Stories from the Sales Frontlines

jayrider

If the car won't start always check the tail pipe for a potato plug. One of the local J.D's in my neighborhood was a scourge for that back in the early 60's. Once people wised up a bit, he would push the plug with a stick deep in the pipe so you couldn't see it.

isellhondas

How would they get it out then?

I knew a guy who drilled a tiny hole straight across his tailpipe.

Then he got yhe finest piece of piano wire he could find and stretched it taut and tied it tightly.

He would slowly drive through residential neighborhoods and drive all of the dogs nuts. People couldn't hear anything but the dogs sure would.

People would come outside to see what all of the barking and howling was all about.

Never saw the potato plug done but they had "whistle bombs" You unhooked a spark plug and plugged the bomb in. Then you rehooked the spark plug.

When the car got started, there would be a LOUD shriek followed by an explosion and lots of smoke.

An unpopular math teacher got one hooked up to his Volkswagen one day. I didn't get to see the reaction but I heard it was hilarious.

He was out for blood in his quest to find out who put it there!

I heard about it the next day and, sure enough, I got called in to the V.P.'s office as one of the "usual suspects".

Luckilly I had an alibi.

fezo

Of course old Volkswagens just begged for pranks.

A teacher in a nearby town discovered that a VW fit almost exactly between two columns in the front of the school when several jocks placed his exactly there.

Kirstie_H

A reporter is looking to interview a driver who recently saved money on auto insurance, either by renegotiating a policy, switching companies or changing driving habits. Please send your daytime contact info and a brief recap of your experience to pr@edmunds.com no later than December 8, 2010.

imidazol97

Used to have an advisor for my annuity who believed in irisology: by looking for rings in the iris they could diagnose your health. After a year of this I diagnosed her future and met with the head guy and not the natural health lady.

jayrider

Getting the potato out meant removing the tailpipe and reaming it out. If the pipe was attatched to the muffler you were screwed. Back then most tailpipes were separate so removing the clamp would work. The kid died trying to grab on the back of a semi for a ride up a hill on Main St. [not a totally uncommon practice back in the day] Seems he miscalculated and got jammed between the rear tires and the bottom of the trailer. His head was ground to almost nothing before the trucker was stopped at the top of the hill. The driver never felt a thing but the trail of blood up Main St. attracted enough attention to flag him down.

snakeweasel

I overheard one of our mechanics today state that he could tell all he needs to know about a car by looking at the tailpipe.

Must not need to know a lot about cars then. Some things you can tell, others no way.

Tell me what does it mean when you see the tailpipes of a "dual exhaust" car where one tailpipe is a lot cleaner and smaller than the other? Yes I saw that the other day.

tidester

Tell me what does it mean when you see the tailpipes of a "dual exhaust" car where one tailpipe is a lot cleaner and smaller than the other?

One might conclude that one of them is only a decoration.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

snakeweasel

Yeah only decoration. It falls into the "who are you trying to kid? category. Much like the Mustang "GT" that I saw a couple of months ago with one exhaust pipe.

oldfarmer50

"...where one tailpipe is a lot cleaner and smaller than the other..."

It's either what Tidster said or the clean one is the pipe that still has the potato stuck in it.

houdini1

Sorry, no one here knows anything about cars or insurance. If they need any info on the English language, irisology, or potato plugs let us know !!

604doc

One of my pranks was to hook a jumper wire up between the high beams and the horn.

driver100

Toronto Hydro wants to lease 16 Smart Cars for $545 a month for 4 months. You will get a charging station installed in your garage, and have access to stations around the city.

It will cost $1.98 to charge a car ovenight, that will let you go 80 miles. At the price of gas in Canada that would cost $5 for fuel.

It is to see how electric cars would work and to see what problems might develop.

houdini1

Wow! 16 cars for only $545. per month. Sign me up !

jmonroe

On CyberMonday (today), I purchased a 23 inch monitor at Staples. They beat the prices at the other big box stores.

Great minds think alike. I bought a new 23 inch Samsung LED monitor from Tigerdirect.com yesterday while I took a break at work. For the fun of it, I went to their site to track the delivery this morning and it says it’s on time and will be delivered tomorrow. While getting that info I noticed that today the price went up $10. So maybe I bought at the right time after all.

