Stories from the Sales Frontlines

cotmc

I'm not going to say you are wrong... In fact, unless things recently changed, the long warranty provided by Hyundai is not fully transferrable to the 2nd owner. Therefore, I generally agree with you.

All I'm saying is that Hyundai seems to be taking a couple big steps in the right direction with the new Santa Fe and the Veracruz. I don't have the magazine here in front of me, but I think CR recently rated the new Santa Fe as tops in its class.

mackabee

I had one customer call me a liar on the phone once. Back in the late 90's I helped a young navy man and his wife. Showed them a nice Camry Le and they left without buying. They came back a few days later and repeated the process. I called the next day and asked for the sale, the guy got nasty with me and said I would say anything to sell a car. I told him if he felt that way then I would suggest he buy his car elsewhere. That was the end of it.
Mack

isellhondas

I agree with you. Hyundai has learned some lessons and they have, indeed, come a long way.

If they were much less money, they could be attractive I suppose, but this isn't the case. I just think there are better choices but that is my not so humble opinion.

Resale could improve. I have no idea. For the time being, it's horrible.

greanpea68

Isn't it funny how much more moneyy people will pay for a hybrid when they don't get THAT much better mileage?

YES!!!!!!

Most people I know are buying hybrids because Of the " Green " impact. Trying to teach their children to be good to the planet.

GP

mackabee

True. With the Highlander the gas savings is not very much, unlike the Prius. The Highlander was tuned for performance as it's corporate cousin the Lexus RX. It does fly like a bat out of hell when you step on the accelarator but I do believe most people that buy the Hybrid Hl do it for the green effect.
Mack :shades:

cotmc

The following is an unpaid special announcement for all would-be Nissan customers in the northeast:

"Hello, I'm Joe Isuzu. Did you know that Nissan now has a $2250 rebate available on ALL new Altima purchases -- regardless of your credit score?? Amazing, isn't it? This is especially true at all of the Nissan dealerships in Massachusetts. Don't accept anything less, especially from those lying "Team Jipster" sales associates! Also, don't forget these dealerships want to unload you of your gently used and/or slightly damaged vehicles, by offering up to 125% blue book value on your trade-in! Hurry in today!!"

obyone

While that's true most people buy it for that "feel good" fuzzy feeling of being politically correct and the illusion of helping the environment.

Thanks to those who posted links to the bottom feeders err cars.

mackabee

You are correct. The Santa Fe was rated tops in its class by CR. I sold one last week to one of my previous customers who owned a Highlander. The quality of their vehicles is on par with anything Honda or Toyota is putting out if not better. I had a good chance to look their vehicles over and came away with a very positive feeling. My strategy now is to switch customers to a Hyundai when looking at a RAV4 or Highlander as the Hyundai models are better equipped and lower priced.
Mack :shades:

jipster

Don't accept anything less, especially from those lying "Team Jipster" sales associates!

LOL. Good one Carofthemonthclub.

cotmc

Thanks! I'm wonderin' if ol' GP will think it's a hoot?

Yes, I dearly miss Joe Isuzu.

I also miss the original "Bloom County" comics.

isellhondas

Except you don't know how the quality of these cars will hold up over time.

A halfway well maintained Honda or Toyota will still run great after 175,000 miles and more. The interiors will hold up too.

The jury is still out on the others you mentioned.

Wanna take a chance?

jipster

A halfway well maintained Honda or Toyota will still run great after 175,000 miles and more. The interiors will hold up too.
The jury is still out on the others you mentioned.
Wanna take a chance?

LOL... you guys are too much today. Isell's marketing pitch makes me want to go out and buy a Honda, wrap it in gold leaf... and worship it as a god.

Joe Isuzu's got nothing on izellhondas. :P

jmonroe

Wanna take a chance?

A lot of people are doing just that, me included as you well know.

Isn't that what people did back in the early 80's (maybe even a little before that) with Honda and Toyota.

It could be these people are just ahead of the times.

You can't make a BIG snowman until you start with a little snowball.

jmonroe

greanpea68

I'm wonderin' if ol' GP will think it's a hoot?

I did think it was funny but am having one of days where anything I seem to touch is going to s$&t.

GP :sick:

isellhondas

That is a good point. The early offerings from Honda and Toyota were pretty primative.

But they did hold up, mechanically at least.

Don't get me wrong...I have never said they were "bad" cars. I don'tthink that and I hope I haven't given that impression.

I just happen to think there are better choices when everything is considered. Just my opinion based on my experiences and nothing more.

