Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stever

Thanks, seems to drive okay too.

driver100

stever said:

Got the van back. Nice not having a console taking up a lot of room - there's a small one in the van but it takes up no knee room. Repair looks fine to my amateur eye, but the one new rim sticks out like an unsalted pretzel in a bag of kosher ones. Maybe I can get a before and after shot in here.

What happened to the original tire...the repaired wheel looks like it has a new tire on it? Does that wheel look different than the others...it looks pretty good? Are kosher pretzels salted and others not? What happened to snake....did he get lost in Magic Mountain or did he get scared of buying us lunch?

driver100

stever said:

Thanks, seems to drive okay too.

I wonder if they did a realignment, wheel balance etc.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

So one of the problems my Dad's Tahoe has mysteriously developed is the front & rear parking sensors don't work anymore. Where would a good place to put that error message be?

Oh that's just dumb.

oldfarmer50

stever said:

Got the van back. Nice not having a console taking up a lot of room - there's a small one in the van but it takes up no knee room. Repair looks fine to my amateur eye, but the one new rim sticks out like an unsalted pretzel in a bag of kosher ones. Maybe I can get a before and after shot in here.

That looks very nice but I'm confused. You said the van had 165,000 miles? Forget what year but why put $5000 into repairing a van that Q said was worth $2000?

Why not take the $5000 and have some cheap mechanic pound out just enough to make it drivable? Even with excellent care the van can't have a lot of life left.

stever

Driver, OldFarmer, the tires were pretty new on it. Didn't eyeball it closely but I think it's the same one.

The wheel took a good hit and I assume it was damaged. The new wheel really looks different in person because there's no salt damage on it, kosher or otherwise.

The odometer is up to 168,000 (I can't keep track). Really have no good explanation why they spent $5,000 to fix it instead of totaling it out. They didn't give me the option and my wife wanted it fixed so I didn't pursue a total.

Didn't check the paperwork closely so can't say off-hand if they balanced the new wheel. They did do a four wheel alignment on it.

Got an airport run to El Paso tomorrow morning so I guess I'll find out soon enough it there's something flaky with it.

driver100

What is your plan now Stever? Drive the van until it has a problem. No use trading it in, if it is only worth $2000. Are you looking?

abacomike

driver100 said:

What is your plan now Stever? Drive the van until it has a problem. No use trading it in, if it is only worth $2000. Are you looking?

If you are alive and post here, you're ALWAYS LOOKING!!!

stever

Yeah, I have an offer out on that Encore that's being ignored (we're ~$2,000 apart) and the Kia guy knows I'm looking (the new Nero hybrid is interesting). We plan to keep the van as our "pickup", although if we get something as "big" as an Encore, I may lobby to craigslist it.

Hey, maybe I should offer to throw in the van with my $30k offer for the Encore. That'd probably really irritate the sales manager.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I found our 2013 Passat listed...finally. Trade in was $11200 and selling for $15500. Looks like a nice clean car! 2013 VW Passat

About a 28% mark up. Pretty close to the 30% I hear is standard. Probably with the $599 doc fee it comes right close. Your car didn't need any work did it?

Percentage doesn't work for cars. It is usually a flat $3k-$5k markup. If it was by percentage, 30% on a $60k Porsche, for example, would price it WAY above market.

Q: What do you figure the mark up is on this? http://www.manginochevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2012-Ford-Mustang-GT_Premium-Amsterdam-NY/2868485363 My friend wants to go look at it Saturday.

Huh. Can't be much with those miles. Some have gone for even more than that at the block.

stickguy

Farmer, you might get an even better deal on the Mustang Saturday, since the dealer in Amsterdam (a hub city of America!) will have to clear the snow off of it. A sporty RWD car must be a tough sell up there in December.

stickguy

my take on "dealer profit" is, that is their problem. I assume that if they were not making money on my deal, then they would say no and show me the door. If they agree to sell me the car, I assume that means they are making enough money to be willing to sell me the car (which is 100% up to them).

stickguy

Donuts, well, those are not good things. But every once in a while, a treat is OK. And this is coming from someone that has been on a serious diet and exercise program for the last 6 months (down 45 pounds!) (well, that was before 5 days at the family Xmas celebration, which was a major dagger in progress I fear, and not looking forward to weighing in tomorrow).

