 4 days and I haven't heard back from him.
...

A few blocks away I realized that when he gave me his price, he probably didn't include the rebates (we had discussed him rebates.) I called him from the car and sure enough he hadn't included the rebates. I asked him to crunch the numbers again and give me a call and see if we could agree on a price ... I never heard back from him.

I never cease to be amazed at how many dealers/sales personnel do not want your money. I had similar experiences trying to buy cars in the past. It's like they aren't even interested. Bizarre.

driver100

nyccarguy said:

Buying and Selling Cars: Sales Story

So it is official. We are trading in my Dad's 2011 LTZ Tahoe next Saturday for a 2015 LT Tahoe. He originally purchased the 2011 as a leftover in Feb 2012 with 0% financing for 72 months. We knew that free money really isn't free, especially if he wanted to trade in and get something new before the 4 year mark.

After 2 purchases (2.9% for 60 months for the 2010 Tahoe, then 0% for 72 months for his current 2011), he's decided to lease again. It isn't that much "cheaper" payment wise. His payment actually went up from $868 to $898 (mostly due to negative equity). Since the single biggest cost of vehicle ownership is depreciation, leasing allows his depreciation to be fixed. He drives a $60K SUV 20,000 plus miles per year and travels with a large Great Dane 6 days a week. In 36 months (of the 39 month lease), which will be X-mas time again he'll be about even with the car's ACV or there should be some sort of pull ahead program.

He's very excited! Now to work on my Mom's X5. I know she's not entirely in love with it, so maybe I'll do some research and see what I can do about getting her a MEGA-END OF THE YEAR deal on a 2015 ML350 4Matic.

It would be good for your Mother to test drive an M350, she would probably like it. The interior is more elegant than a bmw, and it is rock solid. Everything about it will be top quality.

These two reviews kind of say it all:
"The Mercedes-Benz M-Class, now in its third generation, is a mid-size SUV that counts the BMW X5, Lexus RS350 and Cadillac SRX as some of its key competitors. Heavy and quiet as a bank vault, it offers a high level of luxury and offers buyers V6, V8 and turbodiesel engine options." -- Left Lane News
"The 2015 Mercedes-Benz M-Class may not be a standout among its rivals in any single category, but its supremely comfortable cabin and wide variety of engines and packages gives it broad appeal." -- Edmunds

It seems comparisons between the bmwX5 and MB M350 are similar to my finding of the 535 and E400. bmw has superior handling, cornering, and performance....but, the MB will make you feel comfortable and has nicer appointments - especially interior. My guess is she will like it.

driver100

Our Passat is 2 years old, has just over 4000 miles on it, and has about another year to go on the warranty.

For about a year now I get a call about once a month, some warranty company that doesn't have VW in their name (American Warranty Company or something), and they want me to take out an extended warranty on the Passat.

Every time I tell them it is just a snowbird car that goes 2000 miles a year, I don't want or need a warranty. This time the young lady didn't even have a comeback...there was 20 seconds of silence so I thanked her for her concern and hung up.

They should have a better sales technique than that. They should discuss how you like the car and find out how their warranty could suit you before trying to sell you something.....that is Sales 101.

driver100

We have 2 combination CO2 /smoke alarm detectors that had to be replaced - they were 7 years old which is the end of their lifespan.

In April I bought 2 new units. When we returned home one was beeping loudly, so I replaced the battery. Still beeped. I switched places (rooms), and put the one that was silent where the chirping one was. It was silent, but the chirping one started up again in the other room.

I called the 1-800 number of Universal Security Instruments (Owings Mills Maryland) and explained my dilemma (or dilemna for 10% of the population) and he said, you have done all you can do to test it, put it in a padded envelope, send it to us, and we will send you a new one.

I asked if he wanted a copy of the bill or do I take down a number or something, he said no, just return it.

