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Comments
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Actually for most people it is. You have to get out of the mindset that an investment is buying for 'X' and selling for 'X+Y'. It's an investment for most people simply because it saves time and/or money.
In other words try living without a car and see how much more time, effort and money you spend doing things.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Hey, it's just an appliance -- how much do you invest into buying a refrigerator?
Strange comment from a documented car guy, someone who actually owned (and presumably enjoyed) stick-shift Miatas.
Oh well.
I do understand, we are all different. I just have toruble remembering that sometimes.
I loved most of my customers but I think the miserable ones killed the passion.
exporer....interesting you bring up the noun "guru". I just so happened to read "Eat Pray Love" while I was in the hospital. A good portion of the book deals with "guru".
Sorry....just made me think of the book.....before it became a movie....
Richard...carry one with your car buying.
I understand where you are coming from; however, I think the descriptor is misplaced. The investment, in that case, is in your time. The comparison that comes to mind is using a broker to make stock trades. The broker is an expense on your way to investing in the stock. To apply this to your car, stock=time and broker=car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Very real, he offered to write a check. $27,500. I don't need money, I need a smooth deal where I drive in with one car and drive away with another.
He also gave me the phone number of the Ramey Ford store 35 miles further away. I went there, saw what they had and left. 11 2011 Mustangs. 2 Roush, 2 Shelbys, 5 stick shifts, leaving a blue one and a silver one, both with black interior. Not for me.
That's why I went to the local Ford store this morning figuring a buy bid is same as cash. Little did I know these guys have been feuding for years from 35 miles apart and across state lines.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Ya know, I am going to conditionally disagree here, In a lot of cases a degree ends up relatively unrelated to career choices. I knew a guy who went to college to be a math teacher, hated that once he tried it and went to truck driving school and loved it. I would not say he wasted the college money because it did a lot in making him who he is - just not what he does.
Heck, when I was in college I'd sometimes take a job for a day with a local temp agency. One day I was the #2 guy on a beer truck. I figured out right away that the driver was making a better living than I was likely to. If I'd decided to go for the money instead of where the degree was leading me I'd still value the degree.
Richard
Richard
That's exactly what I'm doing. You're right. It will come along in time. Thanks.
Richard
That's exactly what I'm doing. You're right. It will come along in time. Thanks.
Richard
Richard
Richard
You must like that drink on the patio. It got posted twice. I'd be happy to take the extra drink if I were closer......
Pretty sharp looking too.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=282193017&address=08043&start_- year=2009&end_year=2009&make=CAD&model=SRX&dealer_id=100267
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Richard
frankly, if this is what you want, call and leave a deposit. You aren't going to find a nicer, low mile unit than that. Also a well regarded dealer in this area.
swing by on the way home, and I will have my wife make you a nice dinner. That is only about 20 miles to me, and you have to practically pass right by me to get there.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
You're a mighty good fellow for trying. I appreciate it. It IS a pretty car.
Richard
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Richard
Keep looking, stick!
Downsides? Ventilation is non-existent and the suspension needs a bit more roll stiffness. And the wipers are S-L-O-W...
Once I R&R the heater box and install my 320i Recaros it will be a sweet little cruiser. And, as I've mentioned before, my son's friends apparently think the sled is way kewl- especially now that an '02 cabriolet -provided by a friend of mine- landed a starring role in the latest Katy Perry video("Teenage Dream"). My wife has even swiped the keys a few times. If this keeps up I may drag another one home; I could easily see having an '02 with a five speed conversion for a daily driver...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I can tell you there is not one within 500 miles of here!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Richard
Richard
Fool that I am, that's exactly my definition of an investment. That doesn't mean that I always succeed in selling for a premium - call it 'Y' - over my purchase price, which you can call 'X'. But that's what I'm shooting for when I invest.
But when I buy a car, I'm buying a car. I know that it'll be a snowy day in Calcutta before I sell a car for more than I paid for it. So I don't see how buying a car can ever be equated with investing.
Is this the right interior color?
