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Comments
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43352950/ns/business-autos/
I sold my old 87 Maxima wagon to a coworker but emphasized that it was entirely as is and I didn't know any issues but wouldn't be responsible for them. She was fine with that and her family put a bunch more miles on it. They sold it to someoen else a few years later and last I saw it was still going
The repair shop called and it turns out, the blower problem was some wire deep inside the dash that required pulling the dash. He also said that it definatly has a bad front wheel bearing that is as loose as can be.
I had told me friends that they could have it for 1500.00.
The guy at the shop has an 18 year old daughter that needs a ca and he has offered me 1300.00 for it and no repair bill. Otherwise I would be looking at probably a 600.00 bill with him.
I emailed my friends and suggested that they pass on it thinking that would be the end of it.
Nope, they really want it it seems and they said if I fix it, they would pay 1800.00.
It's not about the money at this point. I want to keep them happy.
Like I said, I'm kicking myself for mentioning that I would be selling the Explorer!
If we are talking about the same thing, Son#1 had a problem with a wheel sensor on his ’94 Bonneville SSEI a few months before he sold it in ‘06.
The left front wheel sensor didn’t rust off but one of the wires on the sensor broke off about an inch downstream of the connector on the sensor. The fix was easy and cheap as you said. All that I had to do was solder together the ends of the wire that broke then slide a piece of high quality shrink wrap over the solder joint and that did it.
IIRC, the dealer said the sensor was bad (which it wasn’t) and they were going to charge him moocho bucks to replace it. That’s when he came to the jmonroe repair shop for the cheapy fix.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I tried that and the darn thing is so pancaked that I can't even plug the standard iPod connector into the slot on the edge. The one main button on the face doesn't work, nor do any of the ones on the side. The on/off switch doesn't work either. It's the most abused looking iphone/iPod I have ever seen and I've seen a ton that have been manhandled by their (student) owners.
Gogiboy.
In that case it was probably defenestrated in a fit of pique by a passing motorist.
EDIT: I'm sure Kirstie will think me pretentious, but the occasion to correctly use that word (what with air conditioning, double glazing, security bars and all), occurs so rarely these days that I just couldn't let the opportunity pass me by without taking advantage.
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
I think it is the right thing to do...to sell your car to a friend or relative, if they really want it. I strongly suggest you write up an extra note that says something like...The car was sold as is and was in good running condition with no faults as far as I know, and the purchaser knows the vehicle was sold as is.
If anything did go wrong, agreements and promises will be forgotten. Best to protect yourself.
As I said, my son in law wanted to buy my X3. I didn't want to sell it to him though it was low mileage and in good condition. He bought it from the dealer for the trade in value, and he put a 3 year warranty on it.
He has complained twice since then - I have told this before;
The 1st time he said the rear windshield wiper broke. I found out 5 minutes later his wife broke it backing out of the garage when the door came down on it.
The 2nd time he compalained because there was a big puddle on the floor, on the passengers side after it rained. After a few trips to the dealer they found chipmunks making nests in the forward roof pillar.
Both had nothing to do with me, both were not covered by warranty. I wish I had something in writing just to bring it out if I am told about anything else...it is almost 4 years now since he bought it, I should be off the hook for sure now.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
One of my cycling chums was taking a leisurely ride and turned onto a road that was briefly "under construction" and reduced to one lane for a day while the city repainted the lane markers. It was a one mile stretch. Seems because of this that my friend was holding up one driver who was so incensed that he pulled alongside spat a column of epithets and then proceeded to stop short in front of the cyclist forcing him to throw on his brakes and skid into the curb. There was a downhill stretch and my friend caught the car at the light. As my friend was prepared to verbally return in kind he noticed that there was a small boy--maybe 5 or 6 sitting in the front seat next to expletive-slinger. The boy was looking down and was holding a hand over his face so my friend just said in a very calm, but assertive voice, "Great role model". I'm sure my friend must have slowed the guy up for 15 -30 seconds.
I can't tell you how many times over the years I have had stuff hurled at me--including epithets. My crime: quietly sharing the road and minding my own business. 99.9% of the time it's men, young men (typically high school boys) who think that driving is an inalienable right, not a privilege. Most--but not all--cyclists I know wouldn't dream of antagonizing a faceless entity driving a 3000 lb behemoth. However when a cyclist deigns to ride amongst God's chosen people (certain drivers) a switch fires in their limbic brain and a volcano of troglodytic antagonisms erupt.
Lots of angry, impolite people (when they're not distracted) out on the road these days.