A good thing about getting to a target weight is that if you have a short backslide event (say, holiday or vacation), it is easy enough to turn the diet back on. So if you put 2 pounds back on, another 1-2 weeks of effort should take them back off. And if you are still working toward getting there in the first place, you just extended the duration.

berri

Stever - invoice may say $5K repair, but often the insurance company gets a decent discount off of that.

Donut - next time get a piece of Panera coffee cake. If you are going to spend the calories, do it with some class

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

sda said:

graphicguy said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Need your opinions.

Friend is considering this little gem. Wondering what auction value is on it. Any advice on what would be a reasonable offer for him to make?

http://www.manginochevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2012-Ford-Mustang-GT_Premium-Amsterdam-NY/2868485363

I happen to be sitting in Amsterdam, as we speak. Or, I type. That mustang seems high to me, but I'm not the best judge.

Put $20K in front of me, and I'll put you in the seat of a Mustang Cobra.....Convertible......with fewer miles on the odo than that one shows....;)

Ready to sell already? At a profit, of course.

Everything's for sale....for a price.

Just took her out this a.m. For breakfast. Sitting for a month and cranked right up in a 30 degree chill.

Still a fun car, even with the top up and the heater on.

I hope you swept the streets of salt. You don't want that baby dying of cancer. It's been warm enough to take mine out but we keep getting these one inch snow storms and the white residue on the roads chases me right back into the garage.

No snow...no salt in SW Ohio! (At least, not yet).

stickguy

I was just up in old farmer land, and my car (along with every other one) has a serious coat of white on it. Desperately needs a bath. I don't think I could handle living up there again!

jmonroe

Bare with me on this. I think it is very fitting about what we talked about earlier in the day.

Mrs. j and I went with Son #1, DIL #1 and Grandson #2 to Grandson #4's hockey game tonight (yes they won and will be in the tournament championship playoff game tomorrow night). This tournament was on the other side of town, actually about 35 miles up the PA Turnpike towards Ohio.

So you are probably wondering why I'm bothering you guys with this tale. So, I'm going to tell you:

This ice arena is a very nice place even a little nicer than home ice where 3 of my 4 Grandsons play hockey. The name on the building is the same name as a car dealership that has been in this area for years. I ask Son #1 if it is the same guy and he said it was. Then he tells me that DIL #2 works at a place very close to a new fitness center built by the same guy that is the cat's meow of fitness centers. So, this tells me there must be a LOT of car buyers that are concerned that this mega dealer (I remember when he was just a Chevy dealer back in the 50's and 60's) is making a FAIR profit.

I'm beginning to think I'm the odd ball when it comes to how I go about buying cars.

jmonroe

stever

berri said:

Stever - invoice may say $5K repair, but often the insurance company gets a decent discount off of that.

Excellent point. Decent in this case would be half, lol.

berri

Also, at that age and mileage there probably weren't parts they could sell from it for a decent price if they totaled the car. Sometimes this works in the opposite direction when a vehicle is pretty new and in very good condition. I believe they work out estimates of repair versus totaling it and parts value offsets. Good condition seats, dash, etc. can bring in surprising money sometimes.

stever

Another interesting point.

You guys are good.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

I found our 2013 Passat listed...finally. Trade in was $11200 and selling for $15500. Looks like a nice clean car!


2013 VW Passat

About a 28% mark up. Pretty close to the 30% I hear is standard. Probably with the $599 doc fee it comes right close.

Your car didn't need any work did it?

Percentage doesn't work for cars. It is usually a flat $3k-$5k markup. If it was by percentage, 30% on a $60k Porsche, for example, would price it WAY above market.

Q:

What do you figure the mark up is on this?

http://www.manginochevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2012-Ford-Mustang-GT_Premium-Amsterdam-NY/2868485363



My friend wants to go look at it Saturday.

Huh. Can't be much with those miles. Some have gone for even more than that at the block.