So far I am impressed.......I love dealing with companies like that. Some companies - Home Depot, Costco, Amazon make life so much more enjoyable.

nyccarguy

She's driven an ML & does like it a lot. They walked out of an MB dealership after they were offered $5K under auction value for their X5 a few months ago.

nyccarguy

The part about this purchase that really makes me feel good is that we bought (for the 2nd time) from a stand alone, family owned, Chevy dealership. The owner's son who is the GM of the dealership remembered us from the last time we bought there which was almost 3 years ago. That's got to account for something in this world of mega dealers.

driver100

nyccarguy said:

She's driven an ML & does like it a lot. They walked out of an MB dealership after they were offered $5K under auction value for their X5 a few months ago.

The word that I think of to describe a similar bmw model to it's MB counterpart is "refined" or even "civilized". bmws are great cars, but, MB takes care to make everything look and feel as good as it can be.

No car can be tops in every category, it depends on what you are looking for. BMWs handle great, but 90% of the population won't have a clue as to how to utilize the handling...they may as well go for the opulence.

driver100

nyccarguy said:

The part about this purchase that really makes me feel good is that we bought (for the 2nd time) from a stand alone, family owned, Chevy dealership. The owner's son who is the GM of the dealership remembered us from the last time we bought there which was almost 3 years ago. That's got to account for something in this world of mega dealers.

I like family owned small dealerships too, but they are disappearing quickly. When we bought the Audi it was a small very friendly family owned business.......now, they are expanding and I am sure will become a faceless unfriendly conglomerate.

When we bought our 95 Volvo we bought it from a dealer with a little wooden building, one car in the showroom and just a one car garage. It felt like we were buying a car from a friend. Of course that dealership is long gone and now stands a state of the art mega-dealership.

I play tennis with a guy who had just updated his GM dealership with over $1million worth of upgrades, and he got closed down by GM. He is still in litigation with other dealers who had the rug pulled out from under them. He used to drive a Caddie, but, now he bought himself a Mercedes.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

The part about this purchase that really makes me feel good is that we bought (for the 2nd time) from a stand alone, family owned, Chevy dealership. The owner's son who is the GM of the dealership remembered us from the last time we bought there which was almost 3 years ago. That's got to account for something in this world of mega dealers.

My Caddy dealer is the same (now). Stand alone dealer that doesn't own another store. Owner's son is the GM. He also happened to be an alum of the college I graduated from.

The problems they had a few years ago came about when the owner turned over day to day operations and managment to "experts". Now, it's run by almost entirely family. Big difference.

My BMW dealership is part of a huge dealership conglomerate. But, my sales guy (manager) has been there for years, and most of my interface has been with him.

Only dealt with Mercedes stores a couple of times, most recently for my sister's purchase. Sometimes you connect with a dealership, sometimes you don't. Not sure why, but I've never made that connection with the two Benz stores in Cincinnati. Could be because I've liked some of their competitors' vehicles better, and maybe I'm not their target customer (driver summed up their target customer well). Still, dealng for my sister, and hearing Mike's experience, maybe it's best I stay away from their stores.

Based on my experience buying my sister's Benz, they're willing to deal (they have a ton of trunk money you have to investigate to find out about). So it's not like they won't deal because they will. I can't put my finger on it. I just don't connect with them.

verdugo

driver100 said:

Put out a notice of what you want right after Christmas - dealer you talked to and your current dealer at least. If a dealer needs to make his December or year end quota you will get a great deal...nothing to lose, you may score big time.

Hi driver, long time no talk. I'm actually out of town, so it might get tricky. But like you said, nothing to lose. I'll give him a call between Christmas and New Year's eve.

driver100

verdugo said:

driver100 said:

Put out a notice of what you want right after Christmas - dealer you talked to and your current dealer at least. If a dealer needs to make his December or year end quota you will get a great deal...nothing to lose, you may score big time.

Hi driver, long time no talk. I'm actually out of town, so it might get tricky. But like you said, nothing to lose. I'll give him a call between Christmas and New Year's eve.

Yeh....you've been away for a very long time. Wondered where you were. Welcome back!