Gogiboy
Richard, enjoy the road trip and hope you don't fall asleep on the plains after you cross the Mississippi. Despite everything that's said, Wyoming is a wonderful state with lots of friendly people.
Did I mention that my wife is from Wyoming? She couldn't move out of there fast enough.
Give us an update as to how the SRX did for you.
Obviously the clientele at your local bars have a higher IQ than we have here; which is why I don't ever frequent the bars in my neck of the woods.
Most of the patrons wouldn't know a semi-colon from a semi-truck, and punctuation is what happens to the face when it's hit with a broken bottle! :sick:
Something similar happened to a woman I knew. A co-worker knew she was selling a car and gave my friend a sob story about how her newly discarded husband was having a tough time financially but needed a car.
My friend gave him a great deal and then he ended up selling it right away. Nice.
Maybe like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcr2uWkJkzI
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
This might be a good time to tell a little white lie about the mechanic finding some major issues and that you can't sell it to your friends in good conscience.
Ha ha, that sound's like a Jeff Foxworthy bit. I frequently get called "professor" when I use words at the bus garage that no one knows. Once I wrote a discipline referral on a student who spit at a woman and used the word "misogyny". The office staff had to look it up in the dictionary to make sure it wasn't something dirty.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I have to confess I was thinking the same thing. I'm sure that in the long term everyone would end up happier if it was sold to the garage owner.
Still need some work on choosing a station/channel.
Is Jackson Hole WY one of the 100 places you have to see in your lifetime?
Take a laptop or Netbook and give us an on the road report. Would you have taken this trip in the Explorer? The SRX should make a good highway car, keep us posted.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
It works well enough but it's such a pedantic process. You press a button on the wheel and it asks you what you want and at the same time provides a list of options on the screen. Then, if for instance you want to turn the radio off you first say "Audio" and the screen changes to a list of available commands, one of which is "radio off" which you then say, and the radio turns off.
However, it's actually much quicker, much less distracting, and allows you to take your eyes from the road for less time, if you just touch the radio 'off' button'.
.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I would say that a lot of things on cars these days are little more than gimmiks.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Most riders play by the rules but a lot do not. They are arrogant and act entitled to tie up traffic. They don't ride single file but ride two and three abrest.
No sooner do we finally get past a group of bicyclists do we run into another group.
They pay no license fees or insurance yet we share the road with them.
A lot of us in this neck of the woods are just getting tired of them.
No, I don't yell things (usually) or throw stuff at them.
This would have happened in about 1997.
A woman spotted a used car we had advertised and it was exactly what she was looking for. It was a black (it HAD to be black) 1993 Honda Accord EX.
The phone conversation went like this...
" If I buy that car, how much the notes" (payments)
" That depends on how much you put down and how your credit is"
" Well, my credit ain't too good"
She came in and to make a long story short, I sold her the car.
Her credit was NOT good and I mamaged to get a small down payment out of her. She didn't make much money and I knew she was on too much car. I tried my best to talk her into something more affordable but, nope, she HAD to have THAT car.
Somehow, I was able to get her approved but I knew there was ZERO room in her budget. Her credit cards were maxed out and she had several slow pays and a couple of old chargeoffs.
Looking back, I don't know how I got her approved but I did. I even asked her if she really thought she would be comfortable making those payments. I buried her in a 72 month contract which is NOT a wise thing to do especially on a used car.
Two weeks later, she called to tell me her alternator was fried and I was able to talk our Used Car Manager into fixing it at no charge.
The car was towed in and I was paged to come out to the shop.
The entire trunk was filled with amplifiers and a HUGE subwoofer. A stereo shop had installed a complex system with speakers everywhere and colored lights under the dash and under the car itself. The windows had been tinted so dark I couldn't see inside the car.
The alternator had failed because of the huge load those accesories placed on it.
Our Used Car Manager spotted that Accord sans the sound equipment at an auction a year later with a repo tag on the window. He said it was in worthless condition.
Blame the entitlement culture propagated by doting parents, schools, the media, and advertising......"You're special!", "You deserve it!", "Why wait!".
Not everyone is like that, but most are, and I guess that's what keeps the economy ticking over.
Personally, I find it unsatisfying to pay more than is necessary for something in the form of interest, just to be able to have it now.
The main things that drive most people in life are possessions, food, and sex, which are (to me) much more satisfying if there's a sense of anticipation involved.
These creatures vote.
Oh boy.
A lot of us in this neck of the woods are just getting tired of them."
True, but most cyclists are also motorists who pay the same taxes for road upkeep as everyone else. I have never, ever heard of a cyclist who injured or killed a car or truck driver by using his/her cycle as a weapon either intentionally or unintentionally, but there are countless examples of the reverse.
