A great clip from Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News featuring the friendship that exists between the U.S. and Canada. Well worth watching! NBC Nightly News
Not so much anymore. When I was doing business in Montreal back in the early '70s it was pretty tense. Now things are really mellow -- we came so close to splitting the country back in October of '95 that it gave many of us (on both sides of the issue) pause. Canada needs Quebec, and vice-versa, in my never-humble opinion.
Ah, yes, the days of Meech Lake and Charlottetown, "separate and distinct societies", and all that.
From an outsiders' perspective, it always seemed to me that Quebec wanted their cake and eat it, too.
It amazes me that so many Americans are not knowledgeable about our neighbor to the north. It's "eh" and "hoser" and Tim Hortons and think that Canada is just like the US, only colder and they use the metric system.
Not hardly. Very different history than that of the US.
In my case, I won't buy a car assembled by the UAW. Their political views and endorsements are the polar opposites of mine, so why should I support them?
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I resemble that remark. I think GG has some Italian blood in him too.
bianca....tallman, mentioned before, my late Father was right off the boat from just south of Rome. My late Mother was full blooded Italian, too. Although, she was born here.
My Dad became a citizen, and was shipped off to Europe and was in the first wave in the Invasion of Normandy. France was as far as they'd let him go, though. They wouldn't let him anywhere near the Italian border, for the obvious reasons. I think he had a brief stint in Hawaii after that, but didn't see any action. He was strictly in a support role there until his enlistment was up.
He had some black and white pictures I've got stored in a box somewhere from both Normandy (which looked horrific), and Hawaii (which looked serene, except for the aftermath destruction for rebuilding of Pearl Harbor).
In short, I'm 100% Italian. My son, on the other hand, is a DNA mutt. :P
Believe me, my family, and specifically me....we've heard all the derogatory slurs from the time we were in grade school, even today. The "Spanish" story is the one I've always heard in my family as being the correct root of the term "WOP" (which by the way, incensed my Father). I'm a little more forgiving when I hear it. Still, my Father's words echo in my ears when he heard the term...."Don't don't go around calling 'Brits' limeys. Don't go around calling black people 'Ns'. Don't go around calling Germans 'krauts'. Don't lower yourself to ever do that. That just shows you're as ignorant as they are".
You've got me beat, then. I'm only 50% Italian (from Dad), English and Dutch from Mom. The Italian and Dutch sides both contribute to enjoyment of cooking and good food and convivial socializing; I'm not quite sure what the English side is good for.
Got me to marry a Brit, maybe, so there's that.
I've got my dad's WWII medals. It is indeed horrific to realize what these young men went through, and how much we owe them for the world we have today.
>Still, my Father's words echo in my ears when he heard the term...."Don't don't go around calling 'Brits' limeys. Don't go around calling black people 'Ns'. Don't go around calling Germans 'krauts'. Don't lower yourself to ever do that. That just shows you're as ignorant as they are".
That's very good advice in many aspects of our lives.
Many years ago, Henry Ford published an anti-Semitic newspaper and even accepted a citation from Hitler. It is for these reasons many older Jewish people refuse to buy a Ford.
Shoot, if people were still required to put down 20% and could finance the car for only three years max, there would be a lot less cars sold. So, let's say the average car is $25K. A customer would have to come up with $5K and payments would be $555 plus interest. That would be pretty tough for the average slob.
Of course with those sorts of rules the average guy would be a lot more likely to take better care of his car. It could spawn a whole new generation of lemkos.....
Bianca - you and I are pretty close in background. Dad was 100% Italian. Mom was German, English, Irish and Dutch. The percentages of Irish and German are a question mark. My great-grandfather was adopted. His parents were Irish and German. The one picture I have of him looks like he could be about that mix. If he was indeed equal amounts of each then I'm 3/16 German and 5/16 Irish.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
"I'm not quite sure what the English side is good for."
My mother, who was of English heritage, used to say that her side gave us proper etiquette. With Dad's rough edges from his Scottish heritage, my sister and I inherited some of both.
I would contact your sales rep and discuss the issue. You could even show up with the survey to air your concerns with the finance man. To be fair, it may have been an honest mistake. I would go with an empty gas tank --- you might leave with a full one for being considerate. They really want excellent surveys.
Too late. Survey (an e-mailed one) is done and I said exactly what happened.
The other issue was that the driver's side window needed to be re-programmed. So I had to answer "no" to "Was your vehicle delivered free of defects?" and then explained the situation. It would go up one-third of the way, stop, reverse, and then I had to hold the button up manually to get it to go up all the way.