For the small price difference I'll buy something that I feel confident in and a car that will have a strong resale down the road.

Of course I once said..." I can't imagine a person buying a car made in Japan"

I could change my tune again!

joel0622

A halfway well maintained Honda or Toyota will still run great after 175,000 miles and more. The interiors will hold up too.

The jury is still out on the others you mentioned.

Wanna take a chance?

I will walk down the road with a hub cab under my arm and a boom box going varoom varoom before I buy a car that the manufacture is based out of Japan.

I don't care if every nut, bolt, and windshield is formed, built, and assembled in my back yard the end result is still supporting another country that will not allow us the same trade permissions that we allow them, and besides its fricken Japan.

cotmc

I guess that means you didn't like Joe Isuzu??

cotmc

Sorry things are not going well, GP. But please try to stay positive and keep your head up. You have lots to live for: your family, your friends (both of them), your honorary membership within Team Jipster, your Red Sox, the Celtics, Spygate... you get the picture!

An old friend of mine, Stuart Smalley, would help me get thru these times with his daily affirmations. Just repeat after me: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!" This worked wonders for Michael Jordan!

And, if this all fails, just take an extended solo test drive in one of the Z cars on the back lot!

oldfarmer50

"...I had a customer call me a liar on the phone once..."

I would never call someone a liar until I was 100% sure that he was , in fact lying and not just mistaken. When I bought my Eclipse the owner of the dealership told me that they could only do a dealer trade because they had stopped making 2008s (this was late January).

I assumed he was lying just to make the sale but resisted the urge to call him on it because I wasn't certain. I mean, maybe I miss this in my research. Also, I was in the mood to take immediate delivery so I let it slide.

Later I called Mitsu and was told that they were still making the 2008s and thus my suspicions were confirmed. I supose I could have made a big stink and got a few free oil changes but as someone said, life is short.

I will probably limit my service work to warranty covered issues because of this however. So in the end, the owner may have screwed himself with his lies. He got the quick sale but won't make any money off service over the next 20 years.

I'm curious though, how would all you other board members have handled this?

greanpea68

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!" This worked wonders for Michael Jordan!

Thanks for the laugh

GP

obyone

I would've returned the car based on his lies or the buyer remorse clause whichever worked. :shades:

tidester

Hey, GP, try the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

cotmc

Is there any room for a misunderstanding on this issue?

For example, the message you interpreted: "2008 Eclipse production has stopped."

Now, you know this is not true, but is there a possibility his store is not scheduled to receive any additional 2008 Eclipses? Any chance he is not allocated any of the remaining '08 Eclipses still being manufactured?

From his point of view, this effectively means "no more 2008 Eclipses". Therefore, maybe he was a little sloppy with the manner he tried to communicate this info to you?

Don't get me wrong -- I'm guessing he lied, also, However, I would want to be 100% sure, just like you, before I call someone a liar.

snakeweasel

He remarked to me how they really discounted his new Buick Lucerne and really paid up for his clean 3 year old used car. He He...makes me believe he paid MSRP (are somewhere close) all those years!!!!

Sounds like a recent "King of the Hill" episode.

snakeweasel

As an example, if I purchased a new Sludgemobile for $17K, but it had an MSRP of $22K, and two years later it is worth $11K -- then it would officially have a 2-year resale value of 50%, even though it actually lost only $6K out of the $17K I paid for it.

That is so true. I have a Hyundai and I looked at a comparable Honda, over the years I have kept track of the values of both cars. the difference in the values of the two cars have been pretty much the same and match the difference in the sales price. In other words for the most part I was losing the same dollar amount in depreciation. Sure the Honda in the same condition with the same miles would fetch 1,500 to 2,000 more but I would have paid 2,000 more for it to begin with.

isellhondas

Out son drives a 1993 Explorer with 150,000 miles and it's been a good car. I have probably owned more Fords than you have including a restored Model A and four or five old Mustangs.

You should know that a lot of the components in Fords today come from other countries.

snakeweasel

The Highlander Hybrid is selling like hot cakes.

So you are delivering them covered in butter and syrup?

Ducking and running

snakeweasel

Sorry to bust your bubble but my family has 4 Hyundais, three over 100K (one very near 150K) and one approaching 100K and we have yet to put one dime into them other than routine maintence. I know a few other Hyundai owners who boast the same claim.

Hyundai has proven themselves to me.

Now my sisters Toyota goes into the shop like clock work.

My neighbors Honda had to have major repair work just before the 100K mark.

