If taking I65 through Indianapolis driving to Chicago, go to I90 and take the tollroad in. The two times we went on the I80 I94 route from I65 was terrible traffic. Taking the tollroad and Skyway bridge in will hopefull bypass some of that.
No telling what those things would cost. A niche car like the one we are talking about would have very few people interested in it, but the few that would be interested would probably pay the MSRP just to get their hands on one.
The base price on Edmund's, including the destination fee is $38,695. and the Edmund's TMV (True Market Value) is $38,195. A whopping $500. discount. So these things do sell for MSRP.
Ok, I guess I should explain what a "mooch" really is.
That may be car sales jargon but, to the rest of the world, a mooch is someone who tries to get things for free. Haggling on the price of something, no matter how outrageous an offer, does not qualify as mooching.
If you decide to go back to working a bit just make sure you stay out of retail sales. Once you get back to dealing with "shoppers" your nerve endings will flare quickly. I often thought being a buyer at auto auctions would be enjoyable. Scouting out cars for dealers and establishing a rep for finding nice cars at good prices. Auctions aren't everyday so could be part time. I'm probably way off on the realities of the job --- probably looks better from the outside.
I was just there (Costco) about an hour ago. The US Corporate Headquarters and their store are a five minute drive from here.
For the time being I'm doing nothing. Working out at a guy three times a week, trying to catch up on yard work etc. Volunteered a day last week at our local food and clothing bank...that's another story.
And, yeah, I was thinking that working a few hours a week at Costco could be fun.
I have heard nothing but good things from their employees about working there.
Craig, I've got that beat. My first house in the mid-sixties was $11,500, and the payments were $99 a month, also including taxes and insurance. This was a nice five room starter home on a tree lined street with a nice yard and a full basement.
Seemed like a lot of money back then. Course, you could drive all week on a couple of bucks worth of gas....
Today, $99 is almost pocket change. The good old days!
Those loaded camaros and mustangs appeal to us babyboomers who never had one back in the 60's. Some of these guys are extremely well off and want to relive their youth and cost is no object. The really ought to offer the "power winch in the door" option to get these aging profilers out of those seats. Some things are better left in the past.
You guys sound like my dad. He and my mom bought their house for $23K in 1968. New construction in Southern California - 3 bed, 2 bath, 7200 sf lot. They will have lived there 42 years this coming November.
Back in 2003, they bought a new Hyundai Sonata GLS V6 .. mom pretty much demanded that they get one more new car (their last new car was bought in 1973). Dad was almost apoplectic about the price, though he felt it was a bargain compared to the Camry they were also looking at.
FYI - that $23K in 1968 equates to about $146K in today's dollars. At the top of the housing market, homes in the folks' neighborhood were selling for more than a half million bucks. Now it's probably worth $300-350K.
But what if the dealer thinks he will get $45k for it and someone offers $25k?
What if the dealer thinks he will get $45K for it but everyone who sees the $45K price tag just laughs and walks away? Would you call the dealership stupid?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Some people might laugh at the 45,000 number but someone else will come along and buy it. It will represent a "good value" to someone. Maybe not the masses but for "someone".
People waited for months to pay 2-3000 OVER MSRP for PT Cruisers when they first came out!
Did they get ""ripped off" of cheated?
Nope, they knew what they wanted and were willing to pay the price at the time.
Is Costco stock "worth" whatever it's trading for?
Maybe, maybe not buit if you want to own Costco that's what it's going to take.
Tomorrow could be a different story.
Some people have trouble understanding market forces.
I, and most people I know, avoid the skyway like the plague. You only save 4-5 miles and maybe 5-10 minutes at best. The toll on the skyway is, IIRC $3.00 and the IN Tollroad will run you about a buck.
Traffic bypassing the skyway can be heavy but most of the time when its not rush hour it moves pretty good.
Most people I have taken across the skyway hated the experience (the bridge is high and poorly maintained).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And that $45K price will come down if the car sits on the lot for any length of time.