Thanks for the input. Edmunds and KBB say dealer price should be just shy of $21k. Unless there's some hidden unknown it might be worth close to what they're asking.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Farmer, you might get an even better deal on the Mustang Saturday, since the dealer in Amsterdam (a hub city of America!) will have to clear the snow off of it. A sporty RWD car must be a tough sell up there in December.

Don't get too invested in those "storm of the century" forecasts on the local news. Amsterdam is looking at about 2" if my weather forecasting big toe hasn't lost it's mojo.

I agree, this would be a perfect time to buy that car from a price perspective. Especially if the dealer wants a few last sales on the books.

driver100

stickguy said:

. And this is coming from someone that has been on a serious diet and exercise program for the last 6 months (down 45 pounds!) .
.

Down 45 pounds! Good for you stick, in fact I think you used to be called TreeTrunkguy

I agree, I lost 30 pounds over 2 years and I do the same...try to stay on my target weight.

As to donuts, I would rather have cheese and crackers or peanutbutter on a 50 calorie slice of whole wheat bread, tastes better, has half the calories, and actually has some nutritional value.

driver100

stickguy said:

my take on "dealer profit" is, that is their problem. I assume that if they were not making money on my deal, then they would say no and show me the door. If they agree to sell me the car, I assume that means they are making enough money to be willing to sell me the car (which is 100% up to them).

If you don't mind getting thrown out of 5 or 6 dealers before you find one willing to take your offer.

We got a check from our C250 Mercedes dealership for $160, the difference that the DMV refunded, guess they over estimated.

We may not have got a refund if we weren't nice customers......we would never have known. If you aren't nice they may hold that back or even spit on your new car when you aren't looking.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

sda said:

graphicguy said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Need your opinions.

Friend is considering this little gem. Wondering what auction value is on it. Any advice on what would be a reasonable offer for him to make?

http://www.manginochevy.com/VehicleDetails/used-2012-Ford-Mustang-GT_Premium-Amsterdam-NY/2868485363

I happen to be sitting in Amsterdam, as we speak. Or, I type. That mustang seems high to me, but I'm not the best judge.

Put $20K in front of me, and I'll put you in the seat of a Mustang Cobra.....Convertible......with fewer miles on the odo than that one shows....;)

Ready to sell already? At a profit, of course.

Everything's for sale....for a price.

Just took her out this a.m. For breakfast. Sitting for a month and cranked right up in a 30 degree chill.

Still a fun car, even with the top up and the heater on.

I hope you swept the streets of salt. You don't want that baby dying of cancer. It's been warm enough to take mine out but we keep getting these one inch snow storms and the white residue on the roads chases me right back into the garage.

No snow...no salt in SW Ohio! (At least, not yet).

Then burn some rubber with the blessings of the Mustang gods.

driver100

jmonroe said:

Bare with me on this. I think it is very fitting about what we talked about earlier in the day.

Mrs. j and I went with Son #1, DIL #1 and Grandson #2 to Grandson #4's hockey game tonight (yes they won and will be in the tournament championship playoff game tomorrow night). This tournament was on the other side of town, actually about 35 miles up the PA Turnpike towards Ohio.

So you are probably wondering why I'm bothering you guys with this tale. So, I'm going to tell you:

This ice arena is a very nice place even a little nicer than home ice where 3 of my 4 Grandsons play hockey. The name on the building is the same name as a car dealership that has been in this area for years. I ask Son #1 if it is the same guy and he said it was. Then he tells me that DIL #2 works at a place very close to a new fitness center built by the same guy that is the cat's meow of fitness centers. So, this tells me there must be a LOT of car buyers that are concerned that this mega dealer (I remember when he was just a Chevy dealer back in the 50's and 60's) is making a FAIR profit.

I'm beginning to think I'm the odd ball when it comes to how I go about buying cars.

jmonroe

Just means he is a good businessman, and he gives back to the community. You should be supporting him...what make of car does he sell?

abacomike

@jmonroe:

Down here in South Florida, we have a dealership conglomerate owned solely by one man.  He is predominantly in the downtown Miami area (4 dealerships) with 4 more dealerships in Palm Beaches area.  BMW, Honda, Bentley, Rolls Royce, to name a few.  He is a philanthropist but is also a thorn in the derrière of Miami/Dade government- was vehemently opposed to the construction of the Florida Marlins new baseball project - stating it was too big a tax and bond burden on the city/county.  He was correct - but no one listened to him.  Now the Marlins are a third string baseball team that draws no crowds to see them play.  I have a suspicion this dealership mogul was right on target.  Who pays for the new baseball facility in Miami when the owners of the team can't come up with the payments to the investors and the county?

