Stories from the Sales Frontlines

verdugo

Fezo, get better soon and keep us posted on your progress!

oldfarmer50

"...More likely something from an ad that reads "Edsel- needs full restoration"..."

I'm working a deal for you right now where the ad said: "1992 Mazder. It runned real good afore the motor blowed up".

I think we can steal it for 12K. Got your checkbook handy? :P

[Deleted User]

The trash can reminder is a fantastic idea. I can imagine myself pulling into the driveway after a long weekend on the water, parking the trailer on its pad, and then pulling straight into the garage without thinking about the large object stuck to vehicle roof. The question would be which come out the worst, the carrier/vehicle, or the stucco garage? I'd rather not find out through personal experience.

While driving I-80 yesterday I was passed by an SUV with two very nice road bikes attached to the roof rack, but something didn't look right with the angle of the bikes. As they got further ahead I realized the front crossbar had released or failed, and the bikes were in the process of pulling the roof rack off the vehicle. If they hadn't been doing 20 mph over the speed limit I would have caught up to them to warn the driver, but they got too far ahead and went another direction than I was going. Hopefully it all turned out okay.

[Deleted User]

That's precisely what we've seen while shopping around. The prices of near-new vehicles are so high that I don't find the risk/return worth it anymore. I'd rather buy new for just a tad more. Great time to trade in a lower mileage used car for a new one.

[Deleted User]

I can see Mrs. Richard's point about the Flex-hearse, and the thing is so long I do believe it could serve such duty. One nice thing about driving a hearse around is that you'll likely never lose it in a parking lot amongst a sea of me-too crossovers. Ford used to be a conservative player in the marketplace, so my hat is off to them for taking a chance. I appreciate and value those makers willing to try something new or produce a low-volume, unique car. I look at today's vehicles and wonder which ones will be tomorrow's collector car. I think it's those niche vehicles like the Flex and the Thunderbird that people will want several decades from now.

oldfarmer50

"...if you're looking for a Japanese brand..."

It seems PT Cruisers are scarce items too. Got the third letter from a dealer today offering to buy it for "top dollar" LOL.

I asked over at the RWTIV board about my Eclipse and they say it's worth $5K more than I owe. Might be time to shop some buy bids.

explorerx4

One of my Russian friends at work said to me. 'My father told me a smart man learns from their mistakes, a smarter man learns from others mistakes'.

fezo

explorerx4 - the eagle has landed. Thanks much! I'd forgotten about it so it was kind of a shock - but a good one!

We had a reunion of the Chinese cousins - that is my daughter and the three other girls adopted out of the same orphanage back in 2002. Claire just turned 10. The other girls will in the next couple of months. Great kids and the families are all just super people. Great time.

robr2

ARRRRGGGG - our new Explorer was rear ended on Friday afternoon. Barely 2000 miles on it and one payment made.

Most importantly, my wife and daughter weren't hurt.

And don't start fezo - I was no where near it!!!!

sterlingdog

I am so sorry to hear about the Explorer. I'm glad that no one was hurt, but I hate that your new car was damaged. An older car is bad enough, but a new car is so heart breaking. I always live in fear of that every time that we trade. Was there much damage? Was the driver an elderly person or teen? Were they on a cell phone---that would really make me mad?

Richard

oldfarmer50

"...new Explorer was rear ended..."

Oh no! The humanity!

Seriously, glad to hear no loved ones were hurt. Everything else is a minor detail.

How much damage? Even if minor that has to be a heartbreaker.

Don't settle until you check in at the "Accidents & Insurance" board to ask about diminished value. Good luck.

robr2

Looks like the rear bumper cover and the spare tire well were damaged. One of the exhausts is rattling and the backup sensors are pretty wonky. Luckily, we had the third row up as the spare tire was driven up into space where the seats stow.

Although I have a relationship with a great autobody shop (they've gotten about $25K worth of work from me in the past 10 years and never an at fault accident), we are planning to take it to a Ford dealer for repair as we hope they have had specific training in dealing with the amount of technology in the rear of the car.

She was hit from behind by one car and then another car hit the first. Both of those were towed away. It was raining and my wife had stopped for the traffic in front of her. AFAIK, no one was cited for texting (primary offense in MA).

As for dimished value, MA doesn't allow for diminished value claims.

Here's the funny thing - all have the same insurer.

stickguy

was on a long weekend vacation with the wife 9for our anniversary). Went up to the Finger Lakes (Cayuga) to do some gorge walking and do the wine trail.