This was the advantage when we bought my wife's Camry. Since the sales guy was a friend he pointed out the cars that had been on the lot a while and he was thus in a position to make better deals on them. There were several where there was absolutely nothing wrong with them - they just didn't move for one reason or another. They would either be a bargain for someone or end up at the auction.
Of course a new Mustang isn't going to any auction but it will either sell quickly for MSRP or the price will begin to drop.
BTW - I've frequently had the experience where the dealer was asking so much that I didn't even go past looking at his asking price because I figured either there was no deal to be had or that I didn't have the patience for it.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Richard, thanks for that. I'm struggling right now.
Isell, you're right on schedule. Right now you've been retired about the same length of time as a nice vacation, about two or three weeks, right? That's typically when the "Gee, sure do miss the guys at the shop" kind of thing kicks in.
Get yourself busy. Take a "vacation" in your own home town and go see some exhibits or interesting places within, say, 50 miles of where you live. Make some plans for this week, two or three things that you will definitely do on a given day at a given time. Make at least one of those things something you've never done before (could be as simple as going to a new restaurant where you've never been, or as arduous as climbing a trail when you've been a desk jockey for the last 20 years).
Longer term, look into classes offered at your nearby rec center or gym, or start planning a nice trip, or choose some other long-range goal that suits you.
Retirement is great, but you do have to make more of an effort. Life isn't going to come to you in the way it did when you were working and you never knew who was going to walk in that door. If you miss that sort of variety, you will have to work a little bit at making it happen. It can be fun to do that but it does take a bit of a shift in gears (to keep this in car-talk!).
Have fun, enjoy yourself, do something good for your community at least once a week. You'll get into this new rhythm before you know it.
Last week I put in a shift at our local food bank and I am hitting the trails more than I did before. Off to So Calif in two weeks for a mini reunion with people that go back to Kindergarden with me. Will spend five days visting and relaxing.
Joined a gym and have gone twoor three times a week and today I did yardwork that kicked my rear end.
So let me get this straight. The heater that keeps your windshield wiper cleaner could heat up and set your car on fire. GM will offer you $100 rebate because of the problem. How does that help me if my car catches on fire? I didn't have a big urge to go out and buy a GM product, only a Cadillac comes close to what I would consider, but I think this would disuade me from buying any GM product. Oh yeh, the company that makes the heater went bankrupt so this is how GM stands behind their products?
They are going to dis-able the feature, to stop the fires, and the $100 is for loss of the feature.
Something I read said some of them have previously been recalled, but there were fires even after the that recall. So, they will just shut them totally down.
Reading in Ranger forums, a recall to their brake master cylindar came up. Ford could not get enough repair parts for the fix. So they started doing something, which turned on the check engine light. And they didn't have a solution to this, but still were doing it.
Better yet, all Gubmint Motor does is disable the heated washer nozzles; there's no "fix"...
So, if your engine gets recalled, and the engine company went bankrupt, they will give you back $4000 to buy a new engine? I wonder if they will pro-rate it?
Something tells me this is a very shoddy business practice. If I sell a customer a $10 book and there are 5 pages missing from 500, do I just owe them 1 cent (1%)?
They won't be too happy, especially if it is the last 5 pages.
They are going to dis-able the feature, to stop the fires, and the $100 is for loss of the feature.
Good idea! If the power windows break down they reimburse me $1000. If the mirrors fall off they give me $300. If the On Star breaks down I get a refund of $2000. If the transmission falls out they give me a rebate of $4000.
Why would I buy the car in the first place? I want to be made whole again. I don't want rebates for parts that don't work. GM new slogan..."Don't worry......If we screw up we will give you a rebate for faulty parts - you can get it fixed if you need that feature."
>Yeah, and to think I was going to be an English teacher.
Errrr, the best answer would have been that you were using journalistic license by turning goes into "go's." Never admit you are wrong. That inability to act like I never make mistakes in my character is why I haven't been able to take up politics since retiring again.
The $100 is payment for loss of use and the dealer will disable the heater.