This was my weekend for upgrading the computer stuff. On Friday I bought a Logitech keyboard and laser mouse combo at Officedepot to replace my sluggish optical keyboard/mouse combo. On Sunday I bought a new HP printer at Officemax. I guess you can say I like to spread the wealth around.

You should have seen the look on Mrs. j’s face when I came home yesterday and told her to be on the look out for the monitor and showed her about what size the box would be. She said, “you sure took care of yourself with all that new computer stuff this weekend, didn’t you?” (like she won’t get any use out of it). She then said, “it’s going to be cold any day now and remember that conversation we had in the Spring when I saw the 2011 Sonata at the stop light and I thought they looked nice? You do remember that my car (the one I passed on to her when I got the Genny, an ’05 XG350) doesn’t have bun warmers and you said we might look at the new Sonata’s when the winter comes. So now it’s my turn to spend some money”. How the hell did she remember that conversation from 6 months ago? I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast…this morning. :sick:

jmonroe

houdini1

A new Sonata sure beats wasting the cash on dining room furniture !! I don't think that stuff even has bun warmers.

driver100

So now it’s my turn to spend some money”. How the hell did she remember that conversation from 6 months ago?

Nice to hear from you again. You just can't win...I would suggest you never buy something for yourself ever again.

6 guys went to breakfast a little while ago for our quarterly get together. The waitress took all our orders and didn't write anything down. A few orders even got changed after they were made. She got it all exactly right. The thought that went through my mind was.....................I feel really sorry for her husband, if he does anything wrong she'll be reminding him about it 20 years later!

jayrider

Too late for a great buy on a Sonata --- seems yesterday [nov 30] was the best day of the year to buy a car. Too bad--so sad. And for remembering what you had for breakfast -- two suggestions 1. Always have the exact same thing [my solution],or 2. Get one of those mini-memo recorders [online of course] and keep track of what you ate. :P

jmonroe

A new Sonata sure beats wasting the cash on dining room furniture !! I don't think that stuff even has bun warmers.

From what I remember about the price of that furniture (that I’m still ducking, BTW) is that it should have bun warmers. Maybe I should say, “I’ll spring for that new dining room only if it has bun warmers”. Nah, I better not, she’ll find one. She is a professional shopper, you know !!

jmonroe

fezo

My SIL's family once went out to eat with a big group. After they placed the order everybody switched seats all around so no one was where they were when they placed the order. Without batting an eye the waitress came back and put the right dish in front of each and every one off them!

Again, yeah, you don't want to be married to her. "remember 11 months and 16 days ago when you were late for dinner?"

Kirstie_H

Sorry, no one here knows anything about cars or insurance. If they need any info on the English language, irisology, or potato plugs let us know !!

Of course not - I had NO such expectation. However, some of our members are well-versed in the art of being cheap thrifty, so I thought I might catch someone.

driver100

Just saw an ad for Mazdas. Zero % financing for 72 months! I would hate to miss one of those payments.

houdini1

LOL, now you're talking. You will probably be deluged now !

karhill1

Actaully, 0 percent for 72 months is a great deal. A person would have to be dumb not to take it, as long as the selling price of the vehicle wasn't increased. Imagine, free money for 72 months! Take the money you would pay in cash for he vehicle and put it in an interest bearing account and make some money! Where's the down side?

jmonroe

Where's the down side?

Buying a Mazda.

jmonroe

houdini1

The best and most obvious answers are often overlooked....but not this time !!

jipster

Where's the down side?

You're standing on it. :sick:

It, 0% interest, might help those people on the fence in buying a Mazda. But, I wouldn't buy a second choice car to save a few bucks.

Mazda would need to sweeten the pot a little more, say 2 or $3k in rebate money, to get this "jip" off the couch. My daughter keeps talking about getting a new car, maybe a Mazda 3, or the Tribute, if they are still making them.

jmonroe

With Edmunds going live with their new site/format stuff on 12-6-10 (unless it’s been called off. I’ve been away for a while so I’m not hip on the latest around here), should we be saying good bye to each other now before it’s too late?