My SIL is going to replace his CR-V with a Santa Fe.

obyone

After 5 year depreciation any car sold for any value would have to be recaptured. Course if trading the recaptured value (if any) would be placed on the value of the new car for a new basis for depreciation.

Hasn't the IRS limited the amount you are able to depreciate over a 5 year period to prevent owners of high line from taking advantage of the 5 year depreciation. The discontinuation of ACRS really sucked.

Hmm....why did I type this?

cotmc

the difference in the values of the two cars have been pretty much the same and match the difference in the sales price.

Interesting. I'm guessing you are using kbb, edmunds, or other online used car value estimation tools when comparing the resale values? I would be really interested in seeing how the auction prices compare. In general, I believe that auction prices are the best indicator of how much real value I can fetch at trade-in, locally.

jmonroe

I'm curious though, how would all you other board members have handled this?

This is pretty simple to figure out. The owner is in car sales ain't he? Then he's lying. :shades:

jmonroe

greanpea68

Hey, GP, try the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page.


I did thank you

GP

snakeweasel

After 5 year depreciation any car sold for any value would have to be recaptured.

You would have ordinary income/loss on the difference between book value (original cost less depreciation) and the amount received for the car.

Hasn't the IRS limited the amount you are able to depreciate over a 5 year period to prevent owners of high line from taking advantage of the 5 year depreciation.

Yep

Hmm....why did I type this?

Not sure, it is rather taxing isn't it?

snakeweasel

Interesting. I'm guessing you are using kbb, edmunds, or other online used car value estimation tools when comparing the resale values?

Lets just say that I have information not generally available to the public.

mackabee

"Lets just say that I have information not generally available to the public."

So you are really a car salesman?

obyone

So you are really a car salesman?

ROTFLMFAO!!

Or an accountant for a dealership.

nj2pa2nc

I totally agree with you-our first hyundai was a 88 excel gls-totaled by a red-light runner at almost 200,000 miles-with original engine, clutch, transmission, etc. Our 05 elantra GT has almost 75,000 problem-free miles. Our 05 Honda civic ex-se, was terrible, alot of minor annoying problems-sold it-great resale. I do love our 06 acura tsx with almost 42,000 miles.
My daughter recently totaled her 04 Hyundai accent-A gasoline truck stopped suddenly and she slammed into the back of the truck (going at least 45MPH). She was extremely lucky- no injuries.

snakeweasel

So you are really a car salesman?

Have I ever said I am or was?

snakeweasel

Well I have audited dealerships in the past.

But I still have friends in the business.

dino001

Mack was implying that your accounting job was a cover for your REAL job, didn't you Mack?

isellhondas

Hey, if you like driving a Hyundai, more power to you!

jmonroe

Of course I once said..." I can't imagine a person buying a car made in Japan"

And now look at ya.

I could change my tune again!

Thanks for being honest but when do you plan on telling us? If it takes much longer we’re going to think you’re all talk. :shades:

jmonroe

isellhondas

I'll say it now...I think Hyundai has come a long way and I think they build good cars.

I just happen to think there are better choices!

But, that's me.

isellhondas

I may have told this story before?

When I was very young, when I worked for Sears, I was working in the Auto Center when a guy by the name of Scott Robinson drove this strange looking little car into our shop.

It attracted quite a crowd because we had never seen anything like it. It was tiny, and unattractive. Under the hood was a tiny little engine that looked like a motorcycle engine. The gearshift stuck out of the middle of the dash.

It was a Honda.

Scott went on to tell us that Honda, the well known motorcycle builder was producing cars and he had the first franchise in the area.

Scott Robinson Pontiac as it was known at the time in Torrance, California was going to sell these strange little cars!

We walked away, slowly shaking our heads...

Scott passed away some time ago and today, his son runs the store. A very successful store.

As I understand it, Honda approached their motorcycle dealers first and offered them the opportunity. Most turned Honda down.

imidazol97

>I have probably owned more Fords ... four or five old Mustangs.

Sorry if you've listed it before but which Mustangs have you had. I have owned 3. '67 Coupe, 70 Grande, 79 4-cyl turbo PaceCar.

joel0622

I have owned a slew of them also. My favorite being a Red 94 Cobra. Every one has that one car they wish they still had, that one is mine.

jipster

... in a galaxy far far away? :P

Your partner in crime does go by the handle obyone.

crslspro

Do you haqve a question for a real carsalesman?

obyone

ROTFLMFAO!!

obyone

This is how mine looked like when new:



Traded a '64 Ford Galaxy 500 for it. The car I really wanted had a 426 Hemi in it but couldn't afford.