For all those using the "government" motors name, are you making fun of the foreign companies many of whom received HUGE subsidies for the plants and training and even operation costs thereof through the last decades? At least the stock to be issued for GM will most likely complete cover the cost of the money used to save jobs and part of the economy. I believe there's another discussion somewhere on Edmunds about this so I'll stop here.
I'm not sure if people think GM should start their own company to build heaters to replace those in the cars?
driver100 says the original went bankrupt--that makes sense, otherwise GM would be repairing the parts.
Heater washer fluid not a feature like a cruise control which overheats for some reason as another brand of car had to recall and repair IIRC. It's not something people in the South use very often. It's not somethiing people in Chicago, love 'em, use more than 4 months a year.
Disable it. Fine. Too bad it may have developed defects. It's been in use for years now, so the flaw may have come only with age on certain or a few units.
Driver....GM has been having trouble with the windshield washer fluid heater feature for awhile now. I didn't know it was developed and manufactured by a 3rd party. I had the feature on my previous Tahoe. Personally, I've never had windshield washer fluid ever freeze up on me. I guess it's happened, though. Why else offer such a feature?
I guess for the same reason manufacturers are offering "push button" start and FOBs, instead of key start. Don't need the feature. But, it's something else to differentiate their offerings from some other manufacturer.
I think GM is on the right path. But, one of their biggest buggaboos seems to be attention to detail. They over look the details (whether it be cheap interior, windshield washer heaters, etc) and wonder why the perception they have is hard to shake.
Craig.....I went to a REDs game last night. Had some excellent seats that were donated to me. Was talking to the usher. He was probably mid-50s. Said he retired from UPS. Was looking for something to do. Loved baseball. The REDs (or the stadium) hired him to be an usher. He said he loves it. He said he was a "people person", so he got to interact with the public. Works 4 hours at the stadium, 80 days/nights per year, and gets to watch baseball, and get paid for the effort.
THAT would be ideal.
MOOCHES....I don't know if $45K asking price for a Mustang is a non-starter (for me it would be). But, I've known a couple of guys who just have to have the first of the hot cars. They pay dearly for the privilege. One of them had to have the first Camaro. He paid $10K over MSRP for one a few months ago. Now, Camaros are everywhere....and can be had for a pretty good discount.
He's lamenting how much GM cars depreciate as he wants a 2011 Mustang and is shopping his 3K mile Camaro (and is looking to be about $15K-$20K upside down in it). While I've never said it out loud, I've always thought...."you wouldn't suffer such steep depreciation if you wouldn't constantly and severely overpay to have the first of a new model to begin with."
For all those using the "government" motors name, are you making fun of the foreign companies many of whom received HUGE subsidies for the plants and training and even operation costs thereof through the last decades?
I’m well aware of how the Japanese subsidized their car industry back in the early 70’s because I worked with a guy from Japan (for a little more than a year) who was at the company where I worked. He was learning the systems that he was going to be responsible for and did he ever enlighten me about that fact. He told me about a friend of his who worked for a company (supported by the Japanese government) that literally tore apart almost every car that the BIG 3 made (down to the last nut and bolt) so that they could “find a better way” to build cars. He was given a tour by his friend, a couple of times, to see this first hand. He said, “you have to see that to believe it; they took EVERYTHING apart".
At the time, the Japanese cars were a laughing stock for a lot of Americans (me included). I distinctly remember him telling me “one day we will be building the most reliable cars on earth”. I saw him again when he visited the company in the late 90’s and we talked again. He asked, “have you bought one of our cars yet”? He knew I hadn’t but asked anyway.
The point I’m trying to make here is that other countries have put that “subsidy” to very good use but we haven’t found a way to do that yet. We’re on our way but then something like this GM washer fluid heater thingy surfaces and I wonder if GM will ever get it. As I have mentioned here before until I bought my first Hyundai in 2005, I never, not even once, owned anything other than a GM car but then I had that paint fiasco on my ’95 Bonneville beast in 2000. Go take a look at post 12522 for the start of the thread on that.