I have the same issues as you do about cyclists who don't move into a single file--especially when there is traffic on the opposite side, roads are narrow or the driver is faced with an obstructed view.
One problem I have with the angry drivers is that, unlike cyclists, they have no inkllng what it is like to be on other side. All cyclists live with the fact that they are at the mercy of drivers--some of whom have no business being on the road. Like car drivers it's the few bad apples in the cycling community who spoil it for everyone else. Don't forget that some of the most maddening people on bikes in a given community don't know what they're doing either because they are internationals ignorant of US law, US citizens ignorant of, or ignoring, US laws and cyclists forced into riding because of DUIs, loss of car insurance or revocation of license who obviously don't care about US or any other laws.
Gogiboy
I fear for the future with that kind of "live for today" people in charge.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I use some voice commands in my Accord fairly often. "Trip Computer" is one because it takes a couple of buttons to get it on the screen.
My all-time favorite so far is, "What time is it?" The nice lady tells me the correct time.
People did the same thing with houses until the collapse. Tried to buy a home lately? Bad credit means no financing. The armed services backed a truth in lending bill for cars because so many of our nations finest were victimized on car deals. It died because without victims the auto industry would collapse. Just look at the ads for buy here pay here dealers and we finance anyone.
Craig had the decency to discourage that payment buyer, but most will gladly put that sap in the crapper.
I just hate it when I come up on a group of them and so do most others.
Also I recall that last summer a pedestrian was killed by a cyclist on one of our local path ways. The guy ran into an elder woman and she died of her injuries - wish local bikes would announce when they are about to pass...
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/638278-Cyclist-kills-pedestrian-!
If you think people on the roads are idiots you should see people walking on a bike path. I feel safer riding on the roads.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I am leaning toward another BMW of course. The dealer I bought the car from, we will call Dealer A, doesn't give much of a deal, but they are 20 minutes away and their service department is pretty good.
A friend I have got his BMW from Dealer B, that is about 40 minutes away on a good day, their service department isn't as good, but he says their pricing is very good. I think it is because they are closer to the big city where there is more competition.
What I am wondering is, should I go to my dealer first, tell him to give me the best price possible, then say I will think about it? And then see what Dealer B would do? For $100 to $400 it wouldn't be worthwhile to change, at around $600 or more it might be worth it. For all I know there could be $1000s of dollars difference. I guess I could still get service done from Dealer A?
I could do it in reverse, see Dealer B and see what their price would be. Somehow, that seems not as ethical on my part because I am using Dealer B's price to work on A. If I ask A first, I am giving them a fair chance to come up with a good price, if they are higher than B then they deserve to lose my business.
What do you think? :confuse:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Ditto! This is why commuters and serious cyclists ride on the road instead of on paths or sidewalks. Most car drivers fail to appreciate that in many, many communities it is illegal for cyclists to ride on the sidewalks, which is why the taunt of "get on the sidewalk where you belong" is so infuriating. Some communities do provide segregated cycling/pedestrian paths, but not where I live. There are some roads that I do avoid because of lack of shoulder and/or heavy traffic, but it's not always possible.
The pedestrian being killed on the path is exactly why cyclists should be encouraged to use roads whenever feasible. I'm sure that 99% of the drivers can peacefully exist with 99% of the cyclists. But the 1% of numbskulls on each side can ruin anyone's day. And let's not forget that we are all dealing with a huge increase in distracted drivers. Remember when the only car manufactured distraction was an AM radio and cigarette lighter (for smokers)? No cup holders, no GPS, no texting, no bluetooth, no satellite radio, no dual climate controls, no complex i-drive or equally opaque systems that force the driver from one sub menu to another. Gee, how did we survive those dark days? The damn owner's manual is so large now that some companies are putting it on disk.
Gogiboy.
I'm afraid the bicyclists are making it harder and harder on themselves as the numbers grow. They never used to bother me at all and now I find myself getting annoyed by them on a daily basis.
As far as cellphone use, as far as I'm concerned, they should make ALL cell phone use in cars illegal. Even if they are wearing an earpiece, the people using them are focused on the content of the conversation they are having more so than driving. Texting while driving should be a felony.
If they are really annoyed by this you might get "lowballed".
I would simply figure out for yourself what number would make you happy and present that number as a offer to Dealer A. They will either take it or they will walk you.
Your input means a lot because you have been right there. You plan sounds good. I could take maybe 4 or 5% off a new one. And then see how much my trade in is worth. Last time I didn't get anything off the new one bcause they told me each dealer could only get 2 Cabriolets a month and I would have to move fast to get on the October list, Septembers had gone quickly. Who knows if that is true?
My plan was developed because we had friends who sold their home when houses were selling very fast and easy. They had 3 realtors approach them and each realtor said they had waiting customers who were ready to buy. The friends said, we won't sign any agreements to sell, we will signan agreement that the first agent to bring in a customer who matches our asking price will close the sale.
The house sold immediately and one lucky agent got the sale.
My thinking was, if Dealer B wants to sell a car they will give me the best price possible. Dealer A will do their best or will lose the sale.
Your way might be more open and fair, and I like it because I will give Dealer A a fair chance to make it work. If they don't give me a price that matches my realistic expectation I can see what Dealer B thinks about it.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
And it will help a lot if you present yourself as ready to sign on the dotted line right now.
"If I offer $xxx will you sell it to me?" is like asking "If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?"
That rarely gets a positive response.
What exactly does that mean? I've heard salesmen say that on here,
but still don't know the connotation. Sounds like a good thing for a buyer.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
It means they'll give a low price that they or any other dealer couldn't possibly sell it to you for, so that in exchange for wasting their time you'll waste yours taking the offer to every other dealer to try and match.
It won't happen though if you're seriously there to buy a car.
I can only hope that happens to me someday.
I'd be breaking out the checkbook on the spot.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
I think that is probably true. In the case of my 2004 X3 though they gave me a "final" price.
I went home, I wasn't that desparate, I wanted the new X3 but I was attached to my Jeep too.
They called me and asked if I was ready to buy.
I said if you knock $1000 off the X3 and give me $1000 more for the Jeep.
My wife was in shock. She thought I had a lot of nerve for asking.
He paused and said OK, if you come in tomorrow.
I did and it went very nicely...I think in that case not being so reaqdy and willing helped.
"If I offer $xxx will you sell it to me?" is like asking "If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?"
That's funny...not a bad way to propose though, at least you aren't left exposed, so to speak
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Don’t try to compare the sale of a house with that of a car; especially a new car. New cars are a dime a dozen and if dealer A doesn’t have what you want dealer B probably does. Now, if the car is in short supply like you said about the BMW convertible you want, you have no bargaining power. The dealer/s hold all the cards. If a good deal is more important than the car, you’ll have to fall in love with a car that isn’t in short supply. I’d say that’s pretty plain and simple, right?
If you want to compare prices don’t worry about which dealer you should get the first price from. Personally, I'd go to the store where I bought last but that hasn't always worked for me because one time they thought I was a life long customer and acted like they don't care. Stupid I know but it happened to me.
The bit about not giving a price because it will be shopped, doesn’t hit me the way I want to do business. How do you know you’ll buy the car unless you know its price? Of course you can always make the first offer and see how they counter. You have to go some place first, so don’t be concerned with that. The next guy will probably start with the other dealer so it all works out in the end.
FWIW, I don’t consider realtors innocent bystanders in the negotiating of a house. When you’re down to the last $500 or so, realtors will jump in to avert the loss of a sale. It happened to me when I bought my second house.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Lowballed can happen in different ways. The one I read about is the salesman gives you a low price because he knows you aren't ready to buy, and nothing is signed. The buyer says he will think about it.
He tells his wife, kids, and friends and neighbors he is getting a new Jetmobile 500. Then he goes back and a lot of red tape and taking it to the manager goes on. The price is significantly higher. Now the guy can't tell his wife, kids, friends etc. that he was duped and won't be getting the new car afterall. He is also stressed out and just buys it at the higher price.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Absolutely -- where do I sign your petition?
I ride most weekend on a very pleasant bike/pedestrian path in Scottsdale that runs along the Indian Bend Wash. There are several underpasses that allow the trail to cross busy streets without impeding traffic. A couple of weeks ago I came around a downhill blind corner leading into one of these to find a family group of 8-10 people milling around in the dark of the tunnel having a conversation and blocking the entire trail. I didn't hit any of them, but did spew a few words that probably weren't appropriate for the younger ones. Then there are the dog-walkers and other oblivious creatures that populate the place. Come to think of it, most of them use the trail much as the AZ drivers use the highways -- hey, I'm the only person on the planet.
Using this trail is an example of the law of constant aggregate misery. In the winter, when the weather's really nice, the number of these morons skyrockets. In the summer the weather absolutely sucks, but the traffic is way down.
Pick your poison.
I'd be breaking out the checkbook on the spot.
It sounds good but it won't be that easy. You haven't signed at that point. They'll take the offer to the manager who won't sign off until the price rises.
The lowball price is just to get you started in negotiating, you won't get it for that price.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250