Stories from the Sales Frontlines

british_rover

We sold the most expensive SAAB in the history of our dealership last month. Well at least most expensive in current dollars. Some of those vastly overpriced early 90 SAAB convertibles might be more money adjusted for inflation.

2011 SAAB 9-5 Turbo 6 premium XWD

And that car wasn't even an Aero that would have been even more money.

robr2

Great!!

Call me in 2 years when they trade it in and I can get it for $18K.

british_rover

Nah don't be that pessimistic/optimistic depending on what side you are on.

I figure in two years that car will be worth half of what it sold for not a 35 percent.

If Saab manages to turn it around maybe it will even be worth 60 or 65 percent.

oldfarmer50

"...If I recall my teacher training...Or is that with training dogs.."

Ha ha, BOTH! I think I mentioned before that the most valuable lesson I learned about dealing with children was not in graduate school for social work but in watching "The Dog Whisperer".

oldfarmer50

"...allow you to forbid the student from riding..."

That only happens if they shoot or stab you. Even then, if a child has a designation of "special needs" the school would be required to transport.

A fellow bus driver was once presented with a new student and was told: "This child will sit right behind you for the entire year!" She wondered why the teachers seemed so angry with the boy.

She found out later that the student has just been released from jail for attacking someone with a knife.

604doc

If you can make your way west on I 80 (exit 279) about an hour 15 minutes...this is a place to see. Over 350 antique cars; 100 antique tractors; and 17 historic airplanes. More antique appliances tv's etc that you will ever see anywhere else. I absolutely enjoyed my visit...and only about $10.

Thanks Kevin! I'm heading there tomorrow.

oldfarmer50

"...the most expensive Saab..."

I paid less than that for my house!

fezo

Yeah, that Saab outs the moron in Monroney sticker.....

I always think that Saabs are cheaper low luxury and I guess that that fully decked out on is cheaper than a lot of stuff but I don't see that as my cup of tea.

A nice, used 9-3 convertible, OTOH, would suit me fine.

sterlingdog

"...for attacking someone with a knife."

And he's going to sit right behind you for the entire year? That's a comforting thought!

Richard

driver100

Saw a friend yesterday. He had a Honda Accord, spun out on black ice, and the car hit a guard rail and was a right off. The police car that came to the scene also spun out, no damage though, so my friend was not charged with careless driving!

He wanted to get a new Accord, but he likes to save money by getting a one year old model when the new ones come out. The new Accords came out in September so the dealer didn't have any 2010s left.

He found Mazda brings out their 2011s in March, so he bought a 2010 Mazda 6. He got $5000 off for it being a 2010 model, plus a regular discount of $2000. He also likes the 5 year warranty, compared to Honda's 3 year warranty.

He likes the car just as much as an Accord, and feels he will have a warranty for as long as he will own the car, and he saved $7000. I think he did well.

sterlingdog

Let me ask your opinion about something---others may chime in as well. My two great nephews got 4-wheelers for Christmas. They are ages 10 and 12. I was dead set against it as were their grandparents. Needless to say, it wasn't our call. Don't their ages seem too young for 4-wheelers? Maybe I'm just being an old stick-in-the-mud.

Richard

sterlingdog

Sounds like he got a great deal.

Richard

jmonroe

Let me guess... a toy table and chair set???

Believe it or not she bought the grand kids, for both of our son’s, one of those plastic tables with attached benches so they had a place to do their coloring, puzzles, etc. Whatever happened to the kitchen table for that stuff? :confuse:

jmonroe

roadburner

Don't their ages seem too young for 4-wheelers? Maybe I'm just being an old stick-in-the-mud.

There are a lot of variables involved Richard. How big are the four wheelers? How mature are the kids who will be riding them? How closely will they be supervised? Will they be wearing full protective gear(helmets, gloves, boots, jacket)? I'd trust some 10 year old kids more than some 16 year olds I know.

robr2

I'll agree with roadburner here - it all depends.

There are kid size quads out there. If they are supervised, wear proper gear and ride responsibly, I don't see an issue.