I also had a ’95 Monte Carlo (with 67K miles) that developed a drinking problem in 2005. That was going to cost me around $1100 for head gaskets. The A/C had already died the year before. That was enough for me. Hence the ’05 Hyundai purchase.
As much as I’d like to buy another GM car they continue to give me good reasons not to.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
> subsidies for the plants and training and even operation costs thereof through the last decades?
I don't see that your response was connected to states' giving the companies, land, tax exemptions, training for employees, and lots of other incentives as they built the plants here. Was it Mercedes in Alabama? BMW in SC? Indiana has a large plant near W. Lafayette and a newer Honda Plant near Columbus that has some problem about not putting on the shifts they had promised?
But all those amounts of money don't mean anything; yet a few dollars for GM which purchased stock and some control of their bankruptcy to protect unions for the political party in charge somehow are awful and make it government motors? Not.
>He was given a tour by his friend, a couple of times, to see this first hand. He said, “you have to see that to believe it; they took EVERYTHING apart".
I hope the US makers were doing the same. I recall seeing a room of compressors disassembled for comparison with AC Delco/Harrison units.
For all those using the "government" motors name, are you making fun of the foreign companies many of whom received HUGE subsidies for the plants and training and even operation costs thereof through the last decades?
True, except the foreign manufacturers aren't picking MY pocket. GM is.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
When it's -30 out and your washer nozzle is frozen, it's a different ball game. If GM wanted to do right, they'd buy the denso (or whatever version has no problems) version that honda/acura use and adapt them to fit. problem solved and the feature works. There isn't just "one" heated nozzle manufacturer in the world.
We stuck a pin into the nozzle outlet to free up the frozen gunk, actually. Living in a cold climate can be sooooo much fun sometimes. Um, and Chicago isn't cold.
I can understand the disappointment at getting $100, though, if the feature is pretty important to you. Even though it was a $100 feature, some people might have been interested in it even if it cost more. See, I wouldn't be bummed if my heated nozzles broke, but I would be REALLY irritated if the same thing happened with my heated seats, even if I got compensated for the loss of them. I don't want compensation - I want heated seats.
Yes, I understand that issues happen and parts can be defective. I'd just be grumpy if the affected feature mattered to me.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
Yeah, I suppose. ust seems like such a wimpy feature to me. It freezes where I am and I've never had my nozzles freeze up and even if they did it sure wouldn't be a big deal, at least to me.
As far as the 100.00? I guess it's hard to place a number that is going to please most of the people.
Heated seats? Naw...I'm too tough for those wimpy things!
So who is to blame? The UAW? or just a cockiness that they would always be on top?
It’s damn sad if you ask me. I guess that old adage of --- “if it’s good for GM it’s good for America”, only worked until they found a way to screw that up.
Yeah, damn sad.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I don't see that your response was connected to states' giving the companies, land, tax exemptions
But all those amounts of money don't mean anything; yet a few dollars for GM which purchased stock and some control of their bankruptcy to protect unions for the political party in charge somehow are awful and make it government motors? Not.
I was not totally against the bailout of our auto industry because of the help that I knew was given to the Japanese car industry and the failure of our auto industry would have put far too many Americans in the unemployment lines.
I would like to see that help go towards the building of better cars and taking care of customers. Like I said, I think our auto industry is on the way back, but it seems as though GM is still doing business the same old way. If something is broke, fix it. Don’t pawn it off on the customers with a few bucks and the thought that this will pacify them.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Comments
The sticker on the window is the ultimate authority.
Probably a bunch of expensive options such as the NAVI and the Edmunds numbers are for one with no extras.
Has traffic in that area changed?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I wonder what the Saleens and the other higher up models go for?
The base price on Edmund's, including the destination fee is $38,695. and the Edmund's TMV (True Market Value) is $38,195. A whopping $500. discount. So these things do sell for MSRP.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
That may be car sales jargon but, to the rest of the world, a mooch is someone who tries to get things for free. Haggling on the price of something, no matter how outrageous an offer, does not qualify as mooching.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Things were never negiotable unitl I got into this business and it has showed me a part of humanity that I didn't know existed.