Can you imagine what the dues increase will be if the first roll out is successful?

jmonroe

isellhondas

Well, not so fast now....

Quite often, a manufacturer will offer either an incentive or some crazy finance rate.

So, by taking advantage of the zero percent, I'm guessing there is a trade off.

"Someone" is going to have to pay for the difference between zero and the effective rate.

Sales must be VERY slow at Mazda!

oldfarmer50

"...put it in an interest bearing account and make some money!..."

On the $26K (including sales tax) that mitsubishi loaned me for the Eclipse at 0% I'm guessing I'll make 4K interest. Not bad. 72 months is longer than most people own cars these days.

oldfarmer50

The down side is buying a Mazda?

Isn't it the Mazda 3.7L that Ford adapted for use in the Mustang?

snakeweasel

I'm guessing I'll make 4K interest.

At todays interest rates it's more like $1,500, Less after you pay taxes on it.

explorerx4

the Mazda 3.7 is based on the Ford designed 3.5. They just upped the displacement before Ford did. The Mustang version is an enhanced version of that 3.7.

explorerx4

I have heard from an insurance savvy person, that you should quote your auto insurance at least every 3 years.
They said you get moved over to a more expensive category every year.
My interpretation of that is that although 'no claim' discounts are touted as you build history with the carrier, your chances of having a claim rise.
If you have a claim and switch, the new carrier is going to hit you for that too.
When you cover younger drivers, this is a bit tough to manage.

explorerx4

you can get bun warmers added to just about any vehicle.
maybe a nice little (and frugal) something for the holidays?

driver100

Not bad. 72 months is longer than most people own cars these days.
That's a good point...usually they want you to come back and trade the car in before that. The other thing is, there seems to be no discount, it seems to be based on the full MSRP.

Here is the fine print, and I don't see any tricks: Also, there is a $750 VISA gift card and on some models $1500.

0% APR Purchase Financing is available on all new 2010 Mazda vehicles. Based on a representative agreement using an offered price of $22,290 for the new 2010 Mazda5 GS (E6SD50AA00) with a
financed amount of $20,000, the cost of borrowing for a 72-month term is $0, monthly payment is $277.77, total finance obligation is $20,000. *Offered price for new 2010 Mazda5 GS (E6SD50AA00) is
$22,290. As shown, 2010 Mazda5 GT (E6TD50AA00) is $26,190. All offers include freight/P.D.E. and fees. Offers exclude HST. **Visa Gift Card offer is valid on retail purchases of new 2010 models
purchased between September 1 and November 1, 2010. Customer can choose to receive a $750 Mazda Visa Prepaid Card for 2010 Mazda5 (to be mailed to customer in November 2010) or an
immediate $750 credit to be applied against their vehicle purchase price. See your dealer for program details. ♦♦Based on 2010 fuel consumption ratings published by Natural Resources Canada. ‡‡Based on
value retained from original MSRP for 2006 model year vehicle as published by CBB, as of 1 January 2010.

jipster

Based on a representative agreement using an offered price of $22,290 for the new 2010 Mazda5 GS (E6SD50AA00)

I see Mazda 5's offered at $5k under MSRP quite a bit. So if the requirement to get the 0% interest is to pay MSRP, well, that's not much of a deal. Plus, you'll be paying the big doc. fee, and who knows what else type of fee... all non-negotiable. :sick:

roadburner

The down side is buying a Mazda?

Yep. While I still enjoy driving my Mazdaspeed 3 I will never buy another Mazda- it's nowhere near as durable as I expected it to be. Maybe if Mazda paid me to drive one I might reconsider...

bolivar

The Mazda write-up is probably just an 'example' to show customers the monthly payment and total cost of an 'example' deal. I don't think they would require the purchase price to be MSRP. The purchase price is between the customer and the dealer.

Many people could not tell you the amount of interest they would pay on a 0% loan.

Many people could not divide $20,000 by 72 to get the monthly payment of $277.77.

Many people could not.... Oh, heck, I think I can stop here.

Kirstie_H

Please stow your disaster prep kit safely beneath the seat in front of you or in one of the overhead bins.