They couldn't figure out how to fix it and I really needed to get home, as my poor dog had been in his crate for several hours at that point and no doubt needed to get out. They gave me a loaner and kept my new car overnight to re-program it. The other new V70 they got in at the same time as mine had the same issue, so I assume they fixed that one right after mine, after they got the new programming download from Volvo headquarters, or wherever it was.
I gave the saleswoman all "excellents," although in truth in "product knowledge" there were a couple things she didn't know, like how to press both the L and R buttons on the side mirrors to close them (f'r instance, if you're going through a drive-through at the bank or fast food place and you don't want them extended). But that was minor and I read how to do it in the manual; she genuinely was "excellent" on everything that was important to me - had the car ready for me to test-drive when I first arrived, had the other one (in my preferred color but not with preferred options) ready in case I wanted that one instead, was pleasant and courteous, gave me a good price very quickly ($2500 under invoice - about $6k less than MSRP), worked hard with the service guys to resolve the window issue as soon as possible, etc. etc.
Funny how her being pleasant and prepared really made the sale very easy. I wasn't much of a grinder; did argue up the value of my trade somewhat (from $2500 to $3000 for a 10 year old Maxima with 120,000 miles, a creased trunk lid and broken taillight), and I didn't need financing, so that was all easy.
I admit I was swayed by her family pictures on the desk. Married to a military guy, raising two kids and a dog - eh, I could have ground out maybe another $200 bucks on the sale, but poor ol' Macabee's tales of the starving children of struggling car sales people came to mind and I just didn't grind any further.
I admit I was swayed by her family pictures on the desk. Married to a military guy, raising two kids and a dog
Biancar, I have enjoyed reading about your car buying experience. I think with the mirrors, there is only so much knowledge the salesperson can give you these days. The cars are so technical with so many gadgets, and most people can only pay attention for about 10 minutes. Our sales guy left out a lot of stuff, adjusting the seats, memory for seats etc. I gave him a good write up but didn't find him knowledgeable or helpful.
About the picture on the desk. One friend just mentioned the other day he went to the local Mercedes dealer and he was turned off because the salesman had a picture of his wife and kids on his desk facing the customer. My friend thought that was kind of cheesy.
He bought a Mercedes at a used car lot because of that. He took it in for some service work and they put it up on a hoist and it dropped off and the car was totalled. :sick: They actually gave him a total refund, and he bought one from a Mercedes dealer.
I was completely with you up until the "fish and chips!"
Nothing wrong with fish and chips (from a taste stand point - not so much from a health stand point), but the British way is to use vinegar instead of ketchup. Especially malt vinegar. Some restaurants in the US go along with it, others look at you like you are crazy.
Fish and Chips are especially good in England where they serve it in old newspapers....that's the best. (Maybe the ink adds something).
He bought a Mercedes at a used car lot because of that. He took it in for some service work and they put it up on a hoist and it dropped off and the car was totalled. They actually gave him a total refund, and he bought one from a Mercedes dealer.
Yikes!!! Guess the good news is no one was standing under it, eh??
Re the pictures on the desk - only mildly cheesy. They were actually on the console towards the back of her cubicle, not on the working surface of her desk, and the one most prominently displayed was the one of the dog. And I own two dogs...sure can't short a fellow dog-lover, can I??
Also I had done my research ahead of time on truecar, and the deal she gave me was in-between "great" and "good," and I figured that was good enough. Must be getting all soft and compassionate towards the car sales folks in my old age here.
and the deal she gave me was in-between "great" and "good," and I figured that was good enough.
I know what you mean. I know a 10 or 15 years ago I would have driven all over town to save a few hundred dollars. This time, the bmw dealer said they were alloted 2 Cabriolets for September and they were going fast, so if I wanted one I better order it now.......and no discounts. They did give me a reasonable amount for my trade in - more than I expected. (and the Canadian dollar went up so they gave me a rebate of $3000)
I usually don't like being told buy now or you will lose out, but this time I think it was true. In the big scheme of things.....I have never worried about what I paid for a car. I have made some really good deals (I know because one Chev dealer wanted $800 more at the end of lease on a Camaro because the secretary miscalculated - you can guess what I told them), and I am sure I paid too much, but life goes on and I needed the car and the cost of a car didn't change my life one bit.
You have a car that you will enjoy for many years, and it just won't make a difference in the end if you could have saved an extra hundred bucks (doubtful anyway with those discounts) if you ground it out for hours with the nice saleslady.
What does--- sold at auction as a manufacturer vehicle --- mean. Carfax says it is a rental -- does that mean it is from the rental car fleets or just an in house demo/event type car?
She didn't tell you those were the pictures that came with the frames...
My brother and SIL did that. They had one of those multiple picture frames and filled it with pictures from both sides of the family but in one space they left the picture the frame came with to see what people would do. More than one person guessed teh wrong picture as the one that came with the frame.
