Stories from the Sales Frontlines

roadburner

It won't have some features the newer ones do. The 40 inch we bought in Florida has wi-fi computer hookup.....that's going to be amazing for doing work on it.

It does exactly what I want it to do- it anchors my primary home theater system.

sterlingdog

There has been much discussion here over the years regarding how close to park to a shopping center, and other public or commercial buildings. I am one who parks far away to protect the finish on my car. Yesterday afternoon, we decided to drive into down town Nashville. I had chosen a nice spot at the end of one of the hotel parking lots when we checked in earlier in the week. We had been using a hotel limo for trips to town during the week. We hadn't moved the Caddy all week. What we saw yesterday afternoon was both amazing and disgusting.

As we approached our car, I noticed that no other vehicles were parked on our row with the exception of a big, red Chevy pick-up. It was parked right next to our Caddy. As we got closer, I noticed that the truck wasn't more than two inches from our passenger doors. My wife said that I would have to pull the SRX out of the parking space because she and my sister couldn't open the passenger doors. My BIL stood there wondering how the driver of the pick-up exited the truck.

Before I pulled out of the parking space, I decided to squeeze between the two vehicles to check for damage. Yep! There it was. The front driver's door of the truck had been slammed into our right front rear view mirror. It left a long line of paint and scratches on the back of the mirror which is painted black. The only possible way for the driver to have exited was from the passenger side. For the life of me, I can't figure why the driver chose this particular parking space, and if so, why he had to park that close to our car. I did notice a handicapped tag hanging from his/her interior rear view mirror.

I decided to leave a note on his/her windshield. Here is what the note said:

"You have damaged the right side rear view mirror on a nice car that retailed at $56,000. In the future, try not to park so close to cars and, if you do, try not to bang your door into the car next to you. It is expensive to do such repairs, and I will be without my car for at least a day. I'm sure that you would not want this to happen to your nice red truck. By the way, you may wish to check your left windshield wiper. I may have broken it by accident when I attached this note to your truck. Have a nice day."

Naturally, I didn't hurt his windshield wiper. I just wanted to give him/her pause for a moment. I'll be off to the Caddy dealer Monday morning to see what they can do. Moral of this story: An ounce of prevention can still give you a pound of trouble.

Richard

roadburner

Naturally, I didn't hurt his windshield wiper. I just wanted to give him/her pause for a moment.

Before keyless entry became prevalent a fitting method of revenge was a generous squirt of Krazy Glue in the driver and passenger door lock cylinders, followed by a paper clip or broken-off toothpick.

oldbearcat

Cutting two tire valves off with a pair of wire cutters works well too.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

roadburner

Cutting two tire valves off with a pair of wire cutters works well too.

A friend of mine was waiting on a parking space when some wanna-be gangsta' types cut in front of him and stole the spot- then got out of their car and laughed at him. He took his Snap-On cordless drill and drilled out the centers of the valve stems on all four tires.
Bet that wasn't cheap to fix... :P

driver100

The front driver's door of the truck had been slammed into our right front rear view mirror

Sorry to hear that. A good possibility the guy was DUI and had no idea what he did. I would be tempted to take a few pictures and then go to small claims court.....Judge Judy would decide in your favor if you have the evidence. You could take pictures and write a note and leave it on his windshield asking him to send $200 to fix the damage - advisable if you have a P.O. Box number, not a street address.

The problem with getting back by doing something to him is that you might get caught and you would not be excused, and, I don't think you would actually feel any better.

Other option is to just accept it. You probably have saved a bundle over the last year by not getting all those speeding tickets - this will put a small dent (so to speak) in all those savings.

That is so aggravating though. I pick up the new 535 tomorrow, I have been driving extra carefully because I don't want this car damaged before trade in day.

jmonroe

Other option is to just accept it. You probably have saved a bundle over the last year by not getting all those speeding tickets - this will put a small dent (so to speak) in all those savings.

You have the most warped way of justifying things I have ever seen.

Using your logic since I have saved enough over the years by doing car maintenance myself I should just move on about the blown XG350 engine, because after losing about $4K (difference between $6K tops if it were running and the $2K minimum as it sits) I am still WAY ahead of the game.