It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Don't get too invested in those "storm of the century" forecasts on the local news. Amsterdam is looking at about 2" if my weather forecasting big toe hasn't lost it's mojo.

Yep. I think The Weather Channel and other weather TV presentations are now produced by the same contrived-drama types that make automotive reality television. It's all about creating drama to drive up the ratings.

qbrozen

driver100 said:

my take on "dealer profit" is, that is their problem. I assume that if they were not making money on my deal, then they would say no and show me the door. If they agree to sell me the car, I assume that means they are making enough money to be willing to sell me the car (which is 100% up to them).

If you don't mind getting thrown out of 5 or 6 dealers before you find one willing to take your offer. We got a check from our C250 Mercedes dealership for $160, the difference that the DMV refunded, guess they over estimated. We may not have got a refund if we weren't nice customers......we would never have known. If you aren't nice they may hold that back or even spit on your new car when you aren't looking.

It is againt the law for them to keep it

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

Bare with me on this. I think it is very fitting about what we talked about earlier in the day.

Mrs. j and I went with Son #1, DIL #1 and Grandson #2 to Grandson #4's hockey game tonight (yes they won and will be in the tournament championship playoff game tomorrow night). This tournament was on the other side of town, actually about 35 miles up the PA Turnpike towards Ohio.

So you are probably wondering why I'm bothering you guys with this tale. So, I'm going to tell you:

This ice arena is a very nice place even a little nicer than home ice where 3 of my 4 Grandsons play hockey. The name on the building is the same name as a car dealership that has been in this area for years. I ask Son #1 if it is the same guy and he said it was. Then he tells me that DIL #2 works at a place very close to a new fitness center built by the same guy that is the cat's meow of fitness centers. So, this tells me there must be a LOT of car buyers that are concerned that this mega dealer (I remember when he was just a Chevy dealer back in the 50's and 60's) is making a FAIR profit.

I'm beginning to think I'm the odd ball when it comes to how I go about buying cars.

jmonroe

Just means he is a good businessman, and he gives back to the community. You should be supporting him...what make of car does he sell?

You are helping me to make my point. Of course he is a good business man and good business men don't need buyers to worry about them making a FAIR profit...it will happen because of their skill. He is not giving back to the community although I'm sure he supports the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League Baseball, etc. You have to pay for ice time at his ice arena and pay to join his upscale fitness center which is the way it should be. There is nothing wrong with free enterprise.

As for what cars lines he sells, it would be easier to list the ones he does not sell although none of them are German. The only Korean line is Kia.

jmonroe

imidazol97

Passed 2 of these in Kentucky on I75 yesterday coming home. Does MB make these in any color beside rental fleet silver? And they all have a green license plate on them.

fintail

Built in 'Bama. Silver, a safe positive color, appeals to the cautious monied suburban set who buys things like the GLS. They are also not unknown in the highline section of a couple rental fleets, so some might actually be destined for that - I know Sixt and Hertz have had them.

Silver is also the traditional German racing color going back 100+ years, although I doubt that was intended with behemoth mall-cruising SUVs.

Regarding dealerships, AutoNation seems to be trying to get a monopoly in my area. They don't seem 100% awful, but many complain the service isn't the same as local dealers when they were independent. I suppose it is easier to dabble in supposed free enterprise when you inherit something, or have a conglomerate behind you.

nyccarguy

For those of you who don't follow CCBA:

Snow Shoes ordered for the Legacy. $130 each for Yokohama Ice Guard. 225/55/R17. Bought them through my dealer who will install them next Friday. I'll also have the oil changed. They'll give me a loaner car to use for the day.