My then 12 YO great nephew was given one a couple of years ago by his non custodial father for them to ride together. My neice (the boy's mother) would let her son ride but not under the supervision of his father, the idiot.

jmonroe

Let me ask your opinion about something---others may chime in as well. My two great nephews got 4-wheelers for Christmas. They are ages 10 and 12. I was dead set against it as were their grandparents.

I agree, that age seems too young to me too. But the 4-wheelers are a lot safer than the suicide 3-wheelers that too many kids have had problems with. If the kids are the responsible type, although I’m not sure that 10 and 12 year olds could have exhibited much of this, it could be OK.

As the regulars here know, Son #1 is into track racing and he has taken his oldest (8 last year) to the track when they have events for kids and he feels it is safe for him to do the go-cart racing because they preach safety and the kids have to sit in on a couple one hour classes before they can go out on the kiddy track. They also have to wear all the safety gear too like fire suits, pads, helmets, etc. He tells me that he is pretty good at it and I plan to go watch him this summer but Grandma says she hopes he doesn’t take a liking to it too much because she doesn’t like the idea of him racing when he comes of age. Well, she’s probably going to be very disappointed because he’s being trained for that already with these kiddy track days.

jmonroe

fezo

Another thing to consider is where they'd be driving it. We aren't that far from the Garden State Parkway. There's a dirt path the 4 wheelers like that goes right up to it. In my oldest daughter's freshman year of high school one of her friends was driving one on that path. Experienced kid with a new vehicle. Brakes failed and he shot right into the southbound lanes in front of big Caddy. That was the end of him. 14 years old.

driver100

This 1 minute video shows how Westjet...Canada's low cost airline, modelled from SouthWest, can save $1000 each flight by replacing oxygen with 85% lighter helium in the passenger compartment.
neat way to save fuel

driver100

Sounds like he got a great deal.

I agree, except I don't like the styling of the Mazda 6. I like square designs and the Mazda 6 looks like a 4 door VW Beetle. I think he likes it because he saved a lot of money, but I don't think he cares too much about the design.

tallman1

replacing oxygen with 85% lighter helium

I suspected as much... great video though!

cdnpinhead

Good to hear from you again, Rover.

What's been happening since last you posted?

crkeehn

I will second Richard's comments, however the Asheville area is very pleasant. I have relatives who retired to Brevard and they truly enjoy it there. It has only been recently that the weather has been harsh in the winter, the year we moved down to Raleigh I don't think it got much below 50 the entire Winter.

I might also add that as you retire, if you begin to have issues or concerns with your eyesight, the NCLBPH provides an excellent library service.

Sandman6472

Those horrible wheel covers can always be swapped out for some nicer alloys...will make such a difference. And just love the red color...just works on the car!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

sterlingdog

I agree. I much prefer the square lines myself. Our SRX had just enough so that I wasn't turned off by the design.

Richard

explorerx4

Hi Guys (any Girls? I doubt it)
Before I narrate the next chapter, just know that the story is unfinished.
Thursday comes along and my wife and I meet at the dealership so she can test drive the Explorer I am looking at.
The salesman hands me the fob for the black Limited model parked out front.
I ask 'What about the XLT I was looking at?' Sorry, but it was sold since Sunday.
OK, so we take it for a ride anyway, my wife drives, I play will all the toys.
When we get back she looks at the sticker and says, that's a lot of money and I agree.
Back in the showroom, we talk a bit. She leaves and I stay when the Salesman says he will look for one more like what I want.
We settled on a deal but he hasn't been able to find one.
He has been very good about chasing down possibilities and I expanded
the range of what I wanted a bit.
The middle of the market is pretty much out of supply for the units that dealers are willing to swap.
I think I missed the window by about 2 weeks.
To be continued...

explorerx4

Those AP courses are worth college credit if you score high enough on the AP tests.

sterlingdog

Asheville is a very beautiful place with such nice people. Years ago, I had a wonderful offer from their school system. My wife and I spent three days there going through the interview process, talking with the town's people, looking at real estate, etc. They even offered to hire my wife as part of the package. We were so impressed, but ultimately turned down the offer. I have often wondered how my life might have been had we accepted. It's interesting how one decision can change your life forever. Still, I have no regrets. Things worked out well for us.

