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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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You have to pull a Kramer and tell the salesman you have to see how far you can get the gas gauge past the 'E'.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I get those free gift things once or twice a year, usually a gift card of some sort, but the ones I get are from the manufacturers and I need to take a drive at a manufacturers event. No sales pros just reps from the manufacturer who will explain the car and answer questions. Usually it's for cars that are a few months away from hitting the showroom.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Anyone else remember the vacuum pumps and acceleration causing reduced wiper speed during acceleration
Oh Yeah. Growing up we had a 60 Ford with them. Accelerating would slow them way down, in fact trumping it could make visibility down right dangerous in a rain storm, but decelerating would get them running like a bat out of hell.
Mike, interesting that the wipers operated via vacuum. I wuould have thought elecrtric motors would have been a much simpler set up than a vaccum pump for wipers....even back then. Heaters had electric fan motors in those Nash cars, right? What was the thinking behind using vaccum set ups for the wipers?
Snake....this was the first time I actually had a dealer insist I had to take the test drive to valudate the gift card, even though I told him I wasn't in the market. He wasted his time and mine.
"What was the thinking behind using vaccum set ups for the wipers?"
I don't think US automakers started using electric motors for most cars until the late 50's. Generators were used to provide electricity for cars in the 50's and early 60's rather than alternators. Generators were not very efficient or effective in producing sufficient current for everything on the car - especially headlights. Don't you remember when RPM's dropped when the car was idling, the lights would dim. Thus, vacuum operated wipers put less of a drain on the generator. When they went to alternators, there was more than enough electricity produced to operate wiper motors along with heater blowers.
I am sure there were other reasons, but this seems like the most likely.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Very interesting...thanks for the info. I seem to remember Chrysler developing the use of alternators for regular cars in the 60s.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The Profit is back on CNBC and it was interesting this week. Marcus Lemonis tries to save a guy who invested $6 million in a fancy car dealership. He put in a movie theatre, video games, over $500k in decorating, and he is selling high end used cars. He is losing $100k a month because he is buying the wrong cars and only has 20 cars on his lot. Marcus offers him $3.5 to buy half the business and change it to make it profitable. It is on again on Friday at 9 p.m. EST on CNBC.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I believe the wipers were vacuum just because they historically had been vacuum operated. When we tromped on the gas pedal that opened the butterfly in the carburetor and lowered the vacuum in the intake manifold; thus the wipers slowed. But then a miracle: the fuel pump that operated with a lever on the cam shaft lobe was given an auxiliary vacuum pump inline with the vacuum from the intake manifold. So the wipers didn't slow down as much or even stop when accelerating hard. The fuel pump kept adding enough vacuum to keep them moving.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
"I believe the wipers were vacuum just because they historically had been vacuum operated."
Interesting historical background. You explained it so technologically sound that I actually understand it! Thanks!
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
"There is something in what you say about children and the time of day that they perform best."
As you know, Richard, I spent most of my years in education at the K-5 level and only 6 years at 6-12. There is a marked difference between K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 when it comes to the best time of day when the kids are the most teachable and/or what times of day they learn best and retain the most.
At K-5, in general, the children are at their peak between 8:00 and 11:00 AM, with the older kids in grades 4 and 5 extend to just before lunch.
In middle school, the kids are at their peak from around. 9:30 AM to just before lunch.
At high school, I agree with your assessment that they learn best at around 10:00 AM through 1:00 PM, give or take 30 minutes on each side if that time frame. Teenagers don't become alert, for the most part, until that time, on average.
All groups become dead wood after lunch which is why we tried to schedule PE and fine arts early in the morning for the older kids and afternoons for the younger kids.
You are correct when you state that there has been much research on this subject over the years.
When I became a school principal in 1976, I required all teachers in grades 1-3 to teach reading and language arts during the first 2 hours of school and Math during the 3rd hour. Science, social studies were taught in the afternoons. For grades 4-5, they were taught reading and language arts during the 10:30 - 12:30 time frame with math, science and social studies after lunch. They had PE and fine arts 1st thing every morning.
It was difficult because of the limited resources and the technical problems associated with master scheduling.
I then became head of school for 6-12 from 1992-1999. I really preferred K-5 because of the tremendous importance of teaching young children the basics. But I enjoyed 6-12 because of the more intellectually stimulating interactions with the older kids.
I was truly blessed to have been an educator.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
@abacomike
Thanks for sharing & venting. That's what we are here for!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Mike, it is too bad it took you so long to graduate from public school
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Here is a demonstration of what it was like driving with vacuum wipers. Video is less than 2 minutes...he is driving a 1956 Chev. Notice the pattern of the wipers too...not very efficient.
youtube.com/watch?v=EqkEmldvtss&noredirect=1
We've come a long way since then.....now we have rain sensitive wipers!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Mike, Driver, Imid....thanks. Gotta say, where else can you go to get this kind of education? Now I know all about vacuum wipers. Youse guys are some smart fellas....
Didn't Rambler at one point use the air in the spare tire as a power source?
A sales story! Warning: not a very exciting one.
Our 1998 Chevy Silverado 1500 was truly on her last legs... perhaps standing on the last toenail, truth be told. Had to add antifreeze at least once a month, oil more often than that, and strange noises and smells abounded. The truck is a key participant in our summer fun, as it's used to haul the boat, and occasionally a camper, and is also the chief severe winter weather vehicle.
Off to start the hunt for a replacement last Saturday. The largest dealership chain in town was the only one that had a decent inventory of used trucks, and though it has earned a bit of a bad reputation, we reluctantly visited. It was a rare, beautiful winter day, by the way - mid 50's and sunny. Anyway, a nice but clearly new-to-the-biz saleslady approached us. She did a good job of not being overly pushy and just offering to search their chain-wide inventory. We were in the Crossfire, which was not our trade-in, and clearly stated we wouldn't be buying today.
We wanted a 3/4 ton instead of a 1/2 ton, and my SO likes "big trucks" and he cannot lie. They pulled up a 2006 Ford F-250 long bed, crew cab, with a topper on it. Drove it around, and it definitely needed an alignment. So, back to the office, and the moderately high pressure begins - buy it, and you get a "we owe" for the alignment. NO DICE. Not buying it til driving it after the alignment. They kept trying to talk around that objection, and get us to drive it home for the afternoon (how they were going to do the alignment with the truck in our driveway was a mystery to me) but it was time for us to go, and made and appt to return on Monday a.m. Plus, we weren't satisfied that full asking price minus $1000 for the trade was their best deal.
Monday arrives, they reach a deal by upping the trade allowance to $2000, which was frankly quite generous considering that it barely runs. But, the tires were all but brand-new, so I suspect they'll take those off and part it out. They sent my SO back home after doing all the paperwork (F&I was surpringly a breeze) since it was the middle of his workday, said they'd detail it and call back. We waited, and waited, and waited. Texted the SP a few times and asked about the status. "Still being detailed." Got to be about 7pm and dark, so we stated we wouldn't be taking delivery in the dark and would return in the morning. Good thing we did.
Got there the next morning, and noticed that while they had put new tires on the vehicle, they were passenger car tires! Not sure how that went unnoticed, as they basically looked ridiculous on that behemoth of a vehicle. Thought it was the anticipated last-minute sales trick we had been fearing all along. Nope. The sales manager laughed when it was brought to his attention and called the shop - some tech just put the wrong tires on it, so back to the shop it went.
At this point the old truck had come home THREE times after we thought the deal was all done. I was losing hope that it would really happen. But, upon the final return to the dealership, the truck had the correct tires, was properly aligned, well-detailed, and ready to come home. Glory be! I was pretty relieved to see it pull up in the driveway instead of old Bessie.
My SO texted his younger brother to tell him what he'd bought, and the prompt response stated, "let's go run over something."
All in all, apart from the numerous trips and time it took, the deal went pretty well, and we got a decent price, probably due to the limited market in a city environment for a large truck with a V10 engine. It's no-sale green as well, which we don't care about one bit. I'll take a pic once the weather is hospitable and the grandpa-looking bed topper is off.
Now all we need is warmer weather!
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Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
They will likely wholesale your old truck -- someone will throw in a used engine [no shortage of those] and resell it. Chevy trucks are the truck of choice in lawn care around here. They fetch a premium over Ford and Dodge. Nicely done on the deal by the way.
No, graphicguy, we are not that smart - we just are old and remember cars from the 1950's and 1960's and their shortcomings. Remember, the older you get, the more information you store, the smarter you "seem". Keep the compliments coming, graphicguy - at our age, we don't get that many any more!
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Nice little actual sales story Kirstie, and we were in need of one. It seems to have all gone down well. I give you guys credit for your perseverance - I may have lost it when they put the wrong tires on your new truck.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
JUST MISSED A CHANCE TO RUIN MY PAINT FINISH ON MY NEW CAR
I was pulling our of my Condo development yesterday morning and noticed that they are replacing all the sidewalks along the adjacent road for beautification in our village. Unfortunately, they were high-speed "blowing" the old concrete and cement soot as I was making my right turn on to the street. My car became covered in this white, chalky stuff. I pulled into the local Mercedes Benz Dealer (they now wash my car for me so I don't have to run up to Delray) and the valet mentioned that the car needed to be rinsed off for several minutes to get rid of the concrete and cement powder before washing the car with soap or the finish would scratch.
Good thing the valet noticed the powder on the car and asked me what it was from. When I told him, he had the car brought around for a "hand wash" to make sure the finish was protected.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Whoa---concrete dust is pernicious, and dangerous to car finishes!
Mike....old or smart? I'm sticking with smart!
Kirstie...I like that sales story. It had intrigue. It had surprise. It had love. It had passion. It had the color green. Great story!
Speaking of green cars;
*TAMPA — Tax refund thief Russell B. Simmons wants the government to return his green Bentley Continental GT coupe and other gems he forfeited in a plea deal that sent him to prison.
*As for the Bentley, a federal contractor auctioned it off for $53,450, records show. Source Motors' set a minimum bid of $55,200 on eBay.
Maybe oldfarmer can find it for us:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Actually, you may be right. It's had just about everything apart from the transmission and engine replaced. Tranny may have been replaced early on, but not during our ownership. There are loads of buy-here, pay-here dealerships around, possibly because it's a university town and there's a lot of demand for low-budget vehicles. Probably could've gotten more on private party sale, but really didn't feel good about being the the ones to pass it along.
Tires would've been a deal killer if they hadn't immediately said they would rectify, but they did, so all's well!
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Sounds like a truck I would buy. Fluid only once a month and adding oil on a Chevy is just routine maintaince.
Funny how they didn't detail your new ride before they tried to sell it to you. I heard that happens a lot and it doesn't make sense from a marketing standpoint. Why not present a shiny clean vehicle instead of one with French fries on the dash?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Not unless it's on Craigslist. EBay confuses me.
Here's one you can get for your spare change:
http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/4352264313.html
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I give the dealer extra credit for any car I test drive that has fries on the dash. A few ketchup packets under the seat would seal the deal.
But the one on EBay started on bids of $55,000!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Interesting, the ad states 6,737 miles but the picture of the dashboard has an odometer reading of 7,600 miles. I suspect that those are stock photos and not of the car being sold (just look at the skyline in the pictures of the interior).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Well here is an e-bay listing using that exact photo.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
That's interesting, and the starting bid is less than half of the other Bentley. Though this one was taken from a drug dealer so may have had some bodies left in the trunk.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Bet you guys are jealous now.
I got this email this morning:
"You earned the Ninth Anniversary badge.
Thanks for sticking with us for 9 years. +5 points"
I think when you get 500 points you get a new Cadillac.....
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
"Bet you guys are jealous now. I got this email this morning"
Congratulations driver. I am so jealous of you that I am on the verge of apoplexy. Tell us how you personally feel about you monumental accomplishment (new badge)! Better yet, maybe we should tell you how we feel about your accomplishment!
In any case, with all the badges I have been given, the one that seems missing is my TOLERATION BADGE! I wonder when I am going to get that one?
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
You're right. I forgot that Coke now has two meanings. It's a sad world.
Richard
Sweet Bentley. For $55K, I would buy it and flip it, probably make a cool $10K-$15K, maybe more. Looks like the reserve is much higher, though.
Looking closely, the NAV, Radio, and HVAC buttons are conspicuously and identically placed in the same position as the ones in my previous generation Tahoe. No doubt where those were sourced from.
Another valuable lesson to learn is that you should never get involved financially with family and friends. Those deals rarely work. I may help a friend or family member with a gift of money, but I don't sign loan papers or other contracts. The best way to ruin a relationship is to go into business with family or friends. Dealing with my wife's brother (The Crook) over farm land has been the nightmare from hell. There is another lesson here. Don't leave a chunk of land to two people without specifying who gets what acreage. It's a seed planted for a major tree of horror.
Richard
>
Quite proud...I'll take my wife to Spinners Revolving Restaurant in St Pete's (avg price is $25 to $30 for main course). Of course I'll tell all the tennis guys and my neighbors.
Come on Mike....didn't you hand out gold stars when you taught school?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That's another problem in education today. The sports practice schedules have become ridiculous. Soccer, tennis, golf, and track are among the worst schedules. Practice times are too long and the season's games and meets need to be reduced drastically. Four scheduled games or meets in one week is beyond reason. If they would adjust those calendars, then a later morning start time for classes would be more suitable. After all, the entire reasoning is due to the biological clock of a teen, not the number of athletic events in which they participate.
Richard
I don't think so. The experience seems a bit stressful for $50. Were it for $100, I might endure a little more stupidity from that salesman. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the CUE system. If you had that much trouble with the technical aspects of the dash, you can imagine what I would experience. I suppose the same system is on the CTS. I might have to rethink whether or not I want that car. I don't intend to pay $50K for a vehicle that is going to make me stressful as I try to enjoy its features.
Richard
I totally agree. Why pay for "techie" junk that I don't want? As you said, I want to enjoy driving the car itself. Just show me the buttons for the radio and air conditioning. I'll take care of the rest.
Richard
Richard, maybe you need one of these:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Mike, you are so right. I love the parking monitors/sensors on our Caddy. Not only are they great for parking, they also warn me of vehicles and people behind me. I never want another car without those.
Richard
Richard
Richard...from what I've read, Cadillac is either working on a CUE update, or they have one that's imminent. I think the main predilection most of us have is to turn a knob to the right for "up", and to the left for "down", whether it's temperature control, fan speed, radio volume, etc. I also think, and it could be just me, that the harder you press any button, the more it will respond.
On the CUE, it doesn't react to your touch immediately. It's "laggy". So, you end up "swiping" your finger several times over the touch pads, which results in either the fan, the temp, the volume going way too high, or way too low. Then you have to adjust it again, and again, and again, to get it to do what you want. Put a knob in their place, or even a rocker switch, and operation would be much, much better,
Even the NAV screen, although beautifully rendered, can be "pinched" with your fingers to zoom in. The lag is so pronounced that you keep doing it again, and again, not knowing if your gestrues are being recorded by the system. As a result, you end up losing the NAV screen's map because you zoomed in too far.
Maybe you get used to it. I'm not sure if I would.
The saving grace is the voice command. For example, I pressed the voice command button and said.."find (my address)." It immeditely repeated my address and began routing the NAV screen for directions. I said...."change radio station to AM-700 (big local station). It immediately repeated the command and played the station.
I guess I'm just not used to using the voice commands for controlling everything. The only thing I use the voice command for in my Acura is for my phone, and my connected iPod.
As I was test driving, I thought of you. I thought that from a driving perspective (it does perform and handle very, very well), and since you and your wife are empty nesters, it would be the perfect luxury car.
Richard...here's kind of a unique review on the Caddy, if you're interested....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USlMoPPoq9Q#t=13
Well, this is why I was perplexed at the amount of time it was taking for them to detail the vehicle. It was already super-clean inside. That's why we refused delivery after dark - we thought taking 7 hours to detail it and having us come to pick it up after dark was a bit sketchy, and that they wanted it to be dark so we wouldn't notice some flaw. Still no clue why it took that long - only thing I can think of is that it was a beautiful Saturday in what has been a long & gloomy winter, so perhaps they sold several vehicles and ours was some way back in the line.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Techie junk I don't want.
I am currently out shopping, so I decided to look further into the Cadillac version of CUE. 2014 had an update. It has buttons below the screen for some functions. It vibrates when you touch the screen to indicate it received the input.
I had started planning a visit to a dealer to play with the CUE, just for curiosity.
Here's a video that seems informative.
youtube.com/watch?v=YzcRPLm7gMg
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I feel like we haven't seen YOU in years. It's good to see you posting.
Richard
You made excellent points and I agree with them all. For high school students, I found that my 3rd and 4th period classes (10 AM - 1:00 PM) seemed to do the best. I did my distance learning class between 2 and 3 PM. They stayed motivated because of the uniqueness of the distance learning format. It was an experimental class that turned out pretty well. Still, I missed seeing my students in person. When I went to the Board of Education to work in personnel, I really missed the school house. My secretary would often find me at one of the schools helping new teachers. She used to laugh and say that, not only did I recruit them, I wanted to live with them as well.
Richard
Funny that you should mention that to Mike. My mother used to tell people that her son had been in school for over 50 years and showed no signs of graduating.
Richard
Congratulations! It's nice that the Hostess could buy a vehicle since few of us have done so lately. Just curious----what is the mileage on the new truck? Will you change out the green color? Hope you both enjoy it and that it remains trouble free.
Richard