On the plus side, I met some great people too!
I was just there (Costco) about an hour ago. The US Corporate Headquarters and their store are a five minute drive from here.
For the time being I'm doing nothing. Working out at a guy three times a week, trying to catch up on yard work etc. Volunteered a day last week at our local food and clothing bank...that's another story.
And, yeah, I was thinking that working a few hours a week at Costco could be fun.
I have heard nothing but good things from their employees about working there.
Payments of 249.00 a month which included taxes and insurance!
43,000 for a Camaro!!
It'll probably lose a third of it's value in the first year.
Seemed like a lot of money back then. Course, you could drive all week on a couple of bucks worth of gas....
Today, $99 is almost pocket change. The good old days!
Back in 2003, they bought a new Hyundai Sonata GLS V6 .. mom pretty much demanded that they get one more new car (their last new car was bought in 1973). Dad was almost apoplectic about the price, though he felt it was a bargain compared to the Camry they were also looking at.
FYI - that $23K in 1968 equates to about $146K in today's dollars. At the top of the housing market, homes in the folks' neighborhood were selling for more than a half million bucks. Now it's probably worth $300-350K.
What if the dealer thinks he will get $45K for it but everyone who sees the $45K price tag just laughs and walks away? Would you call the dealership stupid?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The possibility exists that the shopper is realistic and the dealership is not.
Also neither could be realistic.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Some people might laugh at the 45,000 number but someone else will come along and buy it. It will represent a "good value" to someone. Maybe not the masses but for "someone".
People waited for months to pay 2-3000 OVER MSRP for PT Cruisers when they first came out!
Did they get ""ripped off" of cheated?
Nope, they knew what they wanted and were willing to pay the price at the time.
Is Costco stock "worth" whatever it's trading for?
Maybe, maybe not buit if you want to own Costco that's what it's going to take.
Tomorrow could be a different story.
Some people have trouble understanding market forces.
In all seriousness it is better since they widened it but will back up during rush hour.
Rush hour includes outbound on Friday evening and inbound late Sunday afternoon as well as the usual.
Traffic bypassing the skyway can be heavy but most of the time when its not rush hour it moves pretty good.
Most people I have taken across the skyway hated the experience (the bridge is high and poorly maintained).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I starve until I lower my prices to market.
That or I starve to death complaining about what people will do to save a miserable $700.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
This was the advantage when we bought my wife's Camry. Since the sales guy was a friend he pointed out the cars that had been on the lot a while and he was thus in a position to make better deals on them. There were several where there was absolutely nothing wrong with them - they just didn't move for one reason or another. They would either be a bargain for someone or end up at the auction.
Of course a new Mustang isn't going to any auction but it will either sell quickly for MSRP or the price will begin to drop.
BTW - I've frequently had the experience where the dealer was asking so much that I didn't even go past looking at his asking price because I figured either there was no deal to be had or that I didn't have the patience for it.
Isell, you're right on schedule. Right now you've been retired about the same length of time as a nice vacation, about two or three weeks, right? That's typically when the "Gee, sure do miss the guys at the shop" kind of thing kicks in.
Get yourself busy. Take a "vacation" in your own home town and go see some exhibits or interesting places within, say, 50 miles of where you live. Make some plans for this week, two or three things that you will definitely do on a given day at a given time. Make at least one of those things something you've never done before (could be as simple as going to a new restaurant where you've never been, or as arduous as climbing a trail when you've been a desk jockey for the last 20 years).
Longer term, look into classes offered at your nearby rec center or gym, or start planning a nice trip, or choose some other long-range goal that suits you.
Retirement is great, but you do have to make more of an effort. Life isn't going to come to you in the way it did when you were working and you never knew who was going to walk in that door. If you miss that sort of variety, you will have to work a little bit at making it happen. It can be fun to do that but it does take a bit of a shift in gears (to keep this in car-talk!).
Have fun, enjoy yourself, do something good for your community at least once a week. You'll get into this new rhythm before you know it.