Richard

explorerx4

That PhD level of acedemic achievement is very cutthroat.
My sister had her Thesis stolen and had to start over with a new one.
She did eventually succeed, but it took a long time.

explorerx4

I think those are the winter tires/wheels on the car in the picture.

sterlingdog

Yes, they really are worth the effort. My students had a 98% success rate on the tests. I used to be a nervous wreck until the scores arrived. I always felt that the scores were a reflection upon my ability to teach the necessary content for retention. I think that I worked as hard as the students. Still, it was a joy to have been assigned those courses. They only had the AP courses during my last five years of teaching. I really missed the teaching when I went into administration.

Richard

sterlingdog

I hope that chapter 5 will reveal that he found you just what you want. Good luck.

Richard

explorerx4

I'm not sure how many chapters there are going to be.
Going to look at a couple that are a bit more than I was originally looking at, but they are on the ground.
I need to be 'FLEX'ible.

oldfarmer50

"...Don't their ages seem too young for 4-wheelers?..."

Depends. I've seen 12 year olds drive 100hp farm tractors just as well as any adult so it's not a matter of skill. It's a matter of maturity and frankly, I don't think most kids today have the judgment at that age to operate those things.

If the kids are with dad at all times I'd say maybe but if the parents expect to use the ATVs as baby-sitters it is like giving the kids a loaded gun.

And yes you're an old stick in the mud just as you are supose to be at your age.

explorerx4

Your nephews should never go out alone and without a cell phone.
Although it happened to be in North Carolina, I remember the story of a kid from our town who went out by himself, landed in a drainage ditch with the ATV on top of him and drowned.
As a kid, I would have loved to be able to have one of those.
When doing that 'extreme' stuff, you need a buddy.

oldfarmer50

"...save $1000 each flight..."

Ha ha, good April fool's joke.

At work today someone posted a notice that one of the winners of a $300 million lottery was my brother-in-law and out of the goodness of his heart he had given me a million of it as a gift.

I never knew I had so many good friends.

oldfarmer50

"...I think I missed the window by about two weeks..."

And it's only going to get worse. I read somewhere that car makers worldwide are going to have trouble painting their cars because the main source of paint was destroyed in Japan.

Now you won't have to live in NY to get that "rust bucket" look.

Seriously, I think the auto market is in for some severe disruptions.

explorerx4

I agree with you. When I was sitting in the showroom, I heard someone say Ford couldn't make any more black or red vehicles due to possible radiation in the paint.
The real reason is that the supplier from Japan can't manufacture any for now.
It is only used on a few of their models.
My conundrum is this. Is my Fusion going to go up less in value than the incentives are going to drop on new vehicles?

sweendogy

a month ago i posted
"call you months later (2.5 mths) and tell you they made a mistake with the tax on your car (and trade) and say you owe 1k more then what you agreed and financed?? I bought a new car out of state and traded my old car into the dealership.. This dealer, a new and used car dealer, was not the best at doing paper work (obv)...well they called me 2 months later and said they needed me to go to my local dmv and see if the dmv would issue a tax check for the car i traded in and then forward that check to the dealership to make up for the difference.I called the dmv and they had no idea what i was talking about. net net - i traded a car in and swapped plates onto the new car-- i paid the difference in my state tax verse the new car tax in my state..and now they call me telling me i need to pay the whole tax on the new car.. -- first question -- i know they can ask for more money but do they have any right to this after a contract has been signed, a state registration is in hand, and I have the car (which is being financed thru the car company finance) "

well today i got a letter from the dealer under legal code UCS-124 that states its a demand letter for the difference the dealer made on the the tax situation stated above. Car is now 3 months old. What is my next recourse>>??

any thoughts would be great..

explorerx4

I would just ignore the letter. It's from the dealer.

isellhondas

Cars sell for what teh market determines. Mazda 6's have never sold well hence the price. They are great buys a couple of years old because of poor resale.

That warranty would mean nothing to me since most problems pop up in the first few months.

Still if a person is happy, that's all that matters.

fezo

I'm with explorer on this. That's basically a small claims court document as far as I can see. I still think they are just trying to squeeze money.