Spaghetti sauce? Do tell. The two things I wanted from my grandmother were her sauce (gravy) recipe and her meatball recipe. When I asked her she said the next time she made them she'd call me - that you have to watch it and get the idea. She never made either again because the disease that killed her had started and she never felt up to it. My dad's youngest brother claimed to know the whole thing and if I were just sitting there he'd rattle stuff off in detail but if I started writing anything down he'd change the subject. He's gone now, too, so I'm lost. I do know a big secret in the sauce is that the first day you start (it simmers for like a week) you toss in a pork chop. Over several days the pork chop completely dissolves but is key to the taste.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Exactly. As isellhondas is fond of saying, "Life's too short."
That said, I do always have a budget in mind when I go shopping. If she had not hit the figure she did, I probably would have bought an Outback instead. It's always good to have a Plan B in the back of your mind, whether that means shopping at another dealer of the same make or shopping for a different car entirely.
Years ago I wanted to buy a Maxima (this was in '93, long before I bought the Max which I just traded in.) At the time I had a budget of $18,000. A Nissan dealer had a Maxima that had been a dealer demo, had some nice options on it, good color, etc., but the lowest he would come down to was $18,500. I told him I was sorry, my budget was 18k, so could he do any better? Nope, not a chance, beautiful car, very in-demand, would I really walk over $500?, blah, blah, blah.
I went to a couple of Toyota stores, looked at and test-drove a Camry. There ended up being a little drama with this one regarding the right color, but in the end I found a dealer with the right car, right color, and price was $17,700. I bought it.
Next day Nissan dealer called (this was about a week after I had seen him last), said "After talking it over with my manager, for you we can get the price to $18,000. Can you come in this afternoon?"
"Sorry, I already have a car in my driveway that fit my budget and I'm happy with it."
"Oh. Sorry we called too late then. Thanks anyway."
Moral of the story could be two-fold, I guess: 1) Wait long enough, and there's a good chance a dealer can meet your price, or 2) If you don't give the customer your best price as soon as possible, customer will decide on something else.
I have never regretted sticking to a budget and making decisions accordingly. Within that budget, though, I've also never regretted getting the best car (or other whateveritis) possible for what I'm willing to spend.
Biancar, I have enjoyed reading about your car buying experience. I think with the mirrors, there is only so much knowledge the salesperson can give you these days. The cars are so technical with so many gadgets, and most people can only pay attention for about 10 minutes. Our sales guy left out a lot of stuff, adjusting the seats, memory for seats etc. I gave him a good write up but didn't find him knowledgeable or helpful.
When we bought the MINI a couple of weeks ago, the salesman took probably 30-40 minutes with my daughter to show her pretty much everything about the car ... even showing her that the roadside assistance number was affixed to the rear hatch for ease of use and pairing her cell phone with the Bluetooth system in the car.
I think that, when the survey comes, I'll have her fill it out, since she was the primary buyer. I'll walk her through it, just so she understands the process.
The salesman has called us probably 3-4 times since we bought the car to follow up with us. Since the car is in Ft. Collins most of the time, I have to tell him that I assume everything is OK, else we'd be hearing from the daughter.
"..."ethics & morals" & whether it was right for Jewish people to buy German cars. He said it was wrong."
I think this discussion is really interesting and I don't fault anyone for subscribing to their own biases--we all have them. What does surprise me--and it was touched upon in an earlier post--is that we can see past enemies in large ticket items like cars, but the smaller stuff like gasoline seemingly goes unnoticed. Now, we are not currently at war (except ideologically) with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela or a host of other anti-US countries so maybe there is a different, higher, threshold, for these countries. Last I checked the US was generally in accord on most fundamental issues with Germany, Japan and Italy--we even seem to like the British despite their bad teeth. :P
Since most of us never know exactly from where the oil was extracted to produce their gas (no country of origin labeling)--or who refined it for that matter--does that offer the consumer the cover of "plausible deniability?" What about cameras? TVs? Stereos? Other large appliances? Do those items slip beneath the radar because they aren't seen by a broad audience? Or is it that we can make choices with cars, but that's not possible (short of using none) with oil.
I can say this, you aren't going to be buying a camera unless its made by the Germans or the Japanese--unless you're buying a used Kodak or Polaroid from eBay.
I remember a non-deal like that back 20 years ago. I was just trying to buy a cheap. reliable vehicle. My wife was in nursing school and daughter #1 was an infant. He pulled the "you'd walk for $200?" line. Had also pulled the "I have your keys" trick. On the latter it was amazing how quickly he returned the keys after I said in a voice loud enough to be heard anywhere in the showroom that if he did not return my keys immediately I'd be contacting the police for them.