Started in Ithaca, and they had smoe new car showrooms. There was a combo place (in an L shape, weird for a dealership IMO) with Audi, Volvo and Kia. Interesting combination. Being as I like all 3, I suggested stopping in to browse, but was shot down by you know who. Odd, it was to look for her next car!

Someday. Maybe per the plan of Xmas 2012. Should have the van up to about 80K by then (it just turned 67 on this trip). Pay off some of the recent (and just completed, other than some painting I have to do!) home improvements, and more importantly, right after making the last tuition payment for child #1!

stickguy

I thought our weekend trip might end about 20 miles from the house Friday morning. On the Schuylkill expressway in rush hour, and (no surprise) traffic comes to a stop. I stop briskly but in plenty of time (with a little cushion), and notice (as did my wife) the guy behind me (an older Olds Alero I think) did not anticipate and was nose diving. Thankfully he swerved on the the shoulder, allowing him to avoid me.

my wife was surprised to see it, thinking it would never occur to her. Scary, but I said you just react, so who knows!

would have been worse for him, since it likely would have broken my bumper cover, and then impaled his car on our trailer hitch (a very hefty piece of iron). But, still would have messed up the trip!

oldfarmer50

"...Went up to the Finger Lakes.."

Stickguy, you don't happen to be my BIL are you? I just talked to my SIL 15 minutes ago after their return from a wine tour of the Finger Lakes. If your name is John I'm going to flip out.

I hope you got to go to Bully Hill vineyards on your trip. As a wine dummy I have found it to be the only wine I prefer over beer.

EDIT: Holy Crap! I just looked at your profile and your name is John! If your last name begins with an H I won't be able to stand it! :surprise:

stickguy

relevant threads seem to have disappeared, so what the heck, will put this here!

As it relates to the goal of replacing the Odyssey next year, we took that on our trip (701 miles in 2.5 days). Holds more wine, and my wife could drive if needed...

anyway, a mix of cruising around the lake (stopping at wineries), a bit of local, and 500 miles highway (some traffic stops, mostly moving at ~75ish), and it returned about 24.8MPG overall. Not too bad IMO for what is is and what we did with it.

stickguy

I have been to bully hill, and like the place and the wine. We did Cayuga this time (BH is on Keuga, or however you spell that).

Oh, and yes, that is my name!

oldfarmer50

"...and yes, that is my name.."

WOW! What a coincidence. My BIL lives in upstate NY and drives a 2003 Altima. So I guess you aren't him.

Weird to think that you two might have been tipping glasses right next to each other.

Hey, when you were in Ithaca did you stop at that nice little cafe on the water across from the farmer's market? Can't remember the name but I still remember it after 30 years.

fezo

And don't start fezo - I was no where near it!!!!

So you are doing these things telepathically now? That wasn't me. I was channeling an old, lost friend.

I don't know why but some people just seem to be magnets for bad car karma.

Boy, I cannot get hit for quite some time. I little fender bender would put me in the hospital for observation until they were sure I wasn't bleeding inside.

stickguy

we went to the farmers market today, but did not stop at a cafe near it. May still be there though!

Kirstie_H

You mean this one?
Honda Odyssey Real World MPG

fezo

Where'd everybody go? :confuse: :confuse:

nyccarguy

I went to school in Ithaca

verdugo

Where'd everybody go?

I think they started blocking people who haven't paid their dues.

stickguy

my son goes there now. North Hill.

mako1a

It's Oldfarmer. He put that Vette on the road and everybody went to upstate New York to stand in line for their ride.

fezo

I'm on my way!

nyccarguy

Very good. I attended the school named after the city, not the ivy league school. I barely got accepted way back in 1994 when I graduated HS. If I had applied even 2 years later, I might Be an alumni of a different school.

kyfdx

Does it count if you are just a snob about where your kid goes to school, instead of where you went?

Just asking..

explorerx4

Hey Fez,
Not much but I hope it fits. Can be a conversation starter.
Of course the conversation may start out 'Hey man you got any...?'

explorerx4

Sorry to hear out your new Explorer and glad everyone is ok.
I would feel sick if that happened to my '11.
The '02 not so much.
My wife's '04 Escape got hit a couple of times in the back early on.
I bought a class 3 hitch and it hasn't happened since.
Been meaning to buy one for my new Explorer.
When I bought one for the '04 Escape, went to etrailer to check prices.
Got a quote from the local guy for part plus installation.
Part price was competitive and installation didn't look too hard, so I bought it local and put in on myself.
When my wife got her '09, I went through the same process, but price locally was way higher, installation seemed pretty similar.
etrailer was $160 delivered and local was $250 plus tax.
The Explorer is a more challenging installation but if you do think about getting one, get local part and install prices, then ask if install price is the same if you supply the part.
Paint matching is pretty good these days. I wouldn't worry about that.

stickguy

well, that is the sticker I have on the cars...