Again, price is high but the miles are less than the one in PA. Phoenix isn't all that far from you, is it? :P
GG Method on this guy. Seriously, thanks for looking. I was beginning to think that there was no such animal.
Richard
If it came down to cashmere or nothing, i would take it. Especially if you don't have kids to track in dirt!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
That's his wife's job!
Richard
Also on the back of the card was the GM's number for the big Ford store in Beckley, W.Va. which he suggested I try before I did a buyout.
The SM from the little Ford store in Wytheville called the (back of card #) GM of the big Ford store in Beckley inquiring as to the ACV of my Toyota. No wonder the GM told the SM of the small store to take a hike and wouldn't give his buy bid. He didn't have one. Plus he was a competitor.
Front side of the same card was the info of the SM from the big Toyota store where I bought the Avalon and was given the "buy bid".
Too bad Amazon doesn't sell cars. I would love to have my car delivered to my door using the "one click order" button (with free 2 day shipping).
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
I'm aware of Gilbert's sequel. Haven't picked it up yet. But, I probably will if I ever see it on sale at Costco or Half Priced Books (my two favorite places to be literary works).
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact you almost bought a Caddy. :P
When I was shopping for my current ride, I went to the Infiniti store. If I were in the market for an SUV, and I wanted something that wasn't as large as a Tahoe, I thought those EX35s were really nice. Did you check those out?
roadburner....I've mentioned a few times that there's a good friend of mine who has a pristine '98 Cobra convertible. He came by yesterday with it....just to tease me, since he knows I've had my eye on it for awhile. He had just detailed it and it looked really good.
His son's a car nut, too. He just bought a 2002 ti that was wrecked. It's going to be a project car for both of them to work on. I was kind of surprised my friend is willing to help his son re-work a BMW since he's bleeds Ford Oval blue. Be interesting to see how things turn out. I haven't seen the 2002, but from what he says, front of the car is fine. It was rear ended....HARD. So, redo trunk, both rear qtrs and the rear suspension. Don't know about frame damage but I'm guessing yes considering he's thinking of replacing the entire rear of the car.
I think you are mad at Toyota when you should be disgusted with the dealer. Surely there are more Toyota dealers around. Drive the 4-Runner and if you don't like it you will have the pleasure of saying NO to the dealer. If you love it, buy it somewhere else.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Since I hadn't driven a prius since I rented an 08 last year in California needed a test drive on the 95% revamped 2010. Went to the local store and was greeted by the customary 22 year old very hot receptionist. Big smile and "Can I help you today ?" Good start. Told her I was interested in a prius -- needed someone in sales. There is a long desk behind the receptionist where the mgrs hang out and coordinate the team. The mgr greeted me and I explained I wanted to check out the silver prius with the light grey interior that I'd seen on sunday. Get someone to help you. Walked around the showroom for 10 minutes before he could get someone to introduce himself. Not a big issue -- a bit annoying since the place was empty. Had a cup of starbucks and sat in everything on the floor.
Sales guy took me out to the car in a golf cart and we did a thorough inspection. All aspects of the car were fine with me -- size- utility- seats. He was very knowledgeable about the prius and answered all my questions. Time for a test drive and it far exceeded my expectations in ride - comfort - and performance. This couldn't be a hybrid. Went back to the the showroom and as I was looking it over one last time said I was very interested and had seen over 2k off msrp online for the exact car. It was just a comment on my part figuring he would say -- "Lets go inside and look at the numbers" Just a note -- there were over 30 priuses on his lot. Gas prices were low and Toyota was still taking a beating over the acceleration issue. He looked me in the eye and said there was no mark-up in the prius and that price was phony and included all kinds of special rebates that few people qualify for. There were no discounts on the prius. I asked him if he was sure because I was really interested. He said they couldn't discount the car. I thanked him and went home to my computer, "Old Crash and Burn". Went to true car and punched in the numbers and followed through with the contact who called me back in 2 minutes. Yes he had the exact car I was interested in and would sell it to me for 25k plus the doc fee. Any special rebates or add ons? Nope. Drove up that day, took a test drive and gave them my murano to appraise. After we were all done told him I'd go home and contact him back on the deal -- didn't even want to know the appraisel. Needed some time to get away from the showroom and relax before we did the deal. The rest of the story tomorrow. It gets interesting.
Your story did remind me of a "sales story".
The store that I worked at would never "hold" cars for customers nor would they take deposits on cars we had in stock. At first, I thought that was a very hard line position for them to take but I learned quickly why they took this posture.
Our Sales Manager once said.." A car is either sold or it is available". I came to fully understand why they took that position.
I had a very nice and very loyal customer who lived in Spokane which is about a five hour drive from our store. I had sold them, I think three cars over the years and they would only deal with me. They had also sent me referral business.
So, one day, "Harry" called me. His wife wanted to buy a low mileage, two or three year old Acura TL. It HAD to be silver with the lighter interior. The car had to be in exceptional condition.
Usually when people got that specific on a used car I would lose interest quickly knowing the chance of a car like that arriving was very slim.
But, he told me they were in no hurry at all and would be willing to wait as long it it took.
I told our used car buyer who travels the country what I was looking for and he agreed to be on the lookout. Granted, this was the kind of used car we would have bought anyway.
Several weeks later, I got a call from our buyer. He was in Florida and he had bid on and won the exact car I needed. Only 24,000 miles too!
So, I called Harry and informed him that his car would be here in about a week, ready to go. He was happy to hear the news.
The car arrived but it had a couple of minor issues. It had two scraped rims and it needed some minor paintwork done. I scrambled to get it through the detail dept and it's mechanical inspection.
I got a call from Harry letting me know that the ONLY day they could come was on my day off. Not a problem I told him, I'll be there.
I was able to plead my case to management to hold the car. Only because it was me asking and due to the fact they lived in Spokane. I put a "sold" sign on the car and had to fend off several outher salesmen who wanted to show the car.
I really cracked the whip and spent hours of my time getting the car prepped. Finally, everything was done and the car just sparkled.
Then, I got a call at home from one of the SM's. " Craig, is that TL REALLY sold because we have a couple here with cash in hand wanting to drive it home?"
I went against every instinct when I told him.." Yes, it's sold. I'm coming in on my day off to do the paperwork and deliver it tomorrow"
So, the next day, I came in to meet my customers. They were two hours late.
Harry loved it but his picky wife walked around it with a troubled look on her face. She touched every flyspeck (there were none) She declared that the car had been smoked in. I've never smoked and couldn't detect even a whiff of smoke odor.
With a frown on her face she said.." You know, I think I like the darker interior better!"
I left them alone to talk it over knowing they weren't going to buy it.
I was right. Ten minutes later, Harry apologized and said " She just doesn't like it...I''m sorry"
Of course, the couple who were gong to buy it the night before had already found another car. I incurred the wrath of that salesperson and several others.
Worse of all is the fact that I knew better. The ending was so predictable and I handled it like a dumb greenpea.
The TL did sell a couple of days later for a higher price than I had given my customers.
Also, once you do something like this, the customer can feel empowered rater than appreciative that you went the extra mile for them.
After being in the retail business all of my life, NOTHING made me more jaded and cynical than my years in the car business.
Richard
Richard
Richard
Remind me not to get on richard's bad side..... :surprise:
Yeah, I was thinking Toyota didn't screw you around - the dealer did. Toyota, in this case, was an innocent bystander.
That said, buy what you want. Hope you'll still be able to drive once you do.
Richard
LOL! Amen to that one!
Richard
Richard--
Touche! Now as long as you don't buy artwork to match the color of your couch, wallpaper or carpet we can remain friends. :P
Gogiboy
Richard--
Funny, I thought cashmere was a type of soft wool, not a color whereas camel is an animal, a shade of brown and a type of cigarette that many "would walk a mile for". I would think cashmere would refer more to the texture of the seat fabric since cashmere sweaters, scarves and the like can be dyed to any tint or shade
Gogiboy