I spoke to the parts guy. Very knowledgeable. He uses these on his 2014 RWD Mustang and waits they are fantastic.

andres3

sda said:

andres3--can you say orange? I saw this at Best Buy when I was shopping for a present for my daughter last Saturday. I hope everyone had a nice holiday. It was almost 70 deg, here!

I'm not a fan of Best Buy, so I know the best present you could have got your daughter was that orange TT.

Mr_Shiftright

Those TTs are selling pretty well considering the market niche.

andres3

abacomike said:

sda said:

andres3--can you say orange? I saw this at Best Buy when I was shopping for a present for my daughter last Saturday. I hope everyone had a nice holiday. It was almost 70 deg, here!

I had a 1974 MGB-GT in almost that same color. I loved it when I saw it on the lot. Sometimes, just the color of a new car on the lot will get my heart athrobbin' - come to think of it, any new car on the lot gets my heart athrobbin' - genetic I think!

They say if an old man avoids old man colors like white, black, silver, and gray, buying a colorful car automatically reduces your age by 10, and women in particular, will perceive you to be 15 years younger than you actually are

driver100

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

abacomike

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

The small, independent dealership - of which there are very few in larger metropolitan areas - cannot compete with the larger dealerships. As I stated in a recent post, it's the average gross profit on car sales that is important to most dealerships - not the individual profit on each car. Larger dealerships can sell a car for invoice (and some even below invoice) because they make up for the marginal or below invoice deals on other sales.

andres3

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

The small, independent dealership - of which there are very few in larger metropolitan areas - cannot compete with the larger dealerships. As I stated in a recent post, it's the average gross profit on car sales that is important to most dealerships - not the individual profit on each car. Larger dealerships can sell a car for invoice (and some even below invoice) because they make up for the marginal or below invoice deals on other sales.

I thought dealerships just made their money on the servicing, maintenance, and warranty work.

abacomike

On my way home from my daily walk up at the Mall, I again stopped off at the casino. My days are usually free and I don't have much to do to fill the free time. The incentive to return to the casino was because I had $35.00 in free play waiting for me there.

I go upstairs to the smoke-free area and found my favorite machine available. I put my pin code into the machine and up popped the 35 bucks. I played 60 cents for each spin and strangely enough, I was able to milk that 35 dollars for over 2 hours - going up to as much as $100.00+ in winnings. I said to myself, if I hit $300 in winnings, I'll stop playing. I raised my bet to $1.50 a spin since I was up and after another 30 minutes, I hit a mini-jackpot and the machine said I had $376.22 in credits. So, I did what I said I would do - I got up, cashed in the printed voucher and put $300.00 into my checking account on the way home and the remainder was a reimbursement for what it cost me for my cleaning girls yesterday.

Yep, I am one happy fella!!! I've taken over $700.00 out or that machine in the last week or so - nice to be able to walk out of that place ahead of the game - doesn't happen often, but I guess I'm on a roll!

berri

but I guess I'm on a roll

Just don't get rolled on your way to the parking garage

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

Yeh, but your an unusual case Mike....they make it up in volume.

abacomike

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

Yeh, but your an unusual case Mike....they make it up in volume.

That's funny, driver. I can visualize it now:

There is a sales meeting at my Mercedes Dealership taking place in late November and they are discussing sales goals for the year. The General Manger asks each salesman/saleswoman how many cars they will sell in December. Everyone responds including the salesman I deal with. He says, "...21 new and used cars." The General Manager responds, "...add at least one to that total - Mike hasn't bought a car yet this year - definitely time for him to make his move." Just as the meeting is about to end, my salesman says, "...hey, there's Mike now - just walked into the showroom - right on time!"

jmonroe

andres3 said:

abacomike said:

sda said:

andres3--can you say orange? I saw this at Best Buy when I was shopping for a present for my daughter last Saturday. I hope everyone had a nice holiday. It was almost 70 deg, here!

I had a 1974 MGB-GT in almost that same color. I loved it when I saw it on the lot. Sometimes, just the color of a new car on the lot will get my heart athrobbin' - come to think of it, any new car on the lot gets my heart athrobbin' - genetic I think!