Finally get home and we're telling my late, great FIL, a retired car salesman about our adventure. The first words out of his mouth were "They let you walk for $200?"
I was very pleased when that dealership folded.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I know several people who will not buy Citgo because of Chavez. To me this is ridiculous. Sure, he's not my idea of a good guy bit last I looked he wasn't financing and hiding terrorists like most of the Middle East suppliers are.
I long ago gave up any sending a message with my gas purchases.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
The salesman has called us probably 3-4 times since we bought the car to follow up with us.
Wow! That's what I call service. We bought 2 bmws at the same time and our guy didn't call once. I didn't even get a birthday card! My old Chrysler dealer at least sent a birthday card.
Actually, I just took the car in to get the snow tires changed over and I didn't see our salesman's name on any of the offices...must be about 20 offices. I think and hope he is gone. If I buy another car there I would rather buy from someone else -which would be hard to do and very embarassing for him if we I did that. He was also painfully slow on the computer....I could have looked up things a lot faster than he could. The only good thing was he was ultra low pressure.
Now, we are not currently at war (except ideologically) with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela
I've mentioned this before, but I refuse to buy gas at Citgo b/c it's owned by Venezuela. I'd love to be able to not buy oil from Iran or Saudi Arabia, but in reality it's next to impossible.
I know several people who will not buy Citgo because of Chavez. To me this is ridiculous. Sure, he's not my idea of a good guy bit last I looked he wasn't financing and hiding terrorists like most of the Middle East suppliers are.
For me it's a matter of principle. And it's not just terrorists in the Middle East, how about opressing the Venezuelan people? Or supporting Cuba? Without his support, Cuba would've had to join the real world a long time ago.
There's no clear proof, but there are rumors that Chavez supports FARC in Colombia. Guess what FARC does? Produces Cocaine that ends up in the US.
Chavez is not going to miss my money, but if enough people stopped going there (it's not a big sacrifice to go to another gas station), he'd feel it.
The salesman has called us probably 3-4 times since we bought the car to follow up with us.
Wow! That's what I call service. We bought 2 bmws at the same time and our guy didn't call once. I didn't even get a birthday card! My old Chrysler dealer at least sent a birthday card.
You know, it's pretty funny, but after about the second phone call it actually became a touch annoying. I appreciate the fact that he's following up, but he really needs to do it with my daughter, not me. She drives the car, she can tell him if everything is OK or not.
Be interesting to see if either of us get a birthday card. I think the only dealer that did that for us was the VW saleslady where we bought our New Beetle. In fact, I remember getting a card from her informing us that she'd moved on to one of the local Porsche / Audi dealers and to look her up.
I still hear all the time from the guy that sold us the Windstall. Unfortunately his dealership is always asking for more money than anyone else. i don't hold it against him that he sold us the Windstall.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
but after about the second phone call it actually became a touch annoying
Actually, I think one phone call would be good...just to make sure you like your new car.
If any actual real salespeople are out there it might be interesting to know what you do in these cases, and what reaction you get. Do you make a call after the sale? Does it get a good or bad reaction? Maybe people would prefer an email these days, it's less obtrusive.
We've bought several cars from Schomp over the years and I think each salesperson called to follow up as well. We were also told each time that Lisa would personally call and follow up but we've never heard from her, I doubt she would have that kind of time on her hands anyway.
I'll call after the second or third day. I thank them again for their business and ask them if any questions have called up. Thet Mini guy would be real annoying after the 2nd call. I know I wouldn't welcome that many calls.
Then we have a system where we call our "old owners" every six months for the next three years.
It's always.." Hey, I'm still here in case I can answer any Honda related questions for you"
Most of the time they are happy to hear from me and other times I get the feeling they could care less and wonder why I would even be calling them.
Before I got in this business, I bought a lot of new cars and never once did I ever get a call or even a note afterwards and that was fine with me.
I always follow up on a sale. The best response came from a lady driving a tripped out Black on Black Range Rover Sport. The car's grill and vents were replaced with a bling bling Strut kit. The stock wheels were replaced with bling bling polished chrome wheels. The two front windows were tinted to match the back. It certainly was a car worthy of a star NBA or NFL player. Now this person lives in a small farm town in the north eastern part of the state. I called her to see how she liked the car. She said "I love it except for one thing". Concerned, I asked what the one issue was. With a laugh she said she kept getting pulled over by the small town cops.
It was worse than that. Hitler had a picture of Henery Ford on his wall and mentioned him in Mien Kampf. He wanted his army to be as efficient as Ford's factories. Yikes! :sick:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
isell and lrguy44 - thank you for your answers. As a customer, I agree one call to ask how things are going is reassuring and a nice jesture, more calls would be annoying.
I wouldn't object to a call in 3 or 4 years to look at new models and to see how things are going...but you will probably hear about a big repair or something.