Isell - it's "goes." I say this only because Richard must not be around, and someone needs to step up. ;-)
Last week I put in a shift at our local food bank and I am hitting the trails more than I did before. Off to So Calif in two weeks for a mini reunion with people that go back to Kindergarden with me. Will spend five days visting and relaxing.
Joined a gym and have gone twoor three times a week and today I did yardwork that kicked my rear end.
Still, I've always worked and this isn't like me.
Thanks again!
Uh oh. Another one....
I was waiting for richard myself....
How does that help me if my car catches on fire?
I didn't have a big urge to go out and buy a GM product, only a Cadillac comes close to what I would consider, but I think this would disuade me from buying any GM product. Oh yeh, the company that makes the heater went bankrupt so this is how GM stands behind their products?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Glad you liked the advice.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Something I read said some of them have previously been recalled, but there were fires even after the that recall. So, they will just shut them totally down.
Reading in Ranger forums, a recall to their brake master cylindar came up. Ford could not get enough repair parts for the fix. So they started doing something, which turned on the check engine light. And they didn't have a solution to this, but still were doing it.
So, if your engine gets recalled, and the engine company went bankrupt, they will give you back $4000 to buy a new engine? I wonder if they will pro-rate it?
Something tells me this is a very shoddy business practice. If I sell a customer a $10 book and there are 5 pages missing from 500, do I just owe them 1 cent (1%)?
They won't be too happy, especially if it is the last 5 pages.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Good idea! If the power windows break down they reimburse me $1000. If the mirrors fall off they give me $300. If the On Star breaks down I get a refund of $2000. If the transmission falls out they give me a rebate of $4000.
Why would I buy the car in the first place? I want to be made whole again. I don't want rebates for parts that don't work. GM new slogan..."Don't worry......If we screw up we will give you a rebate for faulty parts - you can get it fixed if you need that feature."
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Errrr, the best answer would have been that you were using journalistic license by turning goes into "go's." Never admit you are wrong. That inability to act like I never make mistakes in my character is why I haven't been able to take up politics since retiring again.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Do you own one of the affected cars?
The $100 is payment for loss of use and the dealer will disable the heater.
For all those using the "government" motors name, are you making fun of the foreign companies many of whom received HUGE subsidies for the plants and training and even operation costs thereof through the last decades? At least the stock to be issued for GM will most likely complete cover the cost of the money used to save jobs and part of the economy. I believe there's another discussion somewhere on Edmunds about this so I'll stop here.
I'm not sure if people think GM should start their own company to build heaters to replace those in the cars?
driver100 says the original went bankrupt--that makes sense, otherwise GM would be repairing the parts.
Heater washer fluid not a feature like a cruise control which overheats for some reason as another brand of car had to recall and repair IIRC. It's not something people in the South use very often. It's not somethiing people in Chicago, love 'em, use more than 4 months a year.
Disable it. Fine. Too bad it may have developed defects. It's been in use for years now, so the flaw may have come only with age on certain or a few units.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I guess for the same reason manufacturers are offering "push button" start and FOBs, instead of key start. Don't need the feature. But, it's something else to differentiate their offerings from some other manufacturer.
I think GM is on the right path. But, one of their biggest buggaboos seems to be attention to detail. They over look the details (whether it be cheap interior, windshield washer heaters, etc) and wonder why the perception they have is hard to shake.
Craig.....I went to a REDs game last night. Had some excellent seats that were donated to me. Was talking to the usher. He was probably mid-50s. Said he retired from UPS. Was looking for something to do. Loved baseball. The REDs (or the stadium) hired him to be an usher. He said he loves it. He said he was a "people person", so he got to interact with the public. Works 4 hours at the stadium, 80 days/nights per year, and gets to watch baseball, and get paid for the effort.
THAT would be ideal.
MOOCHES....I don't know if $45K asking price for a Mustang is a non-starter (for me it would be). But, I've known a couple of guys who just have to have the first of the hot cars. They pay dearly for the privilege. One of them had to have the first Camaro. He paid $10K over MSRP for one a few months ago. Now, Camaros are everywhere....and can be had for a pretty good discount.