If you hear from their actual alwyer then I retract that statement.

sweendogy

thx and they are trying to sqeeze me

i have the bill of sale contract for what i owe honda finance

snakeweasel

I think they are trying to squeeze some more out of you too. However I wouldn't ignore this, doing so might hurt you.

I would write back to them that since they worked up the paperwork any error that is not obvious to a reasonable person is theirs to eat. Your dealership is in the business of working up this paperwork and should have been more careful.

I would also say that if you continue with this collection I will be forced to countersue you for my legal fees, emotional distress and whatever other torts my landshark lawyer can come up with.

driver100

well today i got a letter from the dealer under legal code UCS-124 that states its a demand letter for the difference the dealer made on the the tax situation stated above.

Hard to say. I got a lawyer letter from a business competitor saying we were breaking copyright laws. It was from a big city well known law firm, and the company sending it was a giant conglomerate. It was a letter written to try to scare us out of business.

I don't always believe those letters. I think you will hear from them again...from a real lawyer, if it is real...and even then, it could be a bluff like the letter to me.

driver100

Mazda 6's have never sold well hence the price.

All true, but I think the deal worked for him. Saved $7000, will have carefree driving for 5 years, he is OK with buying a new car in 5 years. The higher depreciation just isn't a factor for him.

Getting a new reliable car for the lowest price was his priority and I think he did it. For me personally, I just don't like the styling of the 6 model...especially that huge rear side window and the rounded front fenders, as well as the huge rear half of the car and short hood......it just seems to be completely out of proportion....but, like you said, he is happy.

sweendogy

this letter was sent directly from the dealer and it stated that attached was my agreement to pay- but nothing was attached. The letter looks as if it was printed from a website and handwritten in spaces indicated. I maybe wrong but would a lawyer hand write a letter like this? if so they misspelled my last name>

fezo

No, that sounds like the dealer. Trust me, if they use a lawyer having the letter go out on the lawyer's stationery is part of what the y pay him for.

Do follow snake's advice of not just letting it drop but don't just hand them money. By all means "I'll have to let my lawyer review this document" is a good phrase...

mako1a

sweendogy, offer to completely unwind the deal with no out of pocket expense to you (since you did nothing wrong).

If they refuse that offer, you have no obligation to pay for their mistake.

sterlingdog

I'm sorry to hear that you're still having that problem with the dealership. I don't know if it would help or not, but you might try the following:

1. Call your state ADA (Automobile Dealers Association) and ask for their opinion on the matter.
2. Call your state (not local) DMV office and see what they say about the matter.
3. If you have an attorney, check with him/her.

Based on your description, the letter sounds like a sloppy job done on a form secured over the internet. The F&I department at the dealership doesn't sound too professional. My guess is that their boss doesn't know what has happened. You might call and ask to speak with the owner of the dealership. Discuss the F&I mistake with him. He may clean it up for you. I had a similar experience once. The salesman, general manager, and F&I guy tried to hide their mistake from the dealer. I decided to speak directly with him. He cleaned up the mess, but I did return the new car and got my old one back. In your case, I'm sure that your trade has long been gone.

I wouldn't write a letter until I made those telephone calls. You need to recite chapter, verse, and sources when you write the letter. Be careful with a letter. Admit to nothing, stick to the facts, and make no threatening statements or emotional remarks. Put the ball back in their court by requesting an immediate response. Make sure that you are documenting all of this with dates, times, conversations, etc. Best of luck and keep us posted.

Richard

driver100

would a lawyer hand write a letter like this?

To make it short, when the lease was up on my 1984 Camaro the dealer called me in for a meeting. They discovered the clerk in their office leased me the car based on the cost price, not the retail price.....no wonder it was way below any other dealers price!

The lease manager said they wanted me to pay the extra $1500 they were out. I said I would think about it, and walked out....didn't want to commit or get into an arguement.

I walked out, never heard from them again.

I suggest you don't contact the dealer again. The letter is obviously fake, though mispelling your name doesn't mean anything.....my lawyer letter was meant for me but had a similar companies name on it. The fact they are trying to make the letter sound official is probably a good thing for you.

If you can find help at the DMV or a dealership or a dealer association, that would be good....but I don't think you should say anything to the dealer and don't talk to them if they phone. Politely say you can't talk now.

Good luck!