When I had my Jeep the dealer had a recording that would remind me about it being time for servicing. I didn't mind that, but I wouldn't have wanted to deal with a real person.....but with a recording you get the message, but can just hang up.
Craig....a follow-up regimen as you outlined is fine by me. However, having bought or helped buy a lot of cars, I've made the mistake of giving my email address and phone # to the dealerships, even if I wasn't the customer, but just a helper in the deal.
I ended up going all "cell phone" and canceling my land line about a year ago. So, the phone calls stopped. Which, by the way was the best thing I ever did. No more "wanna great credit card deal? Want new windows? Want new siding (I like in a brick house)?" And, these days, I'm very particular to who I give my cell # to. My family knows it. My bank knows it. My closest neighbors know it. My car dealership knows it. That's it.
email is a different story. I've had the same personal email address for 15 years. When I first got it, I gave it out to anyone. Bad move (didn't realize that at the time, though). I probably get at least 10 "car offer" emails a week. Some are just dealership "news letter" type things. Mostly, they're "deal 'o the day" type of emails, though. Sales people come and go. But, it seems once you're in a dealership's system, it's for life. :sick:
Fortunately, my professional email address is only known by business colleagues. Plus, I've got a pretty hefty spam filter for my business account.
And, I'm much more careful about who I give my personal email address to these days.
On another note, I changed my business phone # (which is a land line) a few months ago. Whenever you change phone #s, most of you know that there's a random number generator that gives a new phone #.
Well, I don't know how long a number has to be dormant before they reissue it, but apparently I got a number for a person that every credit agency in the world is looking for. When I first got the number, I was getting a dozen phone calls a day from places looking for the previous owner of my "new" number.
Couldn't figure what was going on at first. But, then it hit me. These were places trying to collect on some sort of debt(s). It didn't matter that I told them that the number was a businees line now. They kept calling. I had more than a few who were down right nasty to me, saying they knew I was trying to skirt their collection efforts. I had no idea who the person was they were trying to get hold of.
Finally, I put my business line on the "do not call" list (which isn't very good for business). Then, they started with the "private line" caller ID. So, I couldn't report them.
If anyone should be regulated, it's these folks. Talk about predators....geeesh! I understand if someone is trying to collect on a debt. Send the "perp" a letter. Once it becomes clear that the number they're calling no longer belongs to whomever they're trying to reach, cease and desist.
Comments
My history is a bit off but IIRC all those things happened after the 1890's.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
NBC Nightly News
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
OHHH SNAP!!!
the great white north decided we can help you with that.
Ah, yes, the days of Meech Lake and Charlottetown, "separate and distinct societies", and all that.
From an outsiders' perspective, it always seemed to me that Quebec wanted their cake and eat it, too.
It amazes me that so many Americans are not knowledgeable about our neighbor to the north. It's "eh" and "hoser" and Tim Hortons and think that Canada is just like the US, only colder and they use the metric system.
Not hardly. Very different history than that of the US.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
bianca....tallman, mentioned before, my late Father was right off the boat from just south of Rome. My late Mother was full blooded Italian, too. Although, she was born here.
My Dad became a citizen, and was shipped off to Europe and was in the first wave in the Invasion of Normandy. France was as far as they'd let him go, though. They wouldn't let him anywhere near the Italian border, for the obvious reasons. I think he had a brief stint in Hawaii after that, but didn't see any action. He was strictly in a support role there until his enlistment was up.
He had some black and white pictures I've got stored in a box somewhere from both Normandy (which looked horrific), and Hawaii (which looked serene, except for the aftermath destruction for rebuilding of Pearl Harbor).
In short, I'm 100% Italian. My son, on the other hand, is a DNA mutt. :P
Believe me, my family, and specifically me....we've heard all the derogatory slurs from the time we were in grade school, even today. The "Spanish" story is the one I've always heard in my family as being the correct root of the term "WOP" (which by the way, incensed my Father). I'm a little more forgiving when I hear it. Still, my Father's words echo in my ears when he heard the term...."Don't don't go around calling 'Brits' limeys. Don't go around calling black people 'Ns'. Don't go around calling Germans 'krauts'. Don't lower yourself to ever do that. That just shows you're as ignorant as they are".
Smart man!
Got me to marry a Brit, maybe, so there's that.
I've got my dad's WWII medals. It is indeed horrific to realize what these young men went through, and how much we owe them for the world we have today.
Love your dad's attitude. Bless his heart for it.
That's very good advice in many aspects of our lives.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Bianca - you and I are pretty close in background. Dad was 100% Italian. Mom was German, English, Irish and Dutch. The percentages of Irish and German are a question mark. My great-grandfather was adopted. His parents were Irish and German. The one picture I have of him looks like he could be about that mix. If he was indeed equal amounts of each then I'm 3/16 German and 5/16 Irish.
