Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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Our accountant who lives in a gated community in Florida says he sees lots of retirees who gave or sold their businesses to children or their spouses and they either got nothing or debts.
Don't ever get mixed up with relatives and money. If you do give money think of it as a gift so you won't have resentment if it doesn't get paid back.
For nyc and others, sometimes it can work. But the children have to be extremely responsible, it just isn't worth the possible catastrophic results.
And that boys and girls is your lesson about life for today.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
nyc....what a nice gesture offering up your Yankees tix. I have to see when/if my next trip to New York is going to happen, but thanks for the offer.
My Audi has been at the dealership for 2 1/2 weeks straight. Talking with them yesterday, they aren't near to having it fixed. More disturbing, they don't seem to be able to hone in on how to fix it. I think it's time for me to start a discussion with them about getting Audi to buy the car back. I'm not more upset because they give me really nice cars to use in the interim. So, that takes a lot of the sting out of it. But, with the other times I had to have the car in for service (for the same things....MMI and the transmission), I'm well over 30 days of not being able to drive it.
However, he said unless I had the same passion for it as he did, I shouldn't consider taking it over. I thought long and hard about it. It was a successful, ongoing buisness, but in an industry I just couldn't wrap my "passion" around. So, regretfully I declined is very genorous offer.
IF you don't like the business that you're inheriting, best to look elsewhere vs tearing down something that was built up over the years....especially by blood relatives.
You are right GG. Something has to be done...you aren't moving forward (figuratively and literally) and when the warranty is up you will be stuck with a real lemon. If you have a lemon law in your state (or state where bought) then this car surely qualifies. Some states have easy to use lemon laws to protect the public from this happening. Don't know if that applies where you bought it.
Once it is "fixed" get something you know will be reliable...a Lexus or Acura or something just so you can get past this. Sometimes there is some good, maybe it will get this type of car out of your system to some degree.
That is really unfair. It is too bad the ex didn't take the car.
We had a Volvo once that could stall at anytime, any where. They tried to fix it at 3 different dealers. We got out of the lease early and bought a C230 Mercedes.......loved it and got over it. I like Volvos but I don't think I would ever buy one again. I say....just keep moving forward.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I have the exact same Technics turntable. I really like that unit. I had it paired with a Marantz 1060B integrated amp an a pair of Marantz Imperial 7 speakers. Pure analog bliss!
I need to hook it all back up, the workshop is a good idea!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Your father was a wise man........you have to have a passion for the business.
Mine was a thriving book business. My SIL has never read a book, doesn't have a clue about books. He just wanted to make money. People sense what is going on.
I didn't care about money, I just wanted to create a company that our customers would like and rely on, we ran it nicely, we made a profit for our customers, and I always said if our customers do well, we will do well.
Very few businesses survive a 2nd generation.....they don't have the passion and they didn't learn all the little steps that got you to where you are.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
We had our son when we were in our late 30s so he ended up an only child- just like me. Looking around at the people I know who have had all sorts of sibling conflict I think he just might be better off. I tell my kid that all he will have to deal with is his crazy parents.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I almost never throw/give old audio equipment away(much to my lovely wife's chagrin).
Funny story on the AR turntable: My uncle was a bit of an audiophile in his younger days and bought the AR in the '60s. Around 1990 I asked him what he did with it and he said he was going to donate it to the children's ministry of his church to use in their Sunday School classes(how long do you think it would last in that environment?). I told him to let me have it and I would make a donation to his church in whatever dollar amount he thought was fair. So I got it for $100.
A couple of years later I was in Chicago visiting a friend and he showed me some old audio equipment he was going to get rid of. I noticed he had a brand new(and now hard to find) AR headshell and asked him how much he wanted for it. He handed it to me and said, "Take it- I sold the table a decade ago."
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
That is the most frustrating aspect of warranty work, graphicguy, when they have no idea of what is causing the problem and no idea how to fix it!
I think I mentioned a long, long time ago about my experience with BMW. I had purchased a 2005 525i, a 2006 530i, a 2007 530, and then I bought the newly introduced 535i in 2008. I was very happy with the 535 - outstanding power out of that inline 6 with dual turbos.
About 3 months into my ownership, I started noticing that after a heavy thunderstorm, when I would go into the car and start it up the next morning, a message would come up on the screen, "...EXCESSIVE BATTERY DRAIN - SEE BMW SERVICE CENTER ASAP". This happened about 3 times, only after a heavy thunderstorm, so I took it to my dealership. They were able to bring up the error message from the computer, but had no idea what was causing it. They said to drive the car so long as there was no problem getting it started. I did what they told me, and the next day, after a heavy thunderstorm, I could not start the car - battery dead! So they towed the car (had less than 3,000 miles on it.
They drove a loaner over to my house (a base 328i) and they had my car in their shop for over 5 weeks. They had the zone service rep in to try to diagnose what was causing the battery drain, then had someone from Germany over to look at it. No one could identify what was causing the problem. They said they had about 45 cars in the U.S. having the same problem, and all of them had the "Comfort" package (keyless entry and start). But since they could not determine the cause, or a fix, for that matter, they built me a brand new on in Germany and it arrived 5 weeks later.
I was very happy to get rid of that car. Then, after a heavy thunderstorm and lightning, I saw the same error message come up on the screen. THAT WAS IT! So I took it back and they refunded my money. No more BMW's for me, at least not since 2008, and probably never again.
The more stuff they put on these cars, the more trouble they have diagnosing the problems and fixing the problems. Have not had that problem with Mercedes.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Second is that most of the available hydrogen is bound up with oxygen to make water. It takes a lot of energy to break that bond, IIRC the most common is to use an electric current. So you burn oil at a power plant to generate electricity to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen to put in your car.
Plus the car emits water vapor which is a green house gas :surprise:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The 1st generation builds the business.
The 2nd gets wealthy off the business.
The 3rd ruins the business?
I said this about a month ago, my wifes 2013 A4 has a problem with the Bluetooth, fortunately she doesn't use it a lot. The dealer worked on it for 90 minutes and can't find a solution.
The car goes back for an oil change in December. I told the service agent to fix the Bluetooth while the car is there.
If they can't fix it I will lose my confidence in Audi. I would seriously have considered one based on how much we like the A4. I won't consider switching if they can't fix something they should be experts on.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That isn't quite true, though often it works out that way. In fact, , 30% percent of family businesses survive into the 2nd generation. 12% survive into the 3rd generation, and only 3% of businesses make it into the 4th generation and beyond.
These days, not too many businesses last for more than 10 or 20 years anyway....look at a company like Blockbuster. But, only 30% of businesses survive the 2nd generation.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
A company in my town (Plug Power) pioneered much of that technology. They also produce stand-by generators and computer fuel cell batteries. Strangely, they didn't devote more resources to car power plants and now Toyota eats their lunch.
They were once high flyers whose stock sold for over $120. Now it sells for under a buck because the company never made any money.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I know a guy who had a highly successful independent insurance business.
The same thing happened to him. In three years, there was nothing left.
35 years of hard work and a huge portfolio of happy clients...gone!
Cars they will no longer sell....wholesale or go to the auction.
1. All Audis...just "don't stay fixed" according to our GM.
2. Most Volvos...sometimes make an exception but not often
3. Most Volkswagens...only keep if still under warranty.
4. Any Land Rover...gone immediately before something breaks.
Extreme caution is taken with Mercedes and BMWS but they are normally fairly
troublefree. Lots of miles, they dump them.
Funny what you learn after 35 years.
Ha ha don't tell the government or they'll be taxing your sweat.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Is that due to incompetence or due to the business being sold out of the family?
Some reasons that the 3rd generation bury companies are:
they aren't interested in the business and don't want to be there
they use it as a fall back and aren't prepared to run a business
there are too many of them to effectively run the company
they just aren't interested in working.
These days, not too many businesses last for more than 10 or 20 years anyway....look at a company like Blockbuster.
You really can't use Blockbuster as an example. They were never a family business. Blockbuster was the result of a public company called Cook Data Systems looking for a way to implement bar coding technology after it's primary business customers (big oil) took a dive in the mid 80's. Cook Data changed it's name to Blockbuster Entertainment when it opened it's first video store in Dallas.
I'm gone most of next week. I'll deal with it week after next when I get home.
It was making a plinking noise, which turned out to be something called a draft inducer.
The draft inducer starts the airflow up the flue when the hot air furnace kicks on.
After playing with it for a while, I decided to remove it to get a closer look.
Once I did that I realized part of the internal impeller was scraping against the housing.
Went on line, did some searching, and found what looked like the part.
It was priced from $100 to over $400.
The $100 part looked like an exact match, so I ordered.
When it showed up, it was almost the same. The picture had 2 wires, just like the one on the furnace, but the new part had 2 tabs to attach wiring to, but no wires.
The wires on old part were not removable without cutting.
I didn't want to cut those wires because I needed to be able to reinstall the old part, if the new one didn't fit or work.
Took me 2 tries, but I found some 14 gauge wire and the same size wire ends.
Putting the correct ends on the wires also took me 2 tries, but I hooked it up and all is now quiet.
I wanted to get it done because we are having sleep over guests for Thanksgiving and some of them will be staying in the basement, where the furnace is.
Cost me $125 total. The gas company wanted $185 just to come and look at it.
What a relief!
I've gotten rid of a few pieces that I got decent money for but yes for the most part, once I buy it... I keep it.
I've got a Harman Kardon CDR30 dual deck CD recorder. I used it to convert some vinyl to CD and it has been boxed up for about 8 years. I'm gonna check out some completed listings on Ebay and if they are fetching over $100 I'll throw it up.
At one point my wife counted all the speakers in the house. She loves to throw that number around whenever I talk about the shoes/clothes/craft stuff etc. She also loves the three drawers worth of interconnects, adapters, speaker wire, etc.
As I type this I'm scheming out a place in my small office to put the turntable and Marantz gear (she'll love that!!).
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I could explain some reasons but this article explains it perfectly. My SIL had all of these traits plus he takes risks - which could be good, but only if you have a fall back plan in place.
This article is really good though and very accurate;
http://millennialceo.com/leadership/generation-businesses-fail/
About Blockbuster, I am not calling it a family business. I am just saying even large successful businesses have a shorter lifespan these days. I just read they think companies these days last an average of about 12 years, that is less than it used to be. Whether it is a family business or a comapany like Blockbuster, companies have to pick up quickly on new trends and stay ahead of the curve....not easy to do in a fast changing world. If you don't want to use BB as an example think of RIM. There are lots of family businesses we could use as examples too.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I am always leary of someone taking over a business. They have the added expense of paying for the business, and they aren't the guy who got it going.
Sometimes it can work out better, but usually the original business owner got the company going and made it successful for reasons the next owners will never understand.
According to my accountant who lives in Florida most of the year, he hears about kids messing up the business all the time.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
That's a good list. To get a car that has some feeling to it you give up some reliability. I would only consider an Audi, VW, BMW, Rover, Volvo if I knew it had a warranty and if I knew I could afford to dump it if it became too much trouble.
Otherwise, I would have to settle for a Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Acura.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Why not? Family is family and if they can't depend on you, then who? Often these relationships don't work because there is not a meeting of the minds. Expectations and outcomes should be discussed at length with escape clauses for all parties. Nonetheless, *Driver, so sorry your SIL ended up in this predicament and the angst it has caused you and your spouse.
I was reading an article on MSN recently on the plight of the traditional car salesman who might become extinct sooner than we think. The internet has changed the paradigm for many businesses. Among them: travel agencies, real estate sales agents, higher education, and now the lowly car salesman.
Today's car salesman is likely to be sitting behind a computer terminal taking online orders or involved in non-productive online chat. Unlike the sales model of the last fifty years where the consumer came to the showroom for product information, today's consumer shops online first and comes to the showroom for a test drive or to take delivery of their new wheels.
From the internet the consumer gathers all the information she needs and it often foolish for a salesman to use the old tried and true sales tactics that worked in the past. Dealerships in turn have blurred the lines between MSRP and invoice cost so the salesman is relegated to getting a flat fee for each car sold rather than a commission based on gross margin.
Unfortunately, because of their rabid reputation nobody gives a damn about the future of the car salesman.
The salesman story completely ignores used car sales/trade ins.
This was all part of the plan by Edmunds to get me back here. They said if I came back they would fain server problems to make sure everyone knew I was back. They even reset to that post on all of the other forums too.
I'll bet the posters on those other forums are wondering, 'who the hell is this jmonroe'?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
" rabid reputation"
Did you really say that?
This "lowly" car salesman made a whole lot more money than you would probably imagine.
Nice comments, bwia!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The wires on old part were not removable without cutting.
I didn't want to cut those wires because I needed to be able to reinstall the old part, if the new one didn't fit or work.
Took me 2 tries, but I found some 14 gauge wire and the same size wire ends.
Cost me $125 total. The gas company wanted $185 just to come and look at it. ***.
I'm happy for your success. It's amazing what you can do when you want to try. And another important and unmeasurable part of doing something like this is that those same lessons and reasoning that were learned doing this job can be applied to others.
No one I know woke up one morning and knew everything all at once.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I think the two of us got ripped off. I was looking at a Bed Bath and Beyond insert that came out of last Sundays paper while having my second cup of coffee this morning and I saw an ad for an Atari Flashback 4 Classic Game Console. The price was $40 and it was loaded with 76 built-in Atari games! IIRC the Atari console I bought for my sons back in the late 70s was a little over $100 and it came with 1 measly cartridge. Nothing was pre-installed. I think there are at least 4 of those cartridge cases in the basement that hold about 20 cartridges each at around 20 bucks a pop IIRC. I�m not going to say I bought all of them because my sons got some as gifts over the years�but still !!!!!!
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
But I guess you are right we got ripped off, the $40 for the Atari flashback would be a little more than $10 in 1977 dollars. Might be a fun way to blow $40.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Technically the 3rd generation (my Dad) is still at the helm. He's in charge and never plans on retiring. Since my Grandmother is 96 & in very good health, I don't think I'll officially "take over" for a while.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
"Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me."
LOL, that's one of my favorite Beatles songs. I hum it constantly while doing my taxes so my wife doesn't have to hear loud cursing.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
You make an excellent point bwia. We were going to pay off the loan even though we didn't lose the money - though I was angry about it. The amount could buy a nice new luxury car. But, we had some very good news, SIL talked it over with his parents and they will pick up the tab. They feel we shouldn't be responsible. And, they don't want the family torn apart.
SIL's father had a financial problem with a brother and they didn't talk for 25 years.
All I can say bwia is every case is different and you have to decide when to help and when it is better not to....feeding money into a bottomless pit won't help anyone either.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Congratulations for being in the 3%....that says a lot about you and by reading your posts we know you are a responsible young man....wiser than your years would indicate.
Your father has beaten the odds by carrying a business through the 3rd generation, and that is a real accomplishment. To keep a family business going that long - through tough economic times, your family must be very dedicated and responsible.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I'm sure he has what it takes to do so.
I just wish he would take some time off. A Saturday here or there in the summer... Something.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
A trip to San Pedro California isn't complete without a stop at Sorrentos.
Trouble is, now I judge all Italian food by Sorrentos and no other place comes remotely close!
Meatball sandwiches are to DIE for! Everything is made from scratch!
I've got job security which is worth a lot in today's day & age. My job isn't easy & (like my parents before me) won't discourage my children if this is what they want to do, but won't encourage it either.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Money and greedy siblings are a bad combo, just wish my dad had had the trust set up differently where probate wasn't necessary as we are spending "our" $ on [non-permissible content removed]! i am not happy since I am the one who will be writing the checks here!
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Sandy aka The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)