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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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I thought Richards wife just made it look like it had been driven through fields when it came home with mud on the inside.
Richard, unless you hit a pothole hard enough to make a CD skip, I would not expect tie rod ends to be bad at 28k miles. Maybe 128k miles.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Here are some real thrills to try;
AMAZING THRILLS
Stay with it, after the first 2 minutes..............
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Ah, Canadian spelling....Thats it Canadian spelling.
Thats what I get for typing on the fly on my phone and not at home on my computer.
Yes life is short, but why make it shorter? I am not saying not to do things, but take some precaustions. Most things that I do like that have back ups and failsafes. And I am not jumping off no bridge.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Meanwhile, today someone pasted what may be the best quote ever on my facebook wall.....
"There is a general place in your brain, I think, reserved for 'melancholy of relationships past.' It grows and prospers as life progresses, forcing you finally, against your better judgment, to listen to country music." - Kary Mullis
Things I won't do that were shown there:
surf
free climb
base jump.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
rob - of all those things SURFING is something you wouldn't do?? Now of course I don't do any of those things but surfing would be right up on my list of things to try. I did try it once when I was 17 but it was a disaster that day. My oldest daughter has surfed and wants to pick it up again.
Two of my brothers and I would really like to skydive attached to one of those guys that actually knows what he's doing. That would strike me as big fun.
Nope. I'm a very weak swimmer and hence water averse.
I'm not a great swimmer myself but what the heck...
Sorry fezo, but I have to disagree. As a former scuba diver, my instructor said I must be rich in iron or maybe gold because I am so negatively buoyant I need a buoyancy compensator (BC) vest in salt water.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Did you try down in the tropics? The water is saltier there....
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Yeah, I know. You set up the spike....
Secondly, to answer your two questions: Yes, I saw the air filter and it was very dirty, probably from my wife's trips to these remote grave sites to do research. You also asked if this was a Chrysler dealer. Unfortunately, yes. I have not been pleased with this service department since the mega dealer bought out the family owned business. They are forever trying to up-sale you when you come in for routine service. I try to be careful, especially with those recommendations for a power steering flush and a fuel system change.
As for the right tie rod end, I proceeded today with that repair. Here's why. I can't be a judge of how many pot holes my wife may have hit on her trips, though i attempted last evening to discuss it with her. Also, I may have hit some myself and just don't remember. I had considered taking the car to my Cadillac dealer for a second opinion, but a friend of mine pointed out that I would pay an extra $65 or so for an analysis that could prove the Chrysler dealer to be correct. Then I would be out more money. As my friend pointed out, there is a safety factor here. If I ignored the recommendation, I could wake up in the hospital discovering that the dealer was correct. I decided to err on the side of safety.
When I arrived for the work to be done, the technician noted that there are also times when the age of the car is a factor, as well as the mileage. The car is now four years old, though that still seems pretty new to me. He also mentioned that pot holes can cause these rods to wear. I also asked him about replacing the left rod. Since this was a way for him to make more money, I figured that he would agree. He didn't. He said that there was no need to replace a good part. At any rate, the job is done.
I did run into another problem. The rod replacement and alignment had been quoted to me yesterday at $153 and was written on the back of my oil change invoice. When I arrived today, the price was $153 plus $79 for the alignment. I showed the technician what he had written, but he responded that he couldn't honor his mistake. He simply apologized. I went to see the servcie manager who had gone to lunch. I saw my favorite salesman standing outside, and discussed it with him. He wasn't happy with the technician. We waited for the service manager. Though polite, the servcie manager said that he could only offer me a 10% dsicount to make up for the written quote by the technician. I proceeded with the work. The end result was $232-$23 discount =s $209 for the rod and the alignment. Whether it needed it or not, I at least have peace of mind now.
Once again, thanks for the help.
Richard
If there was play, even minor, in the end part on the tie rod, your car should have driven tight as a BMW on the way home if the new one eliminated the small movement
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
These suspension parts that are sealed and can't be greased sometimes give problems. But the slight wear was not a danger. It might have added a slight wandering in the steering noticeable on cracks between lanes.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Richard
Here is another Rule to Live By from the Drivers Book of Living. I am always extra careful dealing with a business that was just purchased. I have seen this happen several times, the new guys aren't as dedicated as the originator, and even more important they have debt that has to be paid off.
I have seen this happen with a tire business, my dentist, a friend who sold his small business, several restaurants, a car dealership to mention a few.
I think that salesman is excellent and I would certainly see him if interested in a Chrysler or a used car. I don't know if I would trust this Chrysler dealer in the future. You may have needed the part or maybe you didn't, but I have never heard of a tie rod going that soon and your roads probably aren't nearly as bad as roads up north where there is ice which really can make huge potholes.
I also didn't like the fact he didn't honor the original estimate. That tells me the service manager is worried management will be after him for discounting too much-and sales are more important than keeping your word.
I wouldn't lose sleep over it, you have peace of mind and these things probably will make the car ride better. I don't keep my cars too long these days, but my last 4 cars have probably gone about 150,000 miles and none of them had a tie rod replaced, or an alignment - and they drove fine. I will say my wife's car has just 30k miles on it and the tires are wearing and it needs an alignment. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw, but, I am skeptical.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The part that bothered me most was that not honoring the written estimate.
Of course I've had, "well, while we were doing this we found it needed that," but that's what got you to the tie rod end anyway....
Oh, well. You are back on the road....
Naval warfare theory is based on just the opposite.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
There are different reasons for potholes but the biggest one is probably the fact cement cracks, water gets in, it freezes and expands, creates a pothole.
I guess inferior cement or construction or lack of upkeep could all contribute, but freezing water is a big one. The worst roads I have seen are around Niagara Falls NY and Buffalo. Cold weather and lack of money make it impossible for these cities to keep up. Then large cities in Ontario especially poorer areas are next. Places like Cleveland are up there too.
I guess I haven't driven in the South enough to compare, but I-75 was in excellent condition.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
she just loved the car and asked a bunch of questions on it.
I can’t say that I blame her for not wanting a Chevy but you have to tell her how Hyundai may not care about how they treat her if something major goes wrong with it. Tell her if she gets one to get the turbo 4. That is one nice engine. I have to admit that when I test drove the turbo 4, fully equipped, 2012 Sonata it was better than the 6 cyl. in the Legacy that Mrs. j got but I’m now soured on Hyundai so the Sonata was out. One of the reasons I test drove it was because the salesman said he’d give me a hellava deal on it because he heard of the problem I had with the XG350. Mrs. j was dead set against getting it but since we were test driving cars that Saturday, Son #1 wanted to drive it so that was part of the reason too. He also thought the turbo 4 was pretty darn nice. I know he wouldn’t have like the standard 4 cyl. anymore than I would have liked it. Tell your sister not to go half way, tell her to get the turbo.
I'll keep you informed of what happens.
That’s a deal. You promote them and I’ll go the other way. Just yesterday a guy I worked with a few years ago came up to me and said, “you’re a Hyundai guy, what do you think about the Sonatas? I have to replace my 11 year old Volvo”. I told him the story about the XG350. I’m surprised he didn’t already hear about it but I guess I missed a few people around here. Maybe word of mouth isn’t the best way to get the message out. I should have sent emails.
FWIW, I would have responded sooner but we’re up to our eyeballs with the bathroom redo. I did the wiring last Saturday. At least I know that part is done right. I had to point out a few things that weren’t being done the way we said we wanted it done. Typical thing of the guys who are doing the work weren’t told by the contractor how to do some things we wanted that weren’t the “standard way” they do it. The room is now dry walled waiting for the floor to be tiled. I’ll be glad when this thing is done. Almost there but not quite.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I, too, am as stunned as you are that the Broncos won yesterday. I, too, am shocked that Tim Tebow shredded a really, really good Pittsburgh defense for over 300 passing (on only 10 completions). I, too, am surprised that Big Ben was sacked 5 times and picked off once.
All the pundits - and, truth be told, most of the population of Colorado - was expecting a Steeler win. We were just happy that the Broncos made backed into the playoffs.
I guess that's why they play the game!
Good teams don’t let so so teams beat them; especially in the playoffs. The Steelers defense is not as good as they were hyped to be. The playoff game proved that. I knew the Steelers were in trouble when they were beaten twice by the Ravens. They used to own that team. The second time was in the Burgh, late in the final minutes, after they finally went ahead only to give up a 92 yard scoring drive to lose that game too. Good defenses don’t do that. Hell, bad defenses don’t do that.
I have a theory about that playoff game. I think the Steelers preferred to embarrass themselves by losing to the Broncos rather than suffer even more embarrassment by losing ANOTHER playoff game to the Patriots. They just didn’t want to postpone the inevitable.
If the Patriots lose to the Broncos the NFL is fixed.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
By fixed, I assume you mean crooked as a dog's hind leg, as opposed to repaired.
Though perhaps not as bad as the North, we do have plenty of bad roads. My concern was more about the rural and farm roads traveled by my wife in doing her historical research. Thank goodness that project is now completed. She has also finished restoring the plantation house for the foundation. It took her three years---meetings with curators, finding the correct period pieces of furniture, traveling to see other plantation homes in the South, etc. I'm sure that she hit some potholes along the way, especially on those old farm roads. Doing without the new tie rod end wouldn't have bothered me as much, but I didn't want to take a chance with her on the road by herself at times. A $200 investment in safety is cheap insurance for me.
I totally agree with you about this Chrysler dealership. As I told my salesman, "You have a great sales department, but the service department sucks." I will have future work done on the convertible elsewhere. I've been burned there twice. It won't happen a third time. Besides, I don't expect to keep the convertible much longer. Trucks are out because they don't fit the garage along with the SRX. As for another car, I don't see anything that appeals to me yet. I like the new GMC Terrain, and of course the Flex. With the SRX, I don't need either of those now. In the category of sedans, perhaps another Cadillac deserves a look, or possibly a Mercedes C or E class.
Richard
I just drove the Wrangler on a lark. I really didn't care for it. The new Travel Log feature was the most interesting part of the drive. Those are coming out on many new vehicles now. They had an orange Rubicon, but it was being tested by another customer while I was there. I've owned one Grand Cherokee, but another one just doesn't interest me. With my wife's road adventures, perhaps she should have had a Rubicon.
Richard
Since I have one and love it, I'll have to give a nod for the Buick LaCrosse. I think it would fit what you are looking for.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Huh. I just drove a Lark on a wrangler....
I was going to mention to snake that he should ask you before he recommends a Hyundai to his sister - just so she is aware of the pitfalls. I think he was not around here when you told us your Sonata story.
They are probably pretty good cars but some people could be swayed by your experience. I would be to some degree...if I really liked the car I might still chance it, but I don't think I would even test drive one at this point. I have faced bad customer service before and I would rather avoid it.
Having said that, one review I read said the turbo Sonata is great and is a much better car than the hybrid which costs about the same...if you really want to have some fun.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Good boy!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
What is the travel log feature?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
A wise guy eh. Yeah, like the dog thing. :shades:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
What is it with you Southern boys? Everything about snow and ice is exaggerated.
How would you have liked to do what I had to do when I was in the Navy? While not on an icy runway I still had to hold my breath.
I’ve mentioned this before, I was on a flight crew in a transport squadron, while I was in the Navy and there were some interesting moments but none like this one:
We were about to land at our base after a trip and one of the main mounts did not show that it was in the “down and locked” position. I was in the flight engineers seat so I noticed this and pointed it out to the pilot. There were two in the green and one in the red; not good enough! How he missed it I don’t know but that’s why you do double checks when you’re in the cockpit on final approach before landing. It was an interesting situation to say the least. We did the usual pull it back up then down again several times but the red light was still on. We did a fly by over the tower and they thought it was down but they sent up a couple planes to do a close fly by (under really) and they even thought it was in the fully down position. OK, we’re feeling a little better. Our shorts are starting to dry. The pilot did a hard bounce on that mount (left side under the #1 engine of the 2 engine plane) during a couple touch-and-goes. It held and we got another good report from the tower and planes. Now we’re really feeling better.
Before we did our real landing the pilot said he was going to bring the plane to a stop while it was still on the runway (he wasn’t waiting to get to the taxi strip) he wanted the pins put in all three of the mounts before we went any further. Guess who was given the honor of putting the pin in the problem mount? Your right. I was never so glad to hear anything as I was that day when I heard that pin click when it was fully inserted.
FWIW, an inspection revealed corrosion on the down limit switch actuator due to a bad gasket on the down limit switch box cover. That’s why it hung up and gave a false indication. The guy who signed off doing the inspection of that box during the last maintenance check got some extra duty. He was lucky he didn’t go to see the Captain for that.
Yeah, we had a little bit of sweat on us that day.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
A favorite old story about military logic and such. A girl I was seeing many years ago had a father who had retired out of teh Coats Guard. He had gone in as a very young fellow from the deepest southern part of Georgia and just married to a fourth generation Floridian. They stationed him on an icebreaker in Lake Superior!
Damn, that must be a Burgh thing.
Another tale about when I was in the Navy:
Being on a flight crew we had to pass various swimming tests twice a year and I had no problem with any of them until we had to stay in the deep end of the pool for 30 minutes without touching the sides. I could not float worth a lick and that part of the test was torture for me. If you touched the sides you had to stay in for another 15 minutes. I knew I couldn’t afford to do that so I just doggie paddled or swam on my back being constantly aware of the pool sides while everyone else floated. I passed the test every time but it was WORK for me.
About this dare devil stuff. Again while I was in the Navy, being on a flight crew, we were given the opportunity to parachute out of planes. Once I was going to do it then I changed my mind. I kept hearing the words of one of our pilots saying, “I do my damndest to keep the plane in the air. Why the hell would anyone want to jump out of a plane that is still working? :confuse: I hope nobody in our crew would do that just for kicks”.
There were a couple who did but I was not one of them.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Richard
99 M3
It's for sale near me for $8900. Hi miles, but engine has lower miles.
Does that mean it's a race car body with a yugo engine? I thought a
99 was called an E46. Sounds like a nice beginner BMW. If you BMW
"experts" give it your approval, I'll check further into it. Edmunds has it at $5-6k?
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Well she has been a Chevy person for almost 40 years, she must like them somehow.
I have been very happy with the customer service and the warranty experience with Hyundai. So are others I know so should I just ignore all of that?
Tell her if she gets one to get the turbo 4. That is one nice engine.
We have the non turbo and it is more than powerfull enough for most people. It's got some pretty good pep.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I was around, but I thought it was an XG story. Maybe you weren't around when I chimed in with my warranty story in reply.
So when my experience is really good and others I am aware of are the same with one exception what I am to do?
If I were going to dismiss a make because someone had a real bad experience with a warranty claim I would be walking everywhere.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Hopefully Roadburner will get back to you about the BMW M3. My opinion is just that, my opinion based on limited technical or mechanical knowledge.
First, M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, saloon and convertible body styles. Upgrades over the "standard" 3-Series automobiles include more powerful and responsive engines, improved handling/suspension/braking systems, aerodynamic body enhancements, and interior/exterior accents with the tri-color "M" (Motorsport) emblem.
I think that is a beautiful car....personally, I like the styling more than the new model. It looks like it is in perfect condition. 75k miles is not too high considering it is a 99. If you are serious I would want a BMW garage to look at it as it could get costly if anything is not as good as it looks.
That is one gorgeous car, and it is one of those cars that looks better as time goes by.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That could be true, all I am saying is it is best to give full disclosure to your sister. If it was me, for example, I would say, I do know of someone who had this problem with their Sonata. I don't know if that matters to you, but I wanted to mention it as it might influence you.
All I am saying is, I think it is best to mention all the facts. For some people, knowing about JMs experience may influence their decision to buy. It seems Suburu goes out of their way to honor their warranty and keep customers satisfied....that may be important to some people.
Like I said, I have only heard good things about Sonatas and Hyundai, but not honoring a warranty based on a technicality would put me off.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
When you drive the turbo you'll realize the standard 4 cyl. doesn't have enough power to get out of its own way.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
You're right but when it happens to you that's enough to scratch that one off your list.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I'll have to disagree with you on this. While the turbo has more power the standard 4 has plenty to get it moving.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Richard
Driver, the ad said the car had 152k miles, but the engine (S52 3.2L) has 75k on it. Is the S52 original to a 99 M3? He also mentioned E36 which I believe ended in 98. I'm confused here.
The pictures look good, but I don't know if it was an engine swap from a lesser car or upgraded to be an M3. The ad doesn't tell a BMW novice much.
His location has a lot of spoiled rich kids so it could be a well kept car. Who knows?
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
if that was near me and had a stick shift...
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Finding a good M3 with automatic is rare, that's why I'm hesitant to let it get away if there's a chance it actually is an upgrade or a good older one.
Trying on a BMW is something I've wanted to do for a while and an M3 would be great.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
If my father heard that I purchased a Buick, he would rise up to say that I had finally done something smart. He loved Buicks and owned several of them. Buicks were my mother's favorite cars. I had to bring her Regal to the nursing home and park it outside of her bedroom window just to keep her happy. She couldn't ever drive it again, but I would take her for rides in it. She was funny. She didn't bat an eye when I had to sell her house to keep her in the nursing home. As for the car, I had orders from her not to dare sell it. I kept my word until she passed away. I think that the attachment about the car was because it was the last car that Dad bought for her before he died. She took such great care of it. It looked as new the day that I sold it as the day that it was purchased.
Richard