Richard
Cute!!!!!
And a double :P to you.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My mother, who was of English heritage, used to say that her side gave us proper etiquette. With Dad's rough edges from his Scottish heritage, my sister and I inherited some of both.
Richard
I like the way you think!
How about your language!
How about a pretty good justice system!
How about things like William Shakespeare!
How about fish and chips!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The other issue was that the driver's side window needed to be re-programmed. So I had to answer "no" to "Was your vehicle delivered free of defects?" and then explained the situation. It would go up one-third of the way, stop, reverse, and then I had to hold the button up manually to get it to go up all the way.
They couldn't figure out how to fix it and I really needed to get home, as my poor dog had been in his crate for several hours at that point and no doubt needed to get out. They gave me a loaner and kept my new car overnight to re-program it. The other new V70 they got in at the same time as mine had the same issue, so I assume they fixed that one right after mine, after they got the new programming download from Volvo headquarters, or wherever it was.
I gave the saleswoman all "excellents," although in truth in "product knowledge" there were a couple things she didn't know, like how to press both the L and R buttons on the side mirrors to close them (f'r instance, if you're going through a drive-through at the bank or fast food place and you don't want them extended). But that was minor and I read how to do it in the manual; she genuinely was "excellent" on everything that was important to me - had the car ready for me to test-drive when I first arrived, had the other one (in my preferred color but not with preferred options) ready in case I wanted that one instead, was pleasant and courteous, gave me a good price very quickly ($2500 under invoice - about $6k less than MSRP), worked hard with the service guys to resolve the window issue as soon as possible, etc. etc.
Funny how her being pleasant and prepared really made the sale very easy. I wasn't much of a grinder; did argue up the value of my trade somewhat (from $2500 to $3000 for a 10 year old Maxima with 120,000 miles, a creased trunk lid and broken taillight), and I didn't need financing, so that was all easy.
I admit I was swayed by her family pictures on the desk. Married to a military guy, raising two kids and a dog - eh, I could have ground out maybe another $200 bucks on the sale, but poor ol' Macabee's tales of the starving children of struggling car sales people came to mind and I just didn't grind any further.
Well, that's what I've got the Italian side for - I do make a fantastic spaghetti sauce, as God intended it to be made. Or so said my Nonna...
Biancar, I have enjoyed reading about your car buying experience. I think with the mirrors, there is only so much knowledge the salesperson can give you these days. The cars are so technical with so many gadgets, and most people can only pay attention for about 10 minutes. Our sales guy left out a lot of stuff, adjusting the seats, memory for seats etc. I gave him a good write up but didn't find him knowledgeable or helpful.
About the picture on the desk. One friend just mentioned the other day he went to the local Mercedes dealer and he was turned off because the salesman had a picture of his wife and kids on his desk facing the customer. My friend thought that was kind of cheesy.
He bought a Mercedes at a used car lot because of that. He took it in for some service work and they put it up on a hoist and it dropped off and the car was totalled. :sick: They actually gave him a total refund, and he bought one from a Mercedes dealer.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Nothing wrong with fish and chips (from a taste stand point - not so much from a health stand point), but the British way is to use vinegar instead of ketchup. Especially malt vinegar. Some restaurants in the US go along with it, others look at you like you are crazy.
Fish and Chips are especially good in England where they serve it in old newspapers....that's the best. (Maybe the ink adds something).
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Yikes!!! Guess the good news is no one was standing under it, eh??
Re the pictures on the desk - only mildly cheesy.
Also I had done my research ahead of time on truecar, and the deal she gave me was in-between "great" and "good," and I figured that was good enough. Must be getting all soft and compassionate towards the car sales folks in my old age here.
I know what you mean. I know a 10 or 15 years ago I would have driven all over town to save a few hundred dollars. This time, the bmw dealer said they were alloted 2 Cabriolets for September and they were going fast, so if I wanted one I better order it now.......and no discounts. They did give me a reasonable amount for my trade in - more than I expected. (and the Canadian dollar went up so they gave me a rebate of $3000)
I usually don't like being told buy now or you will lose out, but this time I think it was true. In the big scheme of things.....I have never worried about what I paid for a car. I have made some really good deals (I know because one Chev dealer wanted $800 more at the end of lease on a Camaro because the secretary miscalculated - you can guess what I told them), and I am sure I paid too much, but life goes on and I needed the car and the cost of a car didn't change my life one bit.