I guess I could move on but I ain't.

Edit: I have been driving extra carefully because I don't want this car damaged before trade in day.

The best way to break something is to be "extra careful".

Now I'm off to Son #2s to put in a water heater. Sales tale about the Subie later on.

jmonroe

driver100

You have the most warped way of justifying things I have ever seen.

You are right, I have a warped way of justifying things...but, I have learned justifying is better than seeking revenge. Revenge hurts you more than the other person....in the case of Richard's car being damaged, it won't help him to damage the other car. It would help if there was a way to rectify the situation. Nothing wrong with doing that, and in the case of your Hyundai, that is what you will try to do.......but, throwing a rock threw the dealers window won't make you feel much better.

I justify speeding tickets this way too, though my last one was 16 years ago. If I got one today I would just say, look at all the ones I could have had over the years.....I'll just pay it because it is part of the game.

The best way to break something is to be "extra careful".

I agree with that totally. I try to park where a space is a little larger, I try not to park next to banged up cars, I try to park in a space where shopping buggies won't be rolling into my car. But, I don't do anything extraordinary, because that is just asking for trouble.

I have one more day to go, and we are going shopping this morning. I am kind of nervous about it, because I have done so well up until now....no dents for 4 years....if something happens I don't know how I will justify it! :sick:

Good luck with the water heater and post your sales story asap, we've been waiting for it!

stickguy

leave it in the garage and take the wife's car.

My BIL brought his new style 550i this year to Thanksgiving at my house. Very stylish looking. I was going to drive it but did not have a chance.

driver100

leave it in the garage and take the wife's car.

I thought about that but there's a few reasons it won't work. We always use mine for some unknown reason, it just wouldn't feel right using hers to get groceries and the second reason is, we would probably go in her car then there would be a fire in the garage or something. You can't fool with Mother Nature.

Too bad you didn't get a chance to try the 550. That would have been a real experience....it is very different from anything you have driven. Even the salesman discouraged me from going with a 550, you really have to have a big need for power to get one of those in this day and age.

fezo

Besides, if you left your car in the garage and took your wife's car, the garage would collapse while you are out. You can't defeat karma.

houdini1

You handled that very nicely.

A wise man once said, "Before you go out looking for revenge, best dig two graves."

sterlingdog

You are so right. It backfires every time.

Richard

sterlingdog

A two pound bag of sugar in the gas tank works wonders as well.

Richard

sterlingdog

Some days I think that I was sent here to keep you straight.

First, I would never leave my name or even a postal box address on a windshield. There are too many crazy people who could find you and do even greater harm. Naturally, a major accident is different in which the police and insurance companies are involved.

Second, I need to jog your memory. Did you forget the four speeding tickets that my wife and I got on our trip this summer? I'm afraid that the $2,000 spent to rectify those four tickets won't net me any savings on the mirror.

Third, I imagine that with my luck, Judge Judy would bless me out for bringing a handicapped driver to court to fight over a scratched mirror.

Fourth, I think that my nice note was enough revenge. It did make me feel better.

Fifth, I think that you need not be too careful before tomorrow. After all, Murphy's Law isn't controlled by your actions. :P

Tomorrow is a big day for you. Enjoy the experience and share it all with us. I'm happy for you.

Richard

driver100

I'm afraid that the $2,000 spent to rectify those four tickets won't net me any savings on the mirror.

Well, think what an expensive year it would have been if you had still got your usual number of speeding tickets on top of those you got on the trip.

Remember, you got to always look at it as the glass is half full.

After all, Murphy's Law isn't controlled by your actions.

Murphy's Law is controlled by "your level of incompetance", is that what you are saying?

Thanks for the good wishes tomorrow...I am just hoping it looks as good as I thought it would. It's been a stressful two weeks, we only looked at the Florida home for about 30 minutes in February and I wondered if that would be as nice as I imagined it....and it was. Now, I have to hope the white car will look good.

fezo

White car? Forget it. They never look good....

oldfarmer50

"...there should be a follow up story to tell what was actually found..."

I agree, but as I stated, CARFAX sent that to me to promote their service. There may very well have been a follow up on that Philly channel that did the report but it wouldn't further CARFAX's interests. If it was done I doubt they would send it to me. Also, with today's hit-and-run journalism a follow up showing the dealer to be innocent might not be done.

The one thing that drives me crazy is the thought that there is some hacker driving around offering to use his skills to turn back digital odometers and clear trouble codes for both dealers and private rip off artists. Such a scam might be undetectable to the average buyer.

oldfarmer50

"...Sales tale about the Subie later on..."

Forget those boring cars stories, I want to hear about that water heater.

You just can pay enough for a good water heater story. :P

oldfarmer50

"...Before you go out looking for revenge, best dig two graves..."

Good idea, take care of any witnesses as well.

driver100

White car? Forget it. They never look good....

Ah, and I was going to leave it to you in my will ........................

houdini1

You owe me a new keyboard. I just spewed ice tea all over mine!!

driver100

You just can pay enough for a good water heater story.

It is taking a long time to install that water heater.....he left at about 8 am this morning. Hope the Subie didn't break down.

fezo

Ah, and I was going to leave it to you in my will ........................

No problem! I can have it painted an actual color.

I'll need you to leave me enough for an appropriate paint job - none of this Maaco stuff....

fezo

Yeah, I'm a little concerned about him. Maybe tried to take the old water heater to the dump in mrs jmonroe's new Subie. That could be the end of him.

stickguy

I freely admit to having a healthy dose of puritan thriftiness in me (OK, I'm cheap) and will try a number of things on my own to save money, but putting in a water heater? Not a chance in the world I am going near that job.

Painting, that i still do (interior only!), but man, as I get older it hurts more and more after every job. I promised myself when I hit the big 5-0 I would retire from painting. of course, I only have one big job left to have the entire house done, so I won't be giving up much next year...

stickguy

Seems like a real nice car. not sure about the seats though. When we sat in an outback at the car show last year, I seem to recall it having a short seat cushion. And not having a long enough seat bottom to give thigh support is a deal breaker to me.

But, I would have to try it again to make sure. if it turns out I like them, an outback could end up back on next years short list.

fezo

Oh, I'm past doing anything that can be done by someone else... Water heaters, paint..... I can still handle eating for myself at least.

stickguy

I look at it from a cost/pain ratio analysis.

And some things that are painful to do (or just danged difficult) don't really (IMO) cost that much to have done by a professional.

But other things that are pretty easy (if maybe a bit time consuming) tend to cost a whole bunch.

That's why when we did our recent home remodel (I really need to get pictures of this up somewhere!), I pulled the kitchen floor tile up, and did the painting. A couple weekends of simple labor, came out nice, and I saved at least 2k in hard cash. No brainer!

now, trying to do plumbing to save a few bucks? Ah, no.

fezo

Back when I did such things I always ruled out a few things. Plumbing was way up on that list. (Too bad my grandfather didn't live way longer. He was a plumber...). Electric work was another.

On a car I was mostly willing to try a lot of things but my general rule was no brakes. If you screw anything else up the car won't go. If you screw the brakes up the car won't stop. I did violate that rule one time doing all sorts of brake work on my brother's 70 Nova. I learned from that why mechanics curse as much as they do.

sterlingdog

"Murphy's Law is controlled by 'your level of incompentence', is that what you are saying?"

No, no....not at all. I'm just saying that sh** happens to people, regardless of how hard they try.

Richard

sterlingdog

"It is taking a long time to install that water heater...."

Perhaps he pulled my number---yanked on the plug and it blew up. :P With his recent luck, perhaps he should have passed on this repair job. I can see it now---son's house standing in two feet of water. :sick:

Richard

driver100

If you screw the brakes up the car won't stop.

Not only that, but someone could sue you for a lot of money if your car doesn't stop. Even, DIY garage people who do mechanical work should not be trusted to do brakes. At least a legitimate garage will have insurance for such a mishap.

driver100

No, no....not at all. I'm just saying that sh** happens to people, regardless of how hard they try

Oh yes, I was thinking of the Peter Principle....every one gets promoted until they reach their level of incompetence, and there they stay running whatever they are running. It's been a long time since I thought about Murphy's Law "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" That's the one that applies to me!

driver100

I can see it now---son's house standing in two feet of water.

And water company will want him to prove that he has the proper equipment to fix the heater or they won't repair the house and he will have to buy his son a new home.

sterlingdog

Hope he keeps the receipts for the water heater parts. :P

Richard

oldbearcat

Richard:

Speaking of blowing up. My insurance agent had a picture in his office of a brand new house with a big hole in its roof. He told me the contractor had fired up a new water heater with pipe plugs in its 3 connection locations. The crew working on the new house then left for the day, and, forgot about the water heater. That night, the water heater blew its bottom out, and, launched itself several stories in the air - going through the roof of the new house like an ICBM.

Regards:
Oldbearcat

jmonroe

But something like what Hyundai is trying to do could devastate someone in less fortunate circumstances...and all of us have probably been there at some point in our lives.

It’s interesting that you said this. Mrs. j and I said the same thing about our early days of marriage. I will readily admit that if this happened to us in the early 70s we would have had to think about getting a loan to do it. We moved into a house in ’69 had 2 very young boys and had some savings, but probably not enough to have an engine replaced in either of our cars, without depleting our saving account more than we would have felt comfortable doing. However, given that, once we found out what a loan would have cost I would have had to seriously think if my skills about car repair were enough to do this job.

I would also ask for them to put their reasons for denying your warranty claim in writing. It will be good to have...and it will start them to thinking.

I doubt that the dealer will do this but since I made an appeal of the claim denial, the woman I spoke with at the Hyundai customer service center mentioned that my claim and the details of it were going to be filed as a matter of company policy. So, I might be able to get a copy of this.

I’m going to talk with my BIL (the lawyer) tonight about who he might recommend since this is not his field of expertise. Because I don’t think that my case is the type that an ambulance chaser would take in hopes of getting money from suing the “other guy”, I’m probably going to have to spend some of my own money to get this started if I decide to go the lawyer route. But, like I said before, “I’m not going to put any kids through school”.

jmonroe

mako1a

Nice recap jmonroe, I know you'll beat Huyndai like a baby seal once you get your ducks in a row, but what about the shopping trip to Ohio?

Did somebody get a new car? Color, Grade, does she like it? A lot? 4WD?

sterlingdog

Jmonroe, I know that I said that I wouldn't try to give any advice over what the other good posters have given, but I do feel compelled to share something with you. In acquiring an attorney, and your BIL would know best, do check around regarding fees and the number of hours involved to bring a satisfactory solution to your problem. With telephone calls, letters, research, etc., the process can get expensive. Two years ago I had to hire a good real estate attorney from Birmingham, Alabama to recoup money being held by my evil BIL. The attorney, though excellent, charged $325 per hour. In conjunction with his efforts, I also had to use my personal attorney who charged $200 per hour. Also, the clock ticks and the fees pile up regardless of the end result. For us, we won out but it could have gone the other way. I know that you hate to spend the money on legal fees, and you shouldn't have to do it. There are just those times in life when you need expert help. People can feel free to say, "Get a lawyer and sue.", but they aren't the ones who have to pay the lawyer. Consignment may be an option at times, but not too often. I do wish you good fortune in resolving this. Try to weigh what the car is worth against what the attorney fees will be. That, plus the desire to make it right on principle, will be your guiding factors. There is no easy solution. Keep us posted. BTW, we are looking forward to your new sales story.

Richard

fezo

So what are you asking for that lovely Alabama house and acres? Sounds fantastic, though I knever pictured myself living in Alabama......

Of course I lived a year in teh Florida panhandle which isn't much different and I LOVED that.

sterlingdog

"So what are you asking..."

We've been getting $22,000 an acre from the industry people because of the research park next door, along with the adjoining airport and railroad. As for the house and ten surrounding acres, that is a different story. We're asking $749,500 for it. We reduced it from $825,500 recently. That also includes the barn and the horse stable. We had an offer on the house from a party who wanted to move it 50 miles to their own location. The offer fell through when the party discovered that it would cost $100,000 to move the house. I think eventually that an industry will buy the house to just get the land. In that case, they will just demolish the house. We would hate to see that happen, but the family line is dead now and we have no desire to move to Alabama.

Richard

fezo

Too rich for my blood. Too bad. I would really like a house on a decent piece of land. I have my eyes out on some I could pull off but nothing will happen until I get the transplant and recover at very least so that's a year right there.

The fact that my wife really likes her job and particularly her employer probably means I'm staying in the general neighborhood.

houdini1

Would small claims court be an option? What is the limit in your state?

Personally, I hate to get involved with lawyers !!

driver100

People can feel free to say, "Get a lawyer and sue.", but they aren't the ones who have to pay the lawyer.

This is extremely good advice. I can see something like this costing more than the $4000 or $5000 you might win. If you go this route, you may try small claims court and even spend some time with a paralegal.

Even this is not as easy as it sounds because you have to know what to ask and how to ask it. Send a note to Judge Judy and see if they will put you on TV, then we can all watch............

driver100

Picked up the new car today. Got the old one back in one piece too!

The new one is a lot bigger, smoother, and more comfortable. It is on Sirius radio right now and I don't know how to switch to the regualr radio, I have a lot of studying to do.

There isn't a manual, the manual comes up on the navigation screen. It has a rear camera which is good in some ways, but when backing into the garage I prefer to use the mirrors, at least you can judge where the sides of the garage are.

One feature I am not sure I like is when you come to a stop, the engine shuts off to save gas. When you take your foot of the brake it starts up again. I think that must be harder on the engine, so I try to let it keep creeping up so the engine stays on. I think this can be turned off if you don't like that feature.

It will be very comfortable for the long trip to Florida. Smooth and quiet, but you still know you hit a bump, you just don't feel it. When parked next to my wifes 335 it looks like her car on steroids...looks massive.

I will work on pictures, but I have a lot to learn about this beast.

driver100

“I’m not going to put any kids through school”.

Where's the Subie and is your son's house still standing?

jmonroe

It is taking a long time to install that water heater.....he left at about 8 am this morning.

Why is everyone worried about me installing a water heater? Do you really think I don’t know how to do this? Not patting myself on the back but I can’t remember how many I have done since I was in high school. The one I did for Son #2 yesterday was very typical of moving the pipes around (copper for the water and black pipe for the gas) when replacing a 40 gallon with a 50 gallon job. Regardless of the ones I have done, even doing a one for one swap, there is always some rearranging of the pipes because none have been standard other than the distance between the water lines at the top. The height always seems to be different enough that some changes are necessary especially for the gas line although today with the stainless steel flexible gas line that part is the easiest. If you don’t believe me about the ease of doing a water heater job just ask our resident plumber car guy from New York (now in CT.)

I think I spent more time explaining to him what has to be done and how to do it than it took me to do the job. Started around noon and put the torch away around 2:30 PM. So what’s so bad about that? The guy DIL #2 called about doing the installation couldn’t do it until tomorrow. The bottom of his tank didn’t fall out so he wasn’t in a bind for installation but he thought they could do it faster than that. That’s when he asked if I could do it.

This morning a fellow worker asked me how I liked the Subie we picked up in Ohio (I’ll tell that tale later. Yes, she likes it.) and we got to talking and I mentioned that I just did a water heater installation for my son (he does this kind of stuff to) and I told him about all the safety items that are now on the water heaters today and he said, “that explains why his nephew just paid $800 to have a 40 gallon job installed. Son #2 paid around $365 for the tank alone from a plumbing supply outfit that he can get a work related discount from. He said the big box wanted about $430 for an equivalent unit.

I’d say he owes me because I taught him how to fish by not just buying him a fish. That lesson should be good for many tank installations over the years, right. So, how much would you guys say the lesson was worth. I can use the money for her car.

jmonroe

tjc78

J, by talking about the water heater job, you are rem inding me that I have to change mine out. It is over 15 years old. I just hate working with gas, luckily my cousin is a union steamfitter and helps me out. He moved the gas lines for my kitchen remodel earlier this year.

fezo

Dang! i have to get some friends in the trades. Don't even want to think what the last water heater cost. The original one didn't last long because the well water was hard. Now we are on city water (don't ask about that one! Spent thousands to hook up so i could pay for something I used to get for free).

Driver - you still have the convertible? You could send it my way and get to see how happy I would be with it rather than putting it in the will. Check i with Richard - maybe you could send it to my farm in Alabama....