The changes for members are these, and only these:
The color scheme will change sitewide.
CarSpace pages will go the way of the dinosaur (though we have yet to figure out how to convert them to fossil fuel).
That's it.

isellhondas

As long as I don't lose my seniority and my vesting like I did several years ago here.

Can't afford to lose my 401K.

Kirstie_H

Nope, I believe that was due to a back-end software change, which isn't happening this time. Rest assured that you're still fully vested, and accrued vacation time will remain credited to your account.

fezo

The changes for members are these, and only these:
The color scheme will change sitewide.
CarSpace pages will go the way of the dinosaur (though we have yet to figure out how to convert them to fossil fuel).
That's it.

So the electric shock initiation and blood letting were just a rumor?

(just for driver and our other north of the border friends): So the electric shock initiation and blood letting were just a rumour?

isellhondas

Oh, what a relief!

I'll still be able to pay my bills!

Sandman6472

Seniority is what interests me also, don't want to have a problem like last time. At my government job, seniority is extremely important to bid choice vacation time, routes etc., so really wanna keep that perk! Think I'm # 13 in our city of like 385 which isn't bad...all the guys below me can't wait till I retire a month from tomorrow!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

Just want to tell you guys what a great, friendly forum this is...really! I've been in and out of the Chevy Cruze room and it's downright hostile & toxic there with a couple of posters leading this. No room for civilized and "fun" discussion there...more like a "Naziest approach" which is totally unacceptable as far as I'm concerned. Total opposite of this forum where it's actually fun to hear stories & joke around...personally I really enjoy it in here. So thanks all for making it so much "fun" for all of us.

Happy Chanukah to everyone from my family to yours...to those who celebrate of course. Now, does anyone have some funny sales stories to tell? I need a good laugh!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

tjc78

While writing something in another thread it reminded me of a sales story. My first ride was an 89 Grand Marquis that I bought from my grandfather (at a really good price). The car was in really good condition, but as anyone who knows the 5.0/AOD combo there is a little .99 cent bushing that if it fails will cook the transmission. Well, naturally this happened to me and I lost 4th gear. I drove the car for a good while without 4th but it was time to either fix it or get rid of it.

I thought being the ripe old age of 19 that I could afford a small car payment. I find a used 93 Taurus LX all loaded up with about 50k on the odometer. The car looked great and I worked a deal with the salesman. Naturally, I go home to the parents and explain what I wanted to do.

My stepfather is a notorius grinder. I tell him the deal and he thinks it sounds high. He calls the dealership and asks about the car. He says he wants a price and then he would be in to look at it. The price they gave him was $1000 less than I was quoted WITH MY TRADE!!

So, we go there and explain what happened and after a lot of back and forth got the car for the price my step father was quoted plus a decent price for a then 8 year old car needing a transmission. I wish I could remember all the #s but I know I saved a ton of money.

My stepfather still talks about my bad negotiation job on that one and FWIW that Taurus was the worst car I ever owned! Now, he asks me what I think is a good deal, I've learned alot since then.

crkeehn

Forget trying to convert the pages to fossil fuel. Instead, harvest all the kudzu and turn it into biofuel.

jipster

Happy Chanukah to everyone from my family to yours... to those who celebrate of course.

I'll take a "Happy Chanukah"... even though I don't celebrate it. The spirit and heart felt greeting it is given is what matters. So a Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all.

In reguards to sales stories, none here, yet. I've got only two cars and soon to be driving teenage daughter. My 99 Regal will either be handed down to my daughter and I get a new car, or she'll get a new car and I'll keep the clunker. Or, maybe we both get new cars and I sell the clunker to oldfarmer. Either way I should have a sales story here in about 6 months. :surprise:

edited for rant of the day: Grocery store baggers.... is it really necessary to put every single item in my purchase in its own plastic bag? Does this not defeat the purpose of making things easier on the ole jipster? Thank you.

driver100

rumour?

Thanks for thinking about your friends up here in the North.

Another one that I think hasn't come up yet is "check" which we write as "cheque" and I like our way because "cheques" are important and should get a separate spelling from for example a "check mark".