You have a car that you will enjoy for many years, and it just won't make a difference in the end if you could have saved an extra hundred bucks (doubtful anyway with those discounts) if you ground it out for hours with the nice saleslady.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My brother and SIL did that. They had one of those multiple picture frames and filled it with pictures from both sides of the family but in one space they left the picture the frame came with to see what people would do. More than one person guessed teh wrong picture as the one that came with the frame.
Spaghetti sauce? Do tell. The two things I wanted from my grandmother were her sauce (gravy) recipe and her meatball recipe. When I asked her she said the next time she made them she'd call me - that you have to watch it and get the idea. She never made either again because the disease that killed her had started and she never felt up to it. My dad's youngest brother claimed to know the whole thing and if I were just sitting there he'd rattle stuff off in detail but if I started writing anything down he'd change the subject. He's gone now, too, so I'm lost. I do know a big secret in the sauce is that the first day you start (it simmers for like a week) you toss in a pork chop. Over several days the pork chop completely dissolves but is key to the taste.
That said, I do always have a budget in mind when I go shopping. If she had not hit the figure she did, I probably would have bought an Outback instead. It's always good to have a Plan B in the back of your mind, whether that means shopping at another dealer of the same make or shopping for a different car entirely.
Years ago I wanted to buy a Maxima (this was in '93, long before I bought the Max which I just traded in.) At the time I had a budget of $18,000. A Nissan dealer had a Maxima that had been a dealer demo, had some nice options on it, good color, etc., but the lowest he would come down to was $18,500. I told him I was sorry, my budget was 18k, so could he do any better? Nope, not a chance, beautiful car, very in-demand, would I really walk over $500?, blah, blah, blah.
I went to a couple of Toyota stores, looked at and test-drove a Camry. There ended up being a little drama with this one regarding the right color, but in the end I found a dealer with the right car, right color, and price was $17,700. I bought it.
Next day Nissan dealer called (this was about a week after I had seen him last), said "After talking it over with my manager, for you we can get the price to $18,000. Can you come in this afternoon?"
"Sorry, I already have a car in my driveway that fit my budget and I'm happy with it."
"Oh. Sorry we called too late then. Thanks anyway."
Moral of the story could be two-fold, I guess: 1) Wait long enough, and there's a good chance a dealer can meet your price, or 2) If you don't give the customer your best price as soon as possible, customer will decide on something else.
I have never regretted sticking to a budget and making decisions accordingly. Within that budget, though, I've also never regretted getting the best car (or other whateveritis) possible for what I'm willing to spend.
When we bought the MINI a couple of weeks ago, the salesman took probably 30-40 minutes with my daughter to show her pretty much everything about the car ... even showing her that the roadside assistance number was affixed to the rear hatch for ease of use and pairing her cell phone with the Bluetooth system in the car.
I think that, when the survey comes, I'll have her fill it out, since she was the primary buyer. I'll walk her through it, just so she understands the process.
The salesman has called us probably 3-4 times since we bought the car to follow up with us. Since the car is in Ft. Collins most of the time, I have to tell him that I assume everything is OK, else we'd be hearing from the daughter.
I think this discussion is really interesting and I don't fault anyone for subscribing to their own biases--we all have them. What does surprise me--and it was touched upon in an earlier post--is that we can see past enemies in large ticket items like cars, but the smaller stuff like gasoline seemingly goes unnoticed. Now, we are not currently at war (except ideologically) with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela or a host of other anti-US countries so maybe there is a different, higher, threshold, for these countries. Last I checked the US was generally in accord on most fundamental issues with Germany, Japan and Italy--we even seem to like the British despite their bad teeth. :P
Since most of us never know exactly from where the oil was extracted to produce their gas (no country of origin labeling)--or who refined it for that matter--does that offer the consumer the cover of "plausible deniability?" What about cameras? TVs? Stereos? Other large appliances? Do those items slip beneath the radar because they aren't seen by a broad audience? Or is it that we can make choices with cars, but that's not possible (short of using none) with oil.
I can say this, you aren't going to be buying a camera unless its made by the Germans or the Japanese--unless you're buying a used Kodak or Polaroid from eBay.
Gogiboy
Finally get home and we're telling my late, great FIL, a retired car salesman about our adventure. The first words out of his mouth were "They let you walk for $200?"
I was very pleased when that dealership folded.
I long ago gave up any sending a message with my gas purchases.
Wow! That's what I call service. We bought 2 bmws at the same time and our guy didn't call once. I didn't even get a birthday card! My old Chrysler dealer at least sent a birthday card.
Actually, I just took the car in to get the snow tires changed over and I didn't see our salesman's name on any of the offices...must be about 20 offices. I think and hope he is gone. If I buy another car there I would rather buy from someone else -which would be hard to do and very embarassing for him if we I did that. He was also painfully slow on the computer....I could have looked up things a lot faster than he could. The only good thing was he was ultra low pressure.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I've mentioned this before, but I refuse to buy gas at Citgo b/c it's owned by Venezuela. I'd love to be able to not buy oil from Iran or Saudi Arabia, but in reality it's next to impossible.
