Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

For sure - I don't think the target audience for that car would have picked a manual. If they did, I do not think it would have been as optioned up.

breld

rayainsw said:

--- PUNCH ---
New [ 2016 'leftover ' ] BMW 340i.
Medium [ Mediterranean ] blue over saddle leather.
Details soon.
- Ray
Anyone here want to buy a 2015 Charger R/T ?
[ just kidding ]

Congrats! Look forward to more details and impressions.

kyfdx

rayainsw said:

Quick cell phone pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/rayainsw/2016 BMW 340i/2016 340i_zpscgcblhif.jpg

Nice!

ab348

I really like that 645. I wonder how much the manual trans hurts resale on one of those?

roadburner

rayainsw said:

--- PUNCH ---
New [ 2016 'leftover ' ] BMW 340i.
Medium [ Mediterranean ] blue over saddle leather.
Details soon.
- Ray
Anyone here want to buy a 2015 Charger R/T ?
[ just kidding ]

Congrats!!!

andres3

uplanderguy said:

I don't think I could sell a car line I didn't like, myself, but I know that's not how sales works.

That's what the Sales Manager "RA RA RA" sales meetings are for, to raise the morale of the sales troop into really believing they are selling God's gifts to mankind and doing a "SERVICE" for the buyer.

I'm in the I don't need to be sold camp, but apparently a majority of the population isn't like me.

graphicguy

Ray....that's a really nice car. I like it, a lot. Any details on the deal? Give me some hope in my shopping. Congrats!

andres3

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

I have two problems with CarMax...

(1) Their cars are priced at the high end or above dealer retail

(2) I've seen some real horror stories about the mechanical condition of their cars

I actually like the Tesla model quite a bit; of course I do not want a Tesla nor could I afford one, but I think they have the right approach on experience.

I'll agree with you on both those points.

My sister is still fighting with CarMax in San Diego about her oldest son's GTI. Needed several thousand in repairs. All she wants to do is trade it in for something more reliable (hey, sort of like @graphicguy!)

That's what has always made me fearful of used cars. You just can never know exactly what you are buying into! Until they make black-box recorders that have infinite memory to show you everything since the beginning of the car's inception, it is just very hard for me to trust a used car. I know a lot of people don't deliberately abuse their cars, but most of the population does not consist of chronic car buyers either, so there could be a more sinister reason that used car is available in the first place.

andres3

kyfdx said:

rayainsw said:

Quick cell phone pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/rayainsw/2016 BMW 340i/2016 340i_zpscgcblhif.jpg

Nice!

I really like that blue color, and should be a great car! How does it compare with the HEMI?

tifighter

ab348 said:

I really like that 645. I wonder how much the manual trans hurts resale on one of those?

It is the classic dealer bit: "it's not worth anything for trade in with a manual, then it's worth extra at sale because the manual is so rare."

I'm meh on the black, but I do like the red interior.

rayainsw

A slightly better pic - all I have time for right now...
[ Work intrudes. ]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rayainsw/media/2016 BMW 340i/2016 340i at the park_zps6wkpuwk0.jpg.html

Mr_Shiftright

tifighter said:

You have to think this car was a special order, right?

you gotta love sales pitches---the ad says that the dealer has deduced from the CARFAX: "from service records it appears that this was a summer only fair weather car."

Which makes one wonder why there are service visits in March and November in Illinois?

fintail

I could see it cruising around Bellevue...darting in and out of traffic, nary a turn signal to be seen

tifighter said:

You have to think this car was a special order, right?

stickguy

man, that 340 is a sharp looking car.

ab348

fintail said:

I could see it cruising around Bellevue...darting in and out of traffic, nary a turn signal to be seen

One hand steers, the other one stirs the gears. No turn signals on manuals!!

rayainsw

The car - 2016 BMW 340i - new
Mediterranean blue [ almost identical to the LeMans blue on my 2011 335iS ]
Options:
Saddle leather
Driver assist [ rear view camera and park distance control ]
Lighting package
Heated front seats
Side and top view cameras
Navigation system [ includes Instrument Cluster w/Extended Contents ]
Floor liners – black
Destination
TOTAL MSRP: $53,995
Also included \ standard items that matter – to me:
8-speed ZF automatic \ Steptronic,
18” wheels & tires – not 19s
Glass Moonroof,
XM Satellite radio,
Harmon-Kardon sound system,
Sport seats with 4-way lumbar adjust,
Comfort Access,
Hands-free Bluetooth,
Real Time Traffic Information display
= = =
Initial impressions [ trying to restrain myself - a bit ] are that
this is noticeably quicker than the Charger - and the lighter weight
is quite obvious in both acceleration & handling.
I am quite impressed - and pleased.
- Ray
Not easily impressed, these days . . .

corvette

Nice! Congrats. How many miles on it?

rayainsw

Less than 100 miles.
And I put over 20 on it in test drives...

corvette

Ah, didn't catch that it was new, thought it might have been a demo.

fintail

Seems like blue on brown is suddenly a popular combination.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nd2ffAvYqwc

tbirdmarco

I no guys not an good looking van what they said in the show yesterday not me lol lol. hope you all like todays show.

tbirdmarco

I no guys not an good looking van what they said in the show yesterday not me lol lol. hope you all like todays show.

tbirdmarco

@28firefighter would love to have my one lot to or sell cars have bin trying to get in the feald now for years if they could find an way around not having an lisance will be all set no would be able to sell cars very whell. demoing the new teck no no will not be able to do that.

tbirdmarco

@rayainsw congrads on the new car cant wate to hear all about it.

tbirdmarco

@28firefighter glad you wher able to find sumone to take over the remanying lees on the ascape

tbirdmarco

@Michaell Man whow your sister is still fighting with them. THaught was over and done with munths ago.

qbrozen

ab348 said:

I really like that 645. I wonder how much the manual trans hurts resale on one of those?

I'm of no help here. The only manual trans one I see had 105k miles, and no automatics had similar miles to that. I will say the price is pretty nuts. Nicest one with highest price had 77k miles, an auto trans, and sold for $10k on the nose. For the low miles, MAYBE that one hits $12k, if that, if all planets align, and if it had an auto trans. Soooo... maybe $11k? I wouldn't pay more than $13.5k retail even if I really really really wanted it and didn't mind being buried in it.

tbirdmarco

@rayainsw glad you love the car grate first inpreshians. going to convince mom to look at an b m w or outy maby benze to she does say mersadies are for old peapol don't no y she does say that lol lol.

tbirdmarco

@graphicguy on other news how is the mustang doing. do you get to drive it a lot?

carnaught

rayainsw said:

A slightly better pic - all I have time for right now...
[ Work intrudes. ]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rayainsw/media/2016 BMW 340i/2016 340i at the park_zps6wkpuwk0.jpg.html

Wow, beautiful! You should really enjoy it!

Mr_Shiftright

Which brands and models have the largest inventory at dealerships
(time to get a good deal?)

Buick Lacrosse 330 (days)
Buick Cascada 298
Chevrolet Corvette 267
Volkswagen CC 259
Chevrolet Camaro 236
Buick Verano 234
Mitsubishi Mirage 231
Acura ILX 227
Chrysler 200 225
Buick Regal 222

ab348

Buick is really a mystery to me. The Lacrosse is a nice enough car but is massive, overpriced, and is saddled with auto stop/start and a goofy electronic shifter that I'm pretty sure traditional Buick buyers wouldn't like. The Regal is a nice car but also overpriced and gets zero marketing. Verano is already discontinued but also gets zero marketing. I looked at an Envision and liked it but it's also overpriced. I really don't know what GM is going to do in N.A. With the brand.

Michaell

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

@Michaell Man whow your sister is still fighting with them. THaught was over and done with munths ago.

Sadly, no. He's had the car over a year now and it's still not running right. There are $1000's in work to be done - some necessary, some not. @andres3 recommended a VW/Audi indy shop and my sister got the car in for a look see. They found a lot of the same things the VW dealer did.

She's disappointed with CarMax, but is willing to work with them to trade out the car for something else.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Which brands and models have the largest inventory at dealerships (time to get a good deal?) Buick Lacrosse 330 (days) Buick Cascada 298 Chevrolet Corvette 267 Volkswagen CC 259 Chevrolet Camaro 236 Buick Verano 234 Mitsubishi Mirage 231 Acura ILX 227 Chrysler 200 225 Buick Regal 222

Has the Cascada even been out that long??

corvette

Michaell said:

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

@Michaell Man whow your sister is still fighting with them. THaught was over and done with munths ago.

Sadly, no. He's had the car over a year now and it's still not running right. There are $1000's in work to be done - some necessary, some not. @andres3 recommended a VW/Audi indy shop and my sister got the car in for a look see. They found a lot of the same things the VW dealer did.

She's disappointed with CarMax, but is willing to work with them to trade out the car for something else.

Are they playing ball, or just offering the same trade-in value they would offer anyone else? I've heard their inspections aren't as thorough as they imply. The rear brake pads on my Murano looked a little thin when I bought it (not worn out, but probably wouldn't pass a CPO inspection), but it did have new tires and the oil had recently been changed. I'm sure they miss a lot of brand-specific issues, and VW has a lot of those.

qbrozen said:

Has the Cascada even been out that long??

First model was a 2016. But it's in an odd market position (kind of like the old Sebring convertible), plus it's a convertible in the dead of winter.

qbrozen

Apparently it went on sale about Jan-Feb 2016 (great time to intro a vert).

looking back at your post, though, Shifty, I'm confused. Is that total number of cars or average days sitting on lot? You wrote "largest inventory" but then put "(days)"

cdnpinhead

rayainsw said:

Initial impressions [ trying to restrain myself - a bit ] are that
this is noticeably quicker than the Charger - and the lighter weight is quite obvious in both acceleration & handling.
I am quite impressed - and pleased.
- Ray
Not easily impressed, these days . . .

Very nice, Ray. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Who knew you and I would get new vehicles within a two week window. This must be about your eighth since we both had our LSs. My wife and I have gone through half that many in those 17 years, but I'm guessing you've had more fun. Well done!

andres3

Michaell said:

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

@Michaell Man whow your sister is still fighting with them. THaught was over and done with munths ago.

Sadly, no. He's had the car over a year now and it's still not running right. There are $1000's in work to be done - some necessary, some not. @andres3 recommended a VW/Audi indy shop and my sister got the car in for a look see. They found a lot of the same things the VW dealer did.

She's disappointed with CarMax, but is willing to work with them to trade out the car for something else.

Wow, well, at least you know with the INDY shop she'd get the right work done completely and correctly, but I guess it was too big of a bullet for her to bite.

I'd be annoyed too if I was sold a car with thousands in problems immediately after being sold.

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

Which brands and models have the largest inventory at dealerships
(time to get a good deal?)

Buick Lacrosse 330 (days)
Buick Cascada 298
Chevrolet Corvette 267
Volkswagen CC 259
Chevrolet Camaro 236
Buick Verano 234
Mitsubishi Mirage 231
Acura ILX 227
Chrysler 200 225
Buick Regal 222

Pretty sad Buick has 4 cars on this top 10 list.

Has their customer base died off from old age?

Michaell

andres3 said:

Michaell said:

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

@Michaell Man whow your sister is still fighting with them. THaught was over and done with munths ago.

Sadly, no. He's had the car over a year now and it's still not running right. There are $1000's in work to be done - some necessary, some not. @andres3 recommended a VW/Audi indy shop and my sister got the car in for a look see. They found a lot of the same things the VW dealer did.

She's disappointed with CarMax, but is willing to work with them to trade out the car for something else.

Wow, well, at least you know with the INDY shop she'd get the right work done completely and correctly, but I guess it was too big of a bullet for her to bite.

I'd be annoyed too if I was sold a car with thousands in problems immediately after being sold.

Yeah. She liked the shop well enough, but there is something like $2600 of immediate needs, and about the same or more in "nice to have" maintenance and repairs.

The indy shop did say that there was one repair that could only be done at the dealer.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Apparently it went on sale about Jan-Feb 2016 (great time to intro a vert).

looking back at your post, though, Shifty, I'm confused. Is that total number of cars or average days sitting on lot? You wrote "largest inventory" but then put "(days)"

Oh sorry, yeah, that was confusing. As far as I know, it means the top 10 cars with the biggest dealer stockpiles, measured by the number of days the inventory could meet demand at the current sales rate.

So that is a number to take with a few grains of salt. You wouldn't expect, for instance, a Corvette's sales to project very well right now "at the current sales rate". Also to have a 225 day surplus on a Chrysler 200 might only take 2 or 3 cars---LOL!

But I can understand why some of these cars are epoxied to the showroom floor.

qbrozen

Ah, days worth of inventory. Ok, that makes sense. Having nearly a year's worth of cars is brutal.

nyccarguy

@rayainsw - congrats!  You never dissapoint!  That Mediterranean Blue is GORGEOUS!  Enjoy!

suydam

andres3 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Which brands and models have the largest inventory at dealerships
(time to get a good deal?)

Buick Lacrosse 330 (days)
Buick Cascada 298
Chevrolet Corvette 267
Volkswagen CC 259
Chevrolet Camaro 236
Buick Verano 234
Mitsubishi Mirage 231
Acura ILX 227
Chrysler 200 225
Buick Regal 222

Pretty sad Buick has 4 cars on this top 10 list.

Has their customer base died off from old age?

I think that already happened. Buick's customer base is now slightly older than average, which makes sense as they are pricier than their Chevy cousins. That said, I don't know why they mark them up so high as to discourage people from looking, and then drop the price by thousands once people are actually in the showroom.

uplanderguy

Maybe because I am a GM buyer, but I've never paid sticker price for a single car I've purchased in 36 years. It's funny to me that people would think the sticker is the price you'll pay.

The LaCrosse being just out makes one wonder (1) if they "built out" the old model and (2) potential buyers have been waiting for the new car.

All that said, I could see Buick going away sometime. Mostly could be covered between Chevy and Cadillac.

Whenever I see a Buick-GMC dealer, I think, "I wouldn't want to be them". Lincoln-only is probably the only worse dealer situation to be in IMHO.

qbrozen

I paid sticker on one new car: Honda Fit. It was the new model and they were selling before even arriving at dealerships. Plus, markup on those is so miniscule anyway.

I have paid asking price on a couple of used cars when the asking price is already a really great bargain. Let's see... The LR2, 350Z, and EX35 ...just off the top of my head.

kyfdx

I paid $650 under the asking price on the A3 TDI, last summer. They had just cut the asking price on-line. I would have paid the asking price, but they didn't know that. They only knew that they had that dog on the lot for four months, and I was the only one looking at it.

houdini1

28firefighter said:

I think I'd have the same problem as you @fintail. I'd want to price everything super aggressively, and if they want to buy great and if not - see ya later. I don't think I have it in me to "beg" someone to buy.

Come to think of it, this is probably why I don't do sales in my current role but somehow have developed and closed my own business anyway out of existing client referrals.

If you guys think "begging" is a successful sales technique, you are correct in that you would make very poor salespeople.

qbrozen

Oh yeah, the Jetta TDI was asking price, too.