Much better name recognition.

besides, it is all genetics baby!

sterlingdog

I took the convertible in for its annual inspection today. While there, I ran into my old salesman friend who sold me the convertible. I mentioned to him that i received a letter from the dealership the other day, offering me quite a nice price for the convertible. He asked what I would buy if I was going to trade. I told him that trucks now interested me. He said that he wasn't busy so he wanted me to drive one of their Dodge Ram 500 trucks. We hit the road in a beautiful royal blue over gray 4x4 with the Hemi engine (whatever that means). It had the Big Horn Package---all of those luxury options like Nav and power this and power that. IIRC, it had 370 HP. I've never felt such power in my life. I hit the gas; it surged with a mighty sound and took off down the road like a bat out of hell. What a thrill! I was doing 65 mph before I knew what had happened. I couldn't believe how smooth the ride seemed. He said that it was because of the coil springs as opposed to the sway springs on the Fords and Chevys. He said that even with the cargo bed unloaded, the coil springs continued to give a smooth ride. It actually was as smooth as my SRX. I went over two sets of railroad tracks and some small potholes. I barely felt the bumps---nice feel of the road (that's for driver). The interior appointments were very nice---no cheap materials or chrome, well situated for easy use, and clearly understandable. The truck has a full rear seat with plenty of leg room and tons of storage compartments. This model didn't have the step rails, but the dealer has them in stock for installation.

Here's the pricing for this model: Sticker is $43K with a $4k manufacturer's rebate. Step rails $600 plus an optional bed cover for $600. That would bring the total to $40,200. They're offering me $12k for the convertible. That's what Edmunds says it is worth. That would mean $28,200 out of pocket for me plus TT&L. BTW, this is a 2011 model. I just listened and did no negotiations. We didn't even put the pencil to the paper. If I went with a two wheel drive, I could save another $2,500 but retain the Big Horn package. That would bring the total to $25,700. I would definitely want the step rails and the bed cover, so that extra $1,200 is part of the final $25,700. It was a really great truck, and I enjoyed the ride and the handling.

Richard

explorerx4

A couple of my kids friends go there.
Maybe 3 years ago, one of their vocal groups stopped in our town to perform during spring break.
They were looking for families to host some kids overnight, so we signed up to take two.
I told them they would staying in the basement, but once they saw it they were thrilled and said it was the best place they stayed on the whole trip.
After the performance, once of them didn't feel good and asked to go to a pharmacy to get some medicine.
The only place open that i knew of was in the next town, so I said we have to go to Bristol to find a CVS that's open.
One of them says, Bristol is that close to Hartford?
I say 'well it's the other direction. Bristol, you know Bristol, as in ESPN?'.
They both perked up, ESPN? Can we go see it?
I tell them it's just some buildings with a bunch of satellite dishes.
Then I tell the sick kid, when you go into CVS maybe you will see Chris Berman or Erin Andrews.
Once he flew out of the car, I told the other one I was just pulling his leg.
After they left, when we went downstairs we found they had each left us a really nice well thought out thank you note.
It really meant a lot to us.

snakeweasel

Richard are you going to leave me the only Sebring ragtop owner on the forum?

fezo

Nah. He's going to give me the Sebring. What a guy!

houdini1

Richard, look around and do some research on that truck.

I am looking at an ad in Sat. paper for a new 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Crew Cab 4x4, power everything, remote start, 5.7 liter HEMI, keyless entry, alloy wheels, trailer hitch...MSRP $40,360. discount $13,365. Final price $26,995.

Fine print says price excludes freight, Admin. fee and you must finance thru their finance arm...or it is $1,000. more.

This truck does not have the Big Horn package but the crucial thing is that they are really discounting these trucks. $13,365. right off MSRP. to begin with.

My neighbor just bought a very similar new Dodge P.U. for around $23,000. Only difference it is called a quad cab rather than a crew cab. Still has the 4 doors but smaller back seat. It is really a nice truck and they love it !!

oldfarmer50

"...He put that Vette on the road..."

Oh yes indeed I did. Just got it out of the shop and decided to take the roof off since it was such a nice day. Of course I discovered that my son had lost the special tool that came with the car to remove the bolts. Went on a treasure hunt to find a #40 torx bit just the right length.

Once I got it off I was in heaven. I was cruising with all six of my hairs blowing in the wind. I see why you guys like your convertibles.

8sparkplugs

Richard,

I know deals are regional, but there is a dealer close to me that is offering $12,000 off on all 2011 Crew Cab Rams. I know people who have bought from them before, and they do honor there advertised price off of true sticker.

sterlingdog

To you, Houdini, and 8sparkplugs:

I will have to find a much better deal than the one offered today before I give up my ragtop. Remember my posts on the F150's? They were taking $12k right off the MSRP. A rebate of $4k on a 2011 Ram...not in this life time!

Richard

oldfarmer50

"...I will have to find a much better deal..."

Don't wait too long. If gas keeps going down, the dealers may not continue offering the great deals. I never thought I see a Dodge truck with a $43K MSRP. My work trucks usually go for about $1500.

sterlingdog

I know what you mean. It seems like the trucks today are more about luxury than work. Our yard guy that helps us drives a loaded up Silverado, uses an ipad or ipod to make his appointments and lists of things to do, wears fancy earphones to block the noise of the mower and blower, etc. Times have really changed.

It's the same way with our housekeeper. She wouldn't know a dust rag if she saw one. She uses those Swifter feather dusters, mocrofiber clothes for polishing furniture, automatic toilet bowl cleaners (some kind of large pill), etc. She keeps the house clean, but I marvel at all of the new gadgets. My wife used to do all of the house cleaning before she developed COPD and a bunch of allergies. She still makes dust rags out of my old undershirts. I told her that it was a waste of time because these new gals don't use them now. Our housekeeper drives a new Miata with her assistant driving an Odyssey behind her. Years ago, who would have thought that you would be proud for your maid to park her car in the front drive? :P She got married for the second time in August. Her wedding was at a golf club in a gated community. My wife bet me that the wedding cost $50K if it cost a dime. All of her cleaning customers were at the wedding. One guy said to me, "You think that we are paying her too much?" It's a different world out there.

Richard

tjc78

I'm gone for a week, and I expected over 500 posts from you guys and I got maybe 150 at most. Slackers..... :P :P

A week a way from work and such was more than overdue and we had a great time. I am now officially engaged and starting the process of planning a wedding.

All that planning will severely impact my car shopping :mad: We are looking at next Oct/Nov and can't believe how fast and early places fill up. Looked at venue last night, and another tonight.

Richard, no surprise on all the cleaning "gadgets" I think most of them are a waste of money. I/we clean everything "old school" and have no problems. Old t-shirts and towels make great cleaning rags (for cars too!)

As for the Dodge pickup, I think they are pretty sharp. Having said that I would still lean toward the F150, I think Ford really got it right.

robr2

We were going to add a trailer hitch. I'm going to see if the bodyshop will install it for me while it's all taken apart. I may also see if they'll let me get the OEM hitch installed. It's a different bumper cover so I may have to pay the extra out of pocket for that.

The dealer just called me - the bumper top protector I ordered came in. I guess I'll wait to install it. Maybe I'll wrap it up and give it to my wife for her birthday in November.

verdugo

I am now officially engaged and starting the process of planning a wedding.

Congratulations!!!

stickguy

Just do it up rgiht. Book the mansion at main street.

tjc78

I've been to a wedding there, I thought the food was just OK. Certainly beautiful that's for sure. The current top pick is the The Merion in Cinnaminson. Their package looks great and the rooms are really nice. Checking out another tonight and then probably a few over the weekend.

Verdugo, Thanks!

explorerx4

The bumper cover for trailer tow package andwith rear sensors is only about $25 more than the one not for the tow package.
You can go to fordparts dot com to find info on parts and prices.
They have some really good exploded diagrams, too.
The factory hitch setup is way more expensive than aftermarket, but does look more integrated.
You might need some skull protection if you give your wife a bumper protector for her birthday.

fezo

OK, gentlemen, here's your chance....

This is my last evening to be working. If anyone wants to keep me entertained this is your shot.

It feels really strange to be retiring. Moreso because I wasn't planning to for another 15 months.

oldfarmer50

"..I am now officially engaged..."

Congrats! May god have mercy on your soul.

Just kidding. :P