For me it's a matter of principle. And it's not just terrorists in the Middle East, how about opressing the Venezuelan people? Or supporting Cuba? Without his support, Cuba would've had to join the real world a long time ago.
There's no clear proof, but there are rumors that Chavez supports FARC in Colombia. Guess what FARC does? Produces Cocaine that ends up in the US.
Chavez is not going to miss my money, but if enough people stopped going there (it's not a big sacrifice to go to another gas station), he'd feel it.
Wow! That's what I call service. We bought 2 bmws at the same time and our guy didn't call once. I didn't even get a birthday card! My old Chrysler dealer at least sent a birthday card.
You know, it's pretty funny, but after about the second phone call it actually became a touch annoying. I appreciate the fact that he's following up, but he really needs to do it with my daughter, not me. She drives the car, she can tell him if everything is OK or not.
Be interesting to see if either of us get a birthday card. I think the only dealer that did that for us was the VW saleslady where we bought our New Beetle. In fact, I remember getting a card from her informing us that she'd moved on to one of the local Porsche / Audi dealers and to look her up.
Actually, I think one phone call would be good...just to make sure you like your new car.
If any actual real salespeople are out there it might be interesting to know what you do in these cases, and what reaction you get. Do you make a call after the sale? Does it get a good or bad reaction? Maybe people would prefer an email these days, it's less obtrusive.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Then we have a system where we call our "old owners" every six months for the next three years.
It's always.." Hey, I'm still here in case I can answer any Honda related questions for you"
Most of the time they are happy to hear from me and other times I get the feeling they could care less and wonder why I would even be calling them.
Before I got in this business, I bought a lot of new cars and never once did I ever get a call or even a note afterwards and that was fine with me.
Any country that can produce William Shatner is OK in my book.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
It was worse than that. Hitler had a picture of Henery Ford on his wall and mentioned him in Mien Kampf. He wanted his army to be as efficient as Ford's factories. Yikes! :sick:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I wouldn't object to a call in 3 or 4 years to look at new models and to see how things are going...but you will probably hear about a big repair or something.
When I had my Jeep the dealer had a recording that would remind me about it being time for servicing. I didn't mind that, but I wouldn't have wanted to deal with a real person.....but with a recording you get the message, but can just hang up.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
No wonder Hitler lost the war... that dumkoff. Henery Ford was a potato farmer in Idaho. Henry Ford was the guy he should of had the picture of.
I ended up going all "cell phone" and canceling my land line about a year ago. So, the phone calls stopped. Which, by the way was the best thing I ever did. No more "wanna great credit card deal? Want new windows? Want new siding (I like in a brick house)?" And, these days, I'm very particular to who I give my cell # to. My family knows it. My bank knows it. My closest neighbors know it. My car dealership knows it. That's it.
email is a different story. I've had the same personal email address for 15 years. When I first got it, I gave it out to anyone. Bad move (didn't realize that at the time, though). I probably get at least 10 "car offer" emails a week. Some are just dealership "news letter" type things. Mostly, they're "deal 'o the day" type of emails, though. Sales people come and go. But, it seems once you're in a dealership's system, it's for life. :sick:
Fortunately, my professional email address is only known by business colleagues. Plus, I've got a pretty hefty spam filter for my business account.
And, I'm much more careful about who I give my personal email address to these days.
On another note, I changed my business phone # (which is a land line) a few months ago. Whenever you change phone #s, most of you know that there's a random number generator that gives a new phone #.
Well, I don't know how long a number has to be dormant before they reissue it, but apparently I got a number for a person that every credit agency in the world is looking for. When I first got the number, I was getting a dozen phone calls a day from places looking for the previous owner of my "new" number.
Couldn't figure what was going on at first. But, then it hit me. These were places trying to collect on some sort of debt(s). It didn't matter that I told them that the number was a businees line now. They kept calling. I had more than a few who were down right nasty to me, saying they knew I was trying to skirt their collection efforts. I had no idea who the person was they were trying to get hold of.
Finally, I put my business line on the "do not call" list (which isn't very good for business). Then, they started with the "private line" caller ID. So, I couldn't report them.
If anyone should be regulated, it's these folks. Talk about predators....geeesh! I understand if someone is trying to collect on a debt. Send the "perp" a letter. Once it becomes clear that the number they're calling no longer belongs to whomever they're trying to reach, cease and desist.
Isn’t that the common sense of it?
Give me a choice and I’ll make it. Give me no choice and I’ll I can’t figure that one out. Anyone have any suggestions? :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl