Stories from the Sales Frontlines

stickguy

in my experience, the rare instance when a doctor is on time is the same rare instance that you are late for your appointment.

driver100

the rare instance when a doctor is on time is the same rare instance that you are late for your appointment.

Often referred to as Dr. Murphy's Law.

sterlingdog

"...the rare instance when a doctor is on time is the same rare instance that you are late for your appointment."

I agree. That also holds true for lawyers, hair dressers, car service people, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, contractors, cleaning teams, carpet cleaners, dentists, etc. My minister is the only dependable one---keeps his 11 AM appointment each Sunday. :P

Richard

sterlingdog

Thanks for that information---very informative.

Richard

imidazol97

>in my experience, the rare instance when a doctor is on time is

What! A doctor on time. Never.

roadburner

Back in the early '90s BMW produced a series of short films known collectively as The Hire. They were all produced by well-known directors and BMW gave wide latitude regarding the storylines- all they have in common are BMW automobiles and Clive Owen.Here are two of my favorites:

The most intense(in my opinion): Ticker

The funniest(no contest): Star

explorerx4

'Burner,
Richard64 actually starred in an earlier attempt by Lincoln

Sandman6472

"Oy vey" as my grandma used to say. Seriously, good luck and I know things will work out for ya. Anything I can do to help, just let me know.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

imidazol97

I'd never seen that stunt. That was total idiocy.

driver100

Richard64 actually starred in an earlier attempt by Lincoln

Now that Lincoln was made when cars were really cars. I don't know if I should say it but the actual driver was a Canadian

nyccarguy

I loved THE HIRE! The "M5s" in STAR were actually 540i SP cars with M5 body work & wheels.

sterlingdog

Both were great films; Ticker was awesome!

Richard

sterlingdog

If one must fail, at least let it be said that it was done in style.

Richard

sterlingdog

A relative perhaps? :P

Richard

roadburner

Keep hanging in there.

driver100

How do they get these actors and director to act in a 10 minute film?

Ticker BMW Movie Clive Owen F Murray Abraham Don Cheadle Ridley Scott

driver100

A relative perhaps?

This has actually happenned. I go to New York for a business meeting. I am asked where I am from. I say near Toronto in Canada. Some guy asks if I know the Jackson's who live in Montreal?

Well, there are only 35 million people who live in Canada, and 3 million who live in Montreal! It would be like asking you if you know the Maclean's who live in California.

So, no, he is not a relative.

And yes, I am being silly again! :P :P

robr2

How do they get these actors and director to act in a 10 minute film?

They shower them with compliments and give them artistic freedom. But mostly they pay them lots of money.

nyccarguy

You've got enough going on in your life, are you still planning to root for The Mets?

fezo

When I was but 18 I went with a friend's family to England for a couple of weeks. My buddy's BIL was working for American Express in southern England at the time. We go visiting friends of theirs in London and the subject of "Oh, you're from....do you know?" These folks were from NYC. They said they had someone ask them "Oh, you're from New York do you know?" And they did! 8,000,000 people and they picked the right ones.....

fezo

Still rooting for the Mets. We sinking ships need to stay together..... :sick:

driver100

"Oh, you're from New York do you know?" And they did! 8,000,000 people and they picked the right ones.....

I guess it can happen once in awhile, and when it does it is a real quirk of nature.

We were at an outlet mall in Florida and we heard someone calling our name. It was people from Newfoundland, probably 1200 miles away who we hadn't seen for over 12 years. Now we meet up with them in Florida every year.

Small world in many ways.

driver100

Some of youz guys are so good at doing things around the home, so I thought I would show you some of the things I did recently.
Like for example, when we got a new flat screen TV it didn't fit in the cabinet any more, so I just did a little sawing and voila;


Then the radio broke in the car....no problem, now I have stereo music once again;


Then I needed a GPS, why pay $2k or $3k for a unit when you can add a built in one for so little;


These DIY repairs are a lot easier than I thought......

tjc78

That's nothing, I do my own body work :P

driver100

That bit of plastic on the fender that looks like it came off a vacuum cleaner adds a nice touch!