They say if an old man avoids old man colors like white, black, silver, and gray, buying a colorful car automatically reduces your age by 10, and women in particular, will perceive you to be 15 years younger than you actually are

Now you tell me. A year after I buy a charcoal grey car. :@

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

OK, now that is a valid point. I never want to be responsible for aggravating loyal customers.

You should have pointed that out yesterday.

Better late than never.

jmonroe

sda

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

Yeh, but your an unusual case Mike....they make it up in volume.

That's funny, driver. I can visualize it now:

There is a sales meeting at my Mercedes Dealership taking place in late November and they are discussing sales goals for the year. The General Manger asks each salesman/saleswoman how many cars they will sell in December. Everyone responds including the salesman I deal with. He says, "...21 new and used cars." The General Manager responds, "...add at least one to that total - Mike hasn't bought a car yet this year - definitely time for him to make his move." Just as the meeting is about to end, my salesman says, "...hey, there's Mike now - just walked into the showroom - right on time!"

And what bitter disappointment when he finds out you defected and bought a BMW from someone else. How could you?

driver100

sda said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

I don't know about your conclusion regarding Auto Nation, driver. Every Mercedes I bought over the past 10 years was purchased from an Auto Nation Dealership - and I paid below invoice one every car I bought (of course the USAA and Mercedes Benz Club of America discount incentives helped a lot). But whenever I would walk in to buy a car, the negotiations started at invoice. It was usually the trade value that had to be negotiated.

Auto Nation dealerships have been great for me. The 5 BMW's I bought from Pembroke Pines is a Holman Dealership - another large conglomerate. I ended up buying this new 740i from them as well.

Yeh, but your an unusual case Mike....they make it up in volume.

That's funny, driver. I can visualize it now:

There is a sales meeting at my Mercedes Dealership taking place in late November and they are discussing sales goals for the year. The General Manger asks each salesman/saleswoman how many cars they will sell in December. Everyone responds including the salesman I deal with. He says, "...21 new and used cars." The General Manager responds, "...add at least one to that total - Mike hasn't bought a car yet this year - definitely time for him to make his move." Just as the meeting is about to end, my salesman says, "...hey, there's Mike now - just walked into the showroom - right on time!"

And what bitter disappointment when he finds out you defected and bought a BMW from someone else. How could you?

Yeh, Mike ruined their sales quota allotment for the month...they knew he was due in and he left them hanging.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

@jmonroe:



It takes a smart CEO to make big bucks out of car dealerships.  Look what Auto Nation has accomplished - stock up - dividends up!

And AutoNation doesn't do the negotiating game too much. They have found a winning formula, sell at a fair price, pay a reasonable but not great price for trade-ins, and don't give in....no matter what kind of tantrums someone like JMonroe throws on the floor. Let the other dealers sell to those guys, they aren't loyal good customers anyway. Not only that, but it aggravates loyal customers to find a haggler got a lower price.

OK, now that is a valid point. I never want to be responsible for aggravating loyal customers.

You should have pointed that out yesterday.

Better late than never.

jmonroe

I don't believe in horoscope stuff but I am an Aries which supposedly makes me loyal. I try to stay with companies I have been satisfied with, and which have been fair to me, and I don't change to try to save a few dollars. It has worked for me personally and in business, I don't think I ever paid too much for a car, and if I did, so be it.......no complaints. But, if I found out someone got a better deal than I did because they threw a fit on the showroom floor, I will demand the same price or I will walk.

I think I get a better price than average because I am the kind of customer dealers really like. Just give me a fair price on the new car.....I can't do better than get 4% off on a new car, and give me the KBB price of my trade-in. And, it is much easier to keep a happy customer, than to go out and troll for new one's - you might get a JM. They also go out of their way to be helpful, like come to the house to set up the Homelink or deliver a new GPS program.

oldfarmer50

Hey Stick,

The storm of the century has ended. You're lucky you got out when you did. We're trying to dig out but it may take awhile.


Amsterdam got 2" just like the ole' prognosticating toe said.

stickguy

well, close enough. Forecast was 3-5 last time I looked on Wednesday.

supposed to be a storm with a lot of impact up in NE though. Unless of course it fizzled out.