He's lamenting how much GM cars depreciate as he wants a 2011 Mustang and is shopping his 3K mile Camaro (and is looking to be about $15K-$20K upside down in it). While I've never said it out loud, I've always thought...."you wouldn't suffer such steep depreciation if you wouldn't constantly and severely overpay to have the first of a new model to begin with."
C'est la vie!
I’m well aware of how the Japanese subsidized their car industry back in the early 70’s because I worked with a guy from Japan (for a little more than a year) who was at the company where I worked. He was learning the systems that he was going to be responsible for and did he ever enlighten me about that fact. He told me about a friend of his who worked for a company (supported by the Japanese government) that literally tore apart almost every car that the BIG 3 made (down to the last nut and bolt) so that they could “find a better way” to build cars. He was given a tour by his friend, a couple of times, to see this first hand. He said, “you have to see that to believe it; they took EVERYTHING apart".
At the time, the Japanese cars were a laughing stock for a lot of Americans (me included). I distinctly remember him telling me “one day we will be building the most reliable cars on earth”. I saw him again when he visited the company in the late 90’s and we talked again. He asked, “have you bought one of our cars yet”? He knew I hadn’t but asked anyway.
The point I’m trying to make here is that other countries have put that “subsidy” to very good use but we haven’t found a way to do that yet. We’re on our way but then something like this GM washer fluid heater thingy surfaces and I wonder if GM will ever get it. As I have mentioned here before until I bought my first Hyundai in 2005, I never, not even once, owned anything other than a GM car but then I had that paint fiasco on my ’95 Bonneville beast in 2000. Go take a look at post 12522 for the start of the thread on that.
I also had a ’95 Monte Carlo (with 67K miles) that developed a drinking problem in 2005. That was going to cost me around $1100 for head gaskets. The A/C had already died the year before. That was enough for me. Hence the ’05 Hyundai purchase.
As much as I’d like to buy another GM car they continue to give me good reasons not to.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
GM had the world by the tail. They built much better cars than Ford or Chrysler did and then they lost it all.
So who is to blame? The UAW? or just a cockiness that they would always be on top?
The Japanese were smart and relentless.
I don't see that your response was connected to states' giving the companies, land, tax exemptions, training for employees, and lots of other incentives as they built the plants here. Was it Mercedes in Alabama? BMW in SC? Indiana has a large plant near W. Lafayette and a newer Honda Plant near Columbus that has some problem about not putting on the shifts they had promised?
But all those amounts of money don't mean anything; yet a few dollars for GM which purchased stock and some control of their bankruptcy to protect unions for the political party in charge somehow are awful and make it government motors? Not.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I hope the US makers were doing the same. I recall seeing a room of compressors disassembled for comparison with AC Delco/Harrison units.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
True, except the foreign manufacturers aren't picking MY pocket. GM is.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
How did we ever manage??
Yes, I understand that issues happen and parts can be defective. I'd just be grumpy if the affected feature mattered to me.
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As far as the 100.00? I guess it's hard to place a number that is going to please most of the people.
Heated seats? Naw...I'm too tough for those wimpy things!
So who is to blame? The UAW? or just a cockiness that they would always be on top?
It’s damn sad if you ask me. I guess that old adage of --- “if it’s good for GM it’s good for America”, only worked until they found a way to screw that up.
Yeah, damn sad.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
But all those amounts of money don't mean anything; yet a few dollars for GM which purchased stock and some control of their bankruptcy to protect unions for the political party in charge somehow are awful and make it government motors? Not.
I was not totally against the bailout of our auto industry because of the help that I knew was given to the Japanese car industry and the failure of our auto industry would have put far too many Americans in the unemployment lines.
I would like to see that help go towards the building of better cars and taking care of customers. Like I said, I think our auto industry is on the way back, but it seems as though GM is still doing business the same old way. If something is broke, fix it. Don’t pawn it off on the customers with a few bucks and the thought that this will pacify them.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl