Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

they have been on life support for years. Mitsu and Suzuki I would always have to look up to see if they were still in or already gone.

fushigi

Suzuki is gone, but then they only had the Kizashi as a draw. One thing that greatly helps Mitsu maintain a presence where Suzuki failed is that Mitsu has a US-based factory. They build all of their Outlander Sports (a.k.a. RVR) there & export to other countries.

Domestically Mitsu tends to sell 5-8K cars/month with top sellers rotating between Lancer, Outlander Sport, and Outlander.

A PHEV Outlander is due next year and they may see a return to the midsize sedan market via rebadging (look for a variation on Altima underpinnings).

graphicguy

So, that begs the question, how do the Mitsu dealers survive selling so few cars? Looking around my metropolitan area, there's one Mitsu dealer. Making some assumptions, if there's one dealer for every large metropolitan area (and Cincinnati is probably close to the average size for a large city), and there's an average of 3 large cities in every state on average, that's 150 dealers throughout the country.

If Mitsu is indeed selling 5K cares/mo in the U.S., that's about 1 car sold per day, per dealer. An entire dealer/store set up just to sell one car per day is a losing $$$$$$ proposition. I'm surprised they can hold onto their franchisees.

stickguy

Used cars, service. And near me they soecialize in bad credit. So make a killing on finance. Somewhat of a glorified BHPH operation.

qbrozen

is it a dedicated dealer? In which case, yeah, I'd be very surprised to learn they could even survive. The only dealer I know of is one I pass on the way to work, and you'd hardly know its a mitsu dealer. It looks like a generic, private used car lot, and used cars of all makes is what they have on their front line.

Mr_Shiftright

My friend owns a Mitsu dealership and he survives by incorporating a very large used car operation within the dealership. He also maintains an excellent reputation among buyers.
Integrity matters.

graphicguy said:

So, that begs the question, how do the Mitsu dealers survive selling so few cars? Looking around my metropolitan area, there's one Mitsu dealer. Making some assumptions, if there's one dealer for every large metropolitan area (and Cincinnati is probably close to the average size for a large city), and there's an average of 3 large cities in every state on average, that's 150 dealers throughout the country.

If Mitsu is indeed selling 5K cares/mo in the U.S., that's about 1 car sold per day, per dealer. An entire dealer/store set up just to sell one car per day is a losing $$$$$$ proposition. I'm surprised they can hold onto their franchisees.

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

is it a dedicated dealer? In which case, yeah, I'd be very surprised to learn they could even survive. The only dealer I know of is one I pass on the way to work, and you'd hardly know its a mitsu dealer. It looks like a generic, private used car lot, and used cars of all makes is what they have on their front line.

Interesting updates from those of you who know of Mitsu dealers. The one I found around me is a stand alone dealership. I know where it's at now, as I just forgot about it. It's actually part of a bigger dealer group (there's a Ford and Buick/GMC stand alone dealerships owned by the same principal nearby).

Quick Caddy update, dealer called. He has a dark grey metallic CTS with platinum leather interior equipped the way I want on his way to their store for me to look at tonight. I'll assume it's a dealer trade with someone fairly local for them to get it so quickly. We'll see how this pans out.

abacomike

Well, here I am at the dealership returning the E400. They said they have ordered a new E400 for me from Germany, however it will not be here until the latter half of December. Additionally, they are giving me a brand new 2015 E350 to drive as a dealer loaner until the new one arrives. They added a $2800 option called "Driver's Assistance Package" which included Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitors as well as cross traffic monitors and assist (stops car if you are backing up into traffic or any object), Distronic Plus which is the radar controlled cruise control which adjusts speed and settings to match traffic pattern and will stop the car by self braking if a collision is imminent. I guess it has lots of other features as well.

Otherwise, the car will be identical to the one I had. Unfortunately, there are no cars anywhere near what I want with the equipment I wanted already built or on the ocean. They are putting dealer plates on the loaner car since my plates cannot be used on a car I do not own.

The new replacement vehicle MSRP's for $72,650, however they are giving me the car for the same price I paid on Saturday for the E400, which to me seems very fair.

My question to the guys here, as well as to Mercedes Benz USA in Montvale, NJ, is it possible that all newly produced E400's over the past month were produced exactly like this one - without the standard Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitros? No one bothered to answer that question even after I asked it several times.

It would appear that not only is Mercedes stepping up to make sure I am happy, but the dealership and management have gone above and beyond what one would expect from a dealer. They immediately went to bat for me.

So, while I am still here at the dealership, I thought I would update everyone about what has transpired. Thanks for listening. I guess this one goes down in history for me as being the most nerve racking experience I've ever had in buying and taking delivery of a new car. But, as I said, Mercedes and the dealership handled it professionally and appropriately.

stickguy

Quite probable if it was a system programming error, not that some guy on the line stuck on the wrong part.

Kirstie_H

A reporter is looking for a vehicle owner whose car is affected by the Takata airbag recall and is the second or third owner of that car. If this is you, please send your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than 5 p.m. PT Monday, 10/27/14.

Michaell

Mike

I've been following your saga with the new Mercedes closely ... glad to hear that your dealer is making it right.

Hoping this doesn't sour you on the MB experience, or their products.

explorerx4

@Isell, I figured you would get apoplectic, but it seems like a legitimate concern. I've been doing some more research and one of the most interesting things I read was that someone speculated that the CR-V was actually a FWD model.

abacomike

Michaell said:

Mike I've been following your saga with the new Mercedes closely ... glad to hear that your dealer is making it right. Hoping this doesn't sour you on the MB experience, or their products.

Just walked in the door - I have not driven in rush hour traffic in many, many years.  Thanks, but no thanks, if you get my drift.

This E350 w/302 hp is very sluggish compared to the E400 w/330 hp.  I did not think 30 hp would be so noticeable.

No, I am not giving up on Mercedes - not until/unless I have problems with their vehicles which have been rare if not totally absent.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

So, that begs the question, how do the Mitsu dealers survive selling so few cars? Looking around my metropolitan area, there's one Mitsu dealer. Making some assumptions, if there's one dealer for every large metropolitan area (and Cincinnati is probably close to the average size for a large city), and there's an average of 3 large cities in every state on average, that's 150 dealers throughout the country.

If Mitsu is indeed selling 5K cares/mo in the U.S., that's about 1 car sold per day, per dealer. An entire dealer/store set up just to sell one car per day is a losing $$$$$$ proposition. I'm surprised they can hold onto their franchisees.

There are 2 Mitsu dealers in my area which is surprising. I think they exist mainly on used sales.

I thinking of taking the car to the dealer where I bought it for a buy bid. I may cry but at least I'll know how close Q came on the value.

ab348

stickguy said:

Used cars, service. And near me they soecialize in bad credit. So make a killing on finance. Somewhat of a glorified BHPH operation.

Sounds similar to my area. They had someone establish our first Mitsu dealer here in 2000 or so, with a brand-new facility. I remember looking closely at the original Outlander there at the time, seemed appealing. Same operator set up a Daewoo dealership next door. Then Daewoo went bust (there was a huge "DAEWOO" neon sign out back there on the ground for ages after they closed, would have been an interesting collectors item) and not long after the Mitsu dealer closed down. I knew someone who had bought an Eclipse from them and service was a real headache for a few years, although they allegedly arranged for another dealer to do the work.

Fast-forward a few years and a new Mitsu dealer is awarded, this time to the guy locally who runs the Suzuki franchise. Like stick's local dealer, this fellow specializes in bad credit risks and used cars. He has a terrible reputation locally too. Probably the worst of any new-car dealer in terms of business practices. I would not go near him if he was selling my favorite brand, no matter what that was. Of course, Suzuki has withdrawn from this market also (he may still have some unsold new ones) so he is mostly selling used cars out of that facility now. The Mitsu dealer across the driveway is still in business and I do see a few of them on the roads, but they are not common.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Well, here I am at the dealership returning the E400. They said they have ordered a new E400 for me from Germany, however it will not be here until the latter half of December. Additionally, they are giving me a brand new 2015 E350 to drive as a dealer loaner until the new one arrives. They added a $2800 option called "Driver's Assistance Package" which included Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitors as well as cross traffic monitors and assist (stops car if you are backing up into traffic or any object), Distronic Plus which is the radar controlled cruise control which adjusts speed and settings to match traffic pattern and will stop the car by self braking if a collision is imminent. I guess it has lots of other features as well.

Otherwise, the car will be identical to the one I had. Unfortunately, there are no cars anywhere near what I want with the equipment I wanted already built or on the ocean. They are putting dealer plates on the loaner car since my plates cannot be used on a car I do not own.

The new replacement vehicle MSRP's for $72,650, however they are giving me the car for the same price I paid on Saturday for the E400, which to me seems very fair.

My question to the guys here, as well as to Mercedes Benz USA in Montvale, NJ, is it possible that all newly produced E400's over the past month were produced exactly like this one - without the standard Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitros? No one bothered to answer that question even after I asked it several times.

It would appear that not only is Mercedes stepping up to make sure I am happy, but the dealership and management have gone above and beyond what one would expect from a dealer. They immediately went to bat for me.

So, while I am still here at the dealership, I thought I would update everyone about what has transpired. Thanks for listening. I guess this one goes down in history for me as being the most nerve racking experience I've ever had in buying and taking delivery of a new car. But, as I said, Mercedes and the dealership handled it professionally and appropriately.

I think they want to stop you from running to the Feds or worse, the press.

driver100

abacomike said:

Michaell said:

Mike

I've been following your saga with the new Mercedes closely ... glad to hear that your dealer is making it right.

Hoping this doesn't sour you on the MB experience, or their products.

Just walked in the door - I have not driven in rush hour traffic in many, many years.  Thanks, but no thanks, if you get my drift.

This E350 w/302 hp is very sluggish compared to the E400 w/330 hp.  I did not think 30 hp would be so noticeable.

No, I am not giving up on Mercedes - not until/unless I have problems with their vehicles which have been rare if not totally absent.

Mike, doesn't the E400 have twin turbos compared to the E350s one turbo? If so, that may account for some difference.

I'll see how my buying experience goes tomorrow. I hope I got the lane change warnings. I got the Premium Pkge which I thought included that. Looking back, that part of buying experience wasn't really made clear, and the dealer info was minimal on the 2015s.

If I don't have it I'll take the car and live with it, as I have for 50 years without the warnings. But, it is something I would like to have.

There must be another E400 similar to what you ordered somewhere between Miami and Germany that they could find for you.....at least you know your car will come in, and, in the meantime you'll just have to put up with the sluggish E350.

abacomike

@driver100 said:

"Mike, doesn't the E400 have twin turbos compared to the E350s one turbo? If so, that may account for some difference.

I'll see how my buying experience goes tomorrow. I hope I got the lane change warnings. I got the Premium Pkge which I thought included that. Looking back, that part of buying experience wasn't really made clear, and the dealer info was minimal on the 2015s.

If I don't have it I'll take the car and live with it, as I have for 50 years without the warnings. But, it is something I would like to have.

There must be another E400 similar to what you ordered somewhere between Miami and Germany that they could find for you.....at least you know your car will come in, and, in the meantime you'll just have to put up with the sluggish E350."

No, driver.  There are no E400's anywhere in the Eastern, Central or Southern US even close to the one I want.  My car was the first E400 delivered.

The E350 has no turbos as all.

They are trying to expedite the build process for me so it arrives here in 4 weeks, but they make no promises.  The reason they added the $2800 package (Driver's Assistance Package) was to ensure I was happy and that the car was a bit safer.

Good luck tomorrow on the delivery of your new car.

robr2

graphicguy said:

So, that begs the question, how do the Mitsu dealers survive selling so few cars? Looking around my metropolitan area, there's one Mitsu dealer. Making some assumptions, if there's one dealer for every large metropolitan area (and Cincinnati is probably close to the average size for a large city), and there's an average of 3 large cities in every state on average, that's 150 dealers throughout the country.

I would say it's very dependent on where you are. There are 5 Mitsubishi dealers within 30 miles of Boston.

Per a 2013 article, Mitsubishi has 373 dealers in the US.

ab348

I have a car-buying experience to relate!!

It actually worked out better in the end than I expected it to. It is with the GM dealer I had mentioned last week, the one I leased my Buick from 3 years ago who had forgotten about me.

So the "Selection Specialist" (no longer a salesperson) they assigned to me is one of their up-and-comers, been there a few years, already in their top 10, wants to be a lifer in the business. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled with him at first, mostly because of his manner. He knew the product really well, probably better than any sales rep I have ever dealt with. Very professional in that regard. But his personal manner was a bit abrupt. At first I had the impression I was imposing on him whenever I asked him for anything. I didn't think it was going to go very well.

That was made worse when he showed me the single 2014 ATS they had in stock. It was a very odd car, a 2.0T AWD with a sunroof and that's all. It didn't even have CUE. Plus it was an unattractive color called "Majestic Plum Metallic" that to my color-blind eyes looked like a very dark, drab gray. Because I didn't know the way Caddy spec'ed out their models, I asked if they could find a car with a light-colored interior. The only one they came up with was out of a dealer in Montreal, and it was white with a "Caramel" interior. He pressed very hard to get me to say yes to that on the spot, and to the $1000 fee to flatbed it here, saying they were going fast and I needed to commit. I wasn't sure about that color combo so I left, saying I wanted to sleep on it.

That night I get home and do my research. The caramel interior did not appeal to me in photos. I discovered that the only interior color options come on upper level ATS models, with base limited to black or caramel. I decide black would be more acceptable to me than caramel. I start searching online and find a whole bunch of possibilities in eastern Canada. In fairness, because they limited their search to caramel interiors, they never showed up in what they offered me. I finally came up with a list of 5 cars that seemed suitable, and emailed it to him the next morning.

After a couple of hours he called. Quickly he asked me which one of the 5 I wanted him to quote on. That turned me off a bit. But I did have a favorite, so I gave it to him. A while later he calls me back, throws out a price which was pretty good. We negotiate a bit, and a couple of calls later we have a deal. That was Wednesday. I get a call from their business manager that afternoon, we do the usual exchange of info, he promises me an email with confirming info.

This is where the whole thing almost went south. I received no email, Thursday or Friday. No call either. Finally Saturday morning I get a voice mail from the sales guy, asking what time on Monday I want to come in to do the deal. I call him back, get his voice mail, give him a time and say I hadn't heard anything from anybody. Later that day I do finally get an email from the business guy with the info. I was still pretty unimpressed with their communications and honestly went there today ready to unload if things went awry.

Fortunately, it was great. The business guy was awesome, no hard upsell at all, and because he said he made a mistake on something to do with the walkaway insurance, ended up giving it to me for free. In and out of his office in just a few minutes. The rest of it was good also - the sales guy was fine, his sales manager came over a couple of times and was gracious, and I was happy. About $7K off sticker, 54% residual, and exactly as we had agreed on everything. After the usual OnStar fooling around and a quick tutorial on all the features in the car, I left happy.

Oh, the car?

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

abacomike

ab348 said:

I have a car-buying experience to relate!! It actually worked out better in the end than I expected it to. It is with the GM dealer I had mentioned last week, the one I leased my Buick from 3 years ago who had forgotten about me. So the "Selection Specialist" (no longer a salesperson) they assigned to me is one of their up-and-comers, been there a few years, already in their top 10, wants to be a lifer in the business. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled with him at first, mostly because of his manner. He knew the product really well, probably better than any sales rep I have ever dealt with. Very professional in that regard. But his personal manner was a bit abrupt. At first I had the impression I was imposing on him whenever I asked him for anything. I didn't think it was going to go very well. That was made worse when he showed me the single 2014 ATS they had in stock. It was a very odd car, a 2.0T AWD with a sunroof and that's all. It didn't even have CUE. Plus it was an unattractive color called "Majestic Plum Metallic" that to my color-blind eyes looked like a very dark, drab gray. Because I didn't know the way Caddy spec'ed out their models, I asked if they could find a car with a light-colored interior. The only one they came up with was out of a dealer in Montreal, and it was white with a "Caramel" interior. He pressed very hard to get me to say yes to that on the spot, and to the $1000 fee to flatbed it here, saying they were going fast and I needed to commit. I wasn't sure about that color combo so I left, saying I wanted to sleep on it. That night I get home and do my research. The caramel interior did not appeal to me in photos. I discovered that the only interior color options come on upper level ATS models, with base limited to black or caramel. I decide black would be more acceptable to me than caramel. I start searching online and find a whole bunch of possibilities in eastern Canada. In fairness, because they limited their search to caramel interiors, they never showed up in what they offered me. I finally came up with a list of 5 cars that seemed suitable, and emailed it to him the next morning. After a couple of hours he called. Quickly he asked me which one of the 5 I wanted him to quote on. That turned me off a bit. But I did have a favorite, so I gave it to him. A while later he calls me back, throws out a price which was pretty good. We negotiate a bit, and a couple of calls later we have a deal. That was Wednesday. I get a call from their business manager that afternoon, we do the usual exchange of info, he promises me an email with confirming info. This is where the whole thing almost went south. I received no email, Thursday or Friday. No call either. Finally Saturday morning I get a voice mail from the sales guy, asking what time on Monday I want to come in to do the deal. I call him back, get his voice mail, give him a time and say I hadn't heard anything from anybody. Later that day I do finally get an email from the business guy with the info. I was still pretty unimpressed with their communications and honestly went there today ready to unload if things went awry. Fortunately, it was great. The business guy was awesome, no hard upsell at all, and because he said he made a mistake on something to do with the walkaway insurance, ended up giving it to me for free. In and out of his office in just a few minutes. The rest of it was good also - the sales guy was fine, his sales manager came over a couple of times and was gracious, and I was happy. About $7K off sticker, 54% residual, and exactly as we had agreed on everything. After the usual OnStar fooling around and a quick tutorial on all the features in the car, I left happy. Oh, the car? 2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

Lots of luck, ab!  Great looking car and certainly the right Color!

imidazol97

ab348 said:

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

Congratulations. Beautiful car.

dino001

Mike, according to MB website, those extra horses on E400 come from electric motor, the gas engine is exactly the same as E350. The thing is, electric motor has very high torque, so it feels much stronger off the line. It is only 27 horses, but increadible 207 ft-lb of torque, compared to 302/273 for the gas engine. Essentially E400 has almost double torque, so the kick must be stupenduous, even if only for short span.

abacomike

@ab348‌

Steering wheel is on the left side I see.  Thought you guys were still driving on the wrong side of the road!  

stickguy

that is a sharp looking car. I am not normally a red person (unless a dark/merlot type) but I do like that one.

abacomike

dino001 said:

Mike, according to MB website, those extra horses on E400 come from electric motor, the gas engine is exactly the same as E350. The thing is, electric motor has very high torque, so it feels much stronger off the line. It is only 27 horses, but increadible 207 ft-lb of torque, compared to 302/273 for the gas engine. Essentially E400 has almost double torque, so the kick must be stupenduous, even if only for short span.

Dino, I think you have the 2015 E400 confused with the E400 Hybrid!  The new E400 does not have an electric motor.  The E400 has a 3.0 liter V6 "twin turbo" engine with 330 hp and 355 lb ft of torque.

The E350 has a 3.5 liter 302 hp engine and the E400 Hybrid has the 3.5 liter engine with electric motor.

The MB website still does not list the 2015 E Class.  I am told they will update the site shortly with the 2015 lines.

stever

@roadburner‌, congrats to the kiddo. Sounds like the glut has already worked its way through. Which reminds me of a Brit/Canadian/Aussie joke (that you probably heard a decade ago) - Joe runs into his old friend Sam he hasn't seen for years and asks about his son.

"Doing great, he's a barrister now".

"Terrific!" Joe exclaims.

"At least I think that's how you pronounce it," says Sam. "He sure gets good tips making those lattes."

roadburner

ab348 said:

I have a car-buying experience to relate!!

It actually worked out better in the end than I expected it to. It is with the GM dealer I had mentioned last week, the one I leased my Buick from 3 years ago who had forgotten about me.

So the "Selection Specialist" (no longer a salesperson) they assigned to me is one of their up-and-comers, been there a few years, already in their top 10, wants to be a lifer in the business. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled with him at first, mostly because of his manner. He knew the product really well, probably better than any sales rep I have ever dealt with. Very professional in that regard. But his personal manner was a bit abrupt. At first I had the impression I was imposing on him whenever I asked him for anything. I didn't think it was going to go very well.

That was made worse when he showed me the single 2014 ATS they had in stock. It was a very odd car, a 2.0T AWD with a sunroof and that's all. It didn't even have CUE. Plus it was an unattractive color called "Majestic Plum Metallic" that to my color-blind eyes looked like a very dark, drab gray. Because I didn't know the way Caddy spec'ed out their models, I asked if they could find a car with a light-colored interior. The only one they came up with was out of a dealer in Montreal, and it was white with a "Caramel" interior. He pressed very hard to get me to say yes to that on the spot, and to the $1000 fee to flatbed it here, saying they were going fast and I needed to commit. I wasn't sure about that color combo so I left, saying I wanted to sleep on it.

That night I get home and do my research. The caramel interior did not appeal to me in photos. I discovered that the only interior color options come on upper level ATS models, with base limited to black or caramel. I decide black would be more acceptable to me than caramel. I start searching online and find a whole bunch of possibilities in eastern Canada. In fairness, because they limited their search to caramel interiors, they never showed up in what they offered me. I finally came up with a list of 5 cars that seemed suitable, and emailed it to him the next morning.

After a couple of hours he called. Quickly he asked me which one of the 5 I wanted him to quote on. That turned me off a bit. But I did have a favorite, so I gave it to him. A while later he calls me back, throws out a price which was pretty good. We negotiate a bit, and a couple of calls later we have a deal. That was Wednesday. I get a call from their business manager that afternoon, we do the usual exchange of info, he promises me an email with confirming info.

This is where the whole thing almost went south. I received no email, Thursday or Friday. No call either. Finally Saturday morning I get a voice mail from the sales guy, asking what time on Monday I want to come in to do the deal. I call him back, get his voice mail, give him a time and say I hadn't heard anything from anybody. Later that day I do finally get an email from the business guy with the info. I was still pretty unimpressed with their communications and honestly went there today ready to unload if things went awry.

Fortunately, it was great. The business guy was awesome, no hard upsell at all, and because he said he made a mistake on something to do with the walkaway insurance, ended up giving it to me for free. In and out of his office in just a few minutes. The rest of it was good also - the sales guy was fine, his sales manager came over a couple of times and was gracious, and I was happy. About $7K off sticker, 54% residual, and exactly as we had agreed on everything. After the usual OnStar fooling around and a quick tutorial on all the features in the car, I left happy.

Oh, the car?

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

Congrats!!!

dino001

I don't see E400 V6 turbo on the MB website. There is E250 diesel, E350, E400 hybrid, E550, and E63.

stickguy

are you looking at the 2015s? That is a new model for 15.

dino001

Found it, it's a coupe. Is that what you are getting?

abacomike

dino001 said:

I don't see E400 V6 turbo on the MB website. There is E250 diesel, E350, E400 hybrid, E550, and E63.

Dino, see my edited post above.

dino001

stickguy said:

are you looking at the 2015s? That is a new model for 15.

I see, sedans are still showing as 2014. This must be it.

dino001

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally.

abacomike

dino001 said:

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally.

 

No problem, Dino.

explorerx4

@ab348, Congrats. Those polished wheels look great with the red. I also like that is has the classic Cadillac Wreath and Crest on the steering wheel.

fushigi

Mitsu was at 58K 2014 sales as of the end of Sept. That's up over 2013 numbers. While that's more sales than Volvo & Jaguar, obviously Mitsu doesn't have quite their margins.

Last I checked, which was at least a couple of years ago, they had around 400 dealers nationwide. There are several here in the Chicago area. I'm sure used cars & service are their bread & butter, especially where the dealers aren't affiliated with other brands.

fezo

ab - that is great! I'm not really a Cadillac guy but I'd take that in a minute!

Just replaced the clutch and lower control arms on the Mazda. What a difference! Despite what some have said mileage doesn't matter much to me. All of our cars have over 100K on them. My daughter's Camry has 211K on it and rides like it's new. Of course the second owner was a Toyota mechanic for 10 years and the first owner was his mother.

A a mere 115K I have the low mileage car.

abacomike

dino001 said:

Found it, it's a coupe. Is that what you are getting?

No, Dino, a sedan.  If you go to Edmunds.com and build a 2015 Mercedes E400 Sedan V6 Twin Turbo, you will see the car and available options and standard equipment.

driver100

ab348 said:

I have a car-buying experience to relate!!

Oh, the car?

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

ab348....absolutely beautiful car. Congrats and great job pulling the trigger with no muss or fuss. I love the color too. Funny that the red looks so nice on the Caddie, but it would not work too well on a Mercedes or BMW...looks great. I congratulate you too for going all the way and getting a Caddie.

driver100

dino001 said:

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally.


Dino, if you are having trouble you can build one on the Mercedes Canada site;

Build a 2015 E-Class Mercedes

driver100

driver100 said:

dino001 said:

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally.


Dino, if you are having trouble you can build one on the Mercedes Canada site;

Build a 2015 E-Class Mercedes

roadburner

stever said:

@roadburner‌, congrats to the kiddo. Sounds like the glut has already worked its way through. Which reminds me of a Brit/Canadian/Aussie joke (that you probably heard a decade ago) - Joe runs into his old friend Sam he hasn't seen for years and asks about his son.

"Doing great, he's a barrister now".

"Terrific!" Joe exclaims.

"At least I think that's how you pronounce it," says Sam. "He sure gets good tips making those lattes."

The silver lining is that the decision has caused him to work even harder to ensure he can make the cut for law school...

abacomike

driver100 said:

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally. Dino, if you are having trouble you can build one on the Mercedes Canada site; Build a 2015 E-Class Mercedes

Driver, the Canadian model E400 is totally different than the USA model.  Packages are different as well.  There is no premium package on the USA model - all contents are standard.  But he can build a USA model E400 RWD sedan on the Edmunds website.

Mr_Shiftright

I really like the way Cadillac integrated the dashboard screen. Very nice cockpit.

stickguy

at least on the ATS they did not go with the latest fad of making it look like an ipad is glued to the dash.

I still think they are doing that to get people used to the look, with the next step being to leave off the screen and software, and just supply a docking station. So you literally will have an ipad sitting on the dash!

graphicguy

ab348 said:

I have a car-buying experience to relate!!

It actually worked out better in the end than I expected it to. It is with the GM dealer I had mentioned last week, the one I leased my Buick from 3 years ago who had forgotten about me.

So the "Selection Specialist" (no longer a salesperson) they assigned to me is one of their up-and-comers, been there a few years, already in their top 10, wants to be a lifer in the business. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled with him at first, mostly because of his manner. He knew the product really well, probably better than any sales rep I have ever dealt with. Very professional in that regard. But his personal manner was a bit abrupt. At first I had the impression I was imposing on him whenever I asked him for anything. I didn't think it was going to go very well.

That was made worse when he showed me the single 2014 ATS they had in stock. It was a very odd car, a 2.0T AWD with a sunroof and that's all. It didn't even have CUE. Plus it was an unattractive color called "Majestic Plum Metallic" that to my color-blind eyes looked like a very dark, drab gray. Because I didn't know the way Caddy spec'ed out their models, I asked if they could find a car with a light-colored interior. The only one they came up with was out of a dealer in Montreal, and it was white with a "Caramel" interior. He pressed very hard to get me to say yes to that on the spot, and to the $1000 fee to flatbed it here, saying they were going fast and I needed to commit. I wasn't sure about that color combo so I left, saying I wanted to sleep on it.

That night I get home and do my research. The caramel interior did not appeal to me in photos. I discovered that the only interior color options come on upper level ATS models, with base limited to black or caramel. I decide black would be more acceptable to me than caramel. I start searching online and find a whole bunch of possibilities in eastern Canada. In fairness, because they limited their search to caramel interiors, they never showed up in what they offered me. I finally came up with a list of 5 cars that seemed suitable, and emailed it to him the next morning.

After a couple of hours he called. Quickly he asked me which one of the 5 I wanted him to quote on. That turned me off a bit. But I did have a favorite, so I gave it to him. A while later he calls me back, throws out a price which was pretty good. We negotiate a bit, and a couple of calls later we have a deal. That was Wednesday. I get a call from their business manager that afternoon, we do the usual exchange of info, he promises me an email with confirming info.

This is where the whole thing almost went south. I received no email, Thursday or Friday. No call either. Finally Saturday morning I get a voice mail from the sales guy, asking what time on Monday I want to come in to do the deal. I call him back, get his voice mail, give him a time and say I hadn't heard anything from anybody. Later that day I do finally get an email from the business guy with the info. I was still pretty unimpressed with their communications and honestly went there today ready to unload if things went awry.

Fortunately, it was great. The business guy was awesome, no hard upsell at all, and because he said he made a mistake on something to do with the walkaway insurance, ended up giving it to me for free. In and out of his office in just a few minutes. The rest of it was good also - the sales guy was fine, his sales manager came over a couple of times and was gracious, and I was happy. About $7K off sticker, 54% residual, and exactly as we had agreed on everything. After the usual OnStar fooling around and a quick tutorial on all the features in the car, I left happy.

Oh, the car?

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully. I always wanted to have a Cadillac some day and now I do.

Cool...,great looking car. Congratz!

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

dino001 said:

Dino, see my edited post above.

Got it, finally.


Dino, if you are having trouble you can build one on the Mercedes Canada site;

Build a 2015 E-Class Mercedes

Driver, the Canadian model E400 is totally different than the USA model.  Packages are different as well.  There is no premium package on the USA model - all contents are standard.  But he can build a USA model E400 RWD sedan on the Edmunds website.

That's true. Of course, they will have the same engines though. I believe all the Canadian models will be AWD.

driver100

stickguy said:

at least on the ATS they did not go with the latest fad of making it look like an ipad is glued to the dash.

I still think they are doing that to get people used to the look, with the next step being to leave off the screen and software, and just supply a docking station. So you literally will have an ipad sitting on the dash!

LOL.....screen "glued to the dash." I still don't get those stand up screens, looks like they designed the dash before they had GPS displays and then decided to add it at the last moment. Maybe it is supposed to look more hi-tech, or more like stereo components - not built in looking.

When I was on the dealer lot I looked at an older C-Class with a built in unit, compared to a new model with the flimsy looking screen, and I really thought the older model had a nicer interior.

It seems that more car makers are leaning toward the separate stand up screens though.

bwia

ab348 said:

I have a car-buying experience to relate!!

Oh, the car?

2014 Cadillac ATS 2.0T AWD, Obsession Red Tintcoat, black interior, sunroof, polished wheels, CUE, surround sound Bose. Awesome car so far. Smaller than the Buick and not as practical in terms of space, but it seems to fit me well and drives wonderfully.

Congrats on the purchase of the Caddy. Nice car in the Attitude Obsession Red. Also, good to see that you are willing to give GM a chance. If I am not too forward how much did you pay, and how onerous are the Canadian sales and conveyance taxes?

Enjoy the ride.