Actually, somedays I think it would be fun to have a car like that. I wouldn't have to worry at the grocery store.

oldfarmer50

"...Still rooting for the Mets..."

My MIL is a rabid Mets fan and she's 91. I hope that bodes well for you and your health problems.

Try watching all the double headers. You'll get twice the health benefit.

fezo

Tough thing to do. You only get doubleheaders in makeups for rained out games. A shame. You used to have them almost every Sunday.

I'm beginning to think they may have to rebuild Shea. Citifield has been a disaster. Well, at least they are bringing in the fences in the off-season.

Sandman6472

Drove our friends in 1971...a really cool ride. Loved my mom's '66 Lincoln Continental with those "suicide doors" and a nice change from the string of Caddy's she always had. Also liked her '72 Lincoln 2 door coupe but that was a long car. But by then, Lincoln had started to lose it's way!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

houdini1

Over on another forum there is a great video comparing different vehicles and how their all wheel drive systems work...or don't work. Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous, post #22790. Very informative.

Someone who knows how should post it over here.

verdugo

Here you go:

Post:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef2c24d/22789#MSG22789

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktoGVBR4op4&NR=1

cdnpinhead

A very interesting (and relevant) demonstration.

Wonder how Audi, BMW & Merc AWD systems would have fared? Clearly not the point of the demo, but interesting (to me) all the same.

driver100

Wonder how Audi, BMW & Merc AWD systems would have fared?

That would be interesting because I have heard ads for at least Suburu and Audie and at least one other one (Volvo or Jaguar I think)and they say their systems are the best. HOw can they all be the best?

houdini1

Thanks verdugo, good man !!

dino001

What else would they say? Our system is between third and fifth?

driver100

What else would they say? Our system is between third and fifth?

At least that would be more honest. I don't see how they could all be the best. I believe the law allows you to say your product is best, but you can't say your product is better than another...that would have to be proven. Saying you are best is just an opinion.

driver100

Our son bought a 2004 Yukon fully loaded, leather sunroof.
Dealer wanted $12,995 and said their policy was fixed pricing.
He offered $12k out the door, all taxes, license, etc., driveaway price.
They wanted him to sign the $12,995 and give a deposit and they would take it to the owner.
He said he wasn't signing anything until they agreed to the price and he wanted to see the owner.
Argued back and forth and son said he was ready to walk out, last chance at $12k or he was leaving.
Owner said they never discount but they would sell him the truck for $12k all in.
AS he was leaving the salesman were standing around telling him he was a grinder.

He called last night and told me the story and he was so excited that he got it for what he wanted to pay.

driver100

AWD Video

That was really interesting! I would be interested in seeing all cars with AWD tested. The Suburu AWD certainly performed better than the others in that particular test.

sterlingdog

Just for fun, I entered your son's Yukon with stats on Edmunds. I had to guess the color (silver) and the mileage (I figured 15K average for 7 years at 105,000.). They posted a Denali because it had leather and sunroof. Dealer retail price came up at $12,332. It sounds as if the dealer was in the ballpark, and your son saved a couple of hundred. If the mileage was less, your son may have saved a little more. Like my Tahoe, the Yukons are great vehicles. Does your son share your passion for BMW's?

Richard

imidazol97

>AS he was leaving the salesman were standing around telling him he was a grinder.

Sounds like they were grinding in the opposite direction with their various techniques of saying "fixed pricing," etc.

imidazol97

Mentioning the 2004 Tahoe reminded me of this morning. While drinking flavored coffee at the local quick market, I saw a young man gassing up an older Suburban or similar GM vehicle looking like he was heading to work. It may have been from the 90s. It was in good shape compared to most but had some rust showing. It's a very large vehicle with lots of room. It looked like a work configuration without the rear seats.

Someone had replaced the muffler tailpipe with a pipe to the left side below and behind the driver side doors. My concern was that a lot of cars develop rust through the trunk, around the tailgates, or the side panels with the salts used on the roads in this area. So the exhaust gases should be carried to the rear by the tailpipe instead of released in the middle of the vehicle. He's in danger of having exhaust pulled back into the truck because of venting it below the driver door near the front.

jmonroe

I said, “if you really want to help me, call your salesman and tell him you’re no longer considering buying from them and why”. She said she’d feel funny about doing that. So I said if HE calls you would you mind telling him then? She said do you really think he’ll call? I said it’s the end of the month and if your salesman thinks you were at all interested and he wants to make a sale, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. She said OK but only if HE calls, then I’ll tell you.

I don’t usually respond to my own posts but this is pretty interesting.

This fellow worker gal came by this morning and told me she meant to stop by earlier but she was very busy. She tells me that on 11-29-11 her salesman called and left a message on her home phone around 2 PM to see if she was still interested in buying the Sonata she was looking at. She calls her salesman around 6 PM and says NO and why she isn’t. She said he was pretty stunned by her not wanting a Hyundai just because a fellow worker had a problem with one that was 7 years old.

This gets better.

She said about 25 minutes after she hung up she got a call from the SM wanting to know what was going on. So she tells him the whole story and he says that factory reps have been known to cause dealers problems. However, he wanted to make her happy so he was going to take another $200 off the already pretty good price they gave her and asked when she wanted to come in and get her new car? She told him she was not going to buy a Hyundai and that’s FINAL and to please not call her again.

I’m now counting…that’s ONE.

jmonroe

stickguy

what I want to know is if the dealer runs that up the chain to give the corporate people a reaming out over it.

sterlingdog

I had to laugh---another $200 off ? That's not worth a drive to the lot. That dealership is a real piece of work.

Richard

jmonroe

what I want to know is if the dealer runs that up the chain to give the corporate people a reaming out over it.

Good business sense says they should but we’ll never know for sure. If I was living at the top, I’d want to know. Especially why a rep was standing on a formality with a 3 time customer over a 7 year period.

My brother bought an ‘08 Kia Sorento demo with very low mileage (less than 5K miles) in the Spring of ’09, I think. He likes it a lot, no problems of any kind so far and would have bought another one until he heard of my problem with the ‘05 XG350. Now he’s not so sure anymore.

Like I said before…if the dealer goes to bat for you that could change the whole situation but mine never said they did that. All they did was tell me that although my engine was “very clean...they had to protect the interests of the dealership”. A lot of good that did for me.

jmonroe

mako1a

A one man crusade is hard enough, but when you're fighting a dealership over doing the right thing it becomes an insurmountable task. Keep at it.

I would like to know, just for my own peace of mind, where exactly the 05 XG350 is right now. If the dealer still has it on the back lot, it makes me think he has reason to believe he may end up fixing it for you. We can only hope.

mako1a

My wife's GMC Yukon Denali 2001 is in the shop. She was coming home on the interstate and it started to surge then slow twice, then just quit. Probably the fuel pump since it has 108,000 miles on it.

To cover the bases in case repair was more complicated I'm looking at alternative vehicles to just buy outright. I saw a 2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited that can be had for around $12k from a private individual. She said OK if it comes to that, but what else is there?

I went to ebay and brought up BMW X5. Slightly more expensive, but since she keeps a vehicle forever as long as I keep it maintained I figured fine. She looks at the pics and rejects it outright. Says it looks like a small SUV and wants to be seen on the highway by the big rigs to avoid being (as she puts it) squished. Here I am promoting BMWs and getting blown off. I feel like driver100.

fezo

But getting squished is part of that feel of the road......

tjc78

To cover the bases in case repair was more complicated I'm looking at alternative vehicles to just buy outright

IMO just get a newer Yukon (if this one is causing too many problems). There aren't many large SUVs that compare IMHO. You could also try a newer Ford Expedition, but that and the Sequoia are about the only choices in that segment.

There is also the Navigator and Escalade, but we all know they are clones of the above.

sterlingdog

I agree. Just get a newer Yukon or Tahoe, or perhaps the SRX like mine. The larger field is pretty narrow these days.

Richard

stickguy

in getting an oil change at the Honda dealer (found a $19.95 coupon! Good times!). nothing at all interesting on the used lot (they used to have an interesting assortment, now pretty much just Honda Blah moibles).

one interesting creature. a 2009 Accord 4 door EX with a manual trans. Cloth seats, but (I think) it had Navi on it. Only 28K on the clock.

certainly a rare car.