Stories from the Sales Frontlines

driver100

An taking the younger kids down to Orlando and all that entails (I am planning on it entailing drinks by the pool for me

Have fun...have a Pina Coloda and think of me........have to put on snow tires soon.
Check in if you can...don't want to miss any of the great posts.

fezo

Will do my best.

Say hi to driver200 for me! :P

sterlingdog

Thanks, but I'm not eligible to run for a czar position. To qualify you must have been involved in some sort of illegal activities or exhibit some form of deviant behavior. :P Perhaps my previous speeding tickets count? :shades:

Enjoy your trip. Hope those with the flu bug are feeling better.

Richard

fezo

Of COURSE the speeding tickets count!

The flu folks are all much better. Some sun is just what they need.

oldfarmer50

"...Perhaps my previous speeding tickets count?..."

Only if you failed to pay the fines.

graphicguy

Ran across this site, too. Anyone use them? Thoughts? Prices quoted look really good with the few I've spec'd.

http://amexnetwork.zag.com/main.html

driver100

Say hi to driver200 for me!
LOL
There's my brother Driver200 and my other brother Driver300, but he is shy and hasn't posted yet.

fezo

I'll be sure to look for him!

Am at the airport (Atlantic City International) just waiting for the plane. Fortunately my daughter brought the laptop. In theory we share it but that usually onley happens in months with a q in them.

oldfarmer50

"...Ran across this site too..."

Ran the PT through that one and came out almost 2K better than what I paid and about 4K better than the other site. Not bad.

Do you have to be an Amex card holder to use it?

deltheking

Sounds good actually .Very decent prices.But one quote in their disclaimer was funny - "You are guaranteed never to pay ABOVE the Kelley Blue Book Retail Value." :shades: I guess lot of folks pay KBB retail,atleast some suckers do I guess!
But good availability of cars though.Dont know if they are negotiable or not?

graphicguy

Just did a quick skim of the fine print. Didn't see if you had to have an AMEX card, but there's a strong suggestion that an AMEX card is used for the down payment.

You can always try to negotiate anything. I would think, given the tag line of "no negotiation" that you would probably be wasting your time by doing so. Of course, this is coming from a person who resists negotiating with the dealerships to begin with.

Just did a quick run through of a car that I may be interested in at some point (Acura TL), and the AMEX price is roughly $1,000 less than the best I've seen. But, the dealership they said they could get the deal from was 90 minutes away from me. So, obviously the local Acura dealers don't participate in the AMEX program.

oldfarmer50

I just rechecked that Amex site and found out I inputed a lower trim level for the wife's PT. No wonder the figures came out so low.

The correct figures come out to about $17.8K including $3K in rebates. I paid $17.9K with $1K in available rebates (there was also some dealer cash that I managed to get a piece of).

So not as good a deal as I thought but still much better that the other site GG listed.

On my Eclipse I beat the site's figure by about $300.

Maybe I'm a better negotiator than I thought.

sterlingdog

I read the FAQ's section of this site. The prices listed are about $1,235 less for American Express card holders. The participating dealers will accept $2,000 charged to your American Express card. Some dealers will allow you to charge more. From the reading, I don't believe that this program would help those who don't have the American Express card.

Richard

houdini1

Whether you have to have an AmEx card or not, it is a good site to give you a negotiating price or maybe even a final price to use with other stubborn tight fisted dealers !!

deltheking

Yes, You can just use the pricing on that website as a reference. And if it is present at your local dealer,it gives you a rough price based on which you can buy directly from that dealer even though you dont have the Amex card. :shades:

oldfarmer50

"...Whether you have to have an AmEx card or not..."

That's an excellent point. You might have to work a bit on your own to get that price though. With that card it's all in the bag.

I'd consider an Amex card but I wonder if they still have income qualifying limits. Being land rich and cash poor like me makes credit tough some times.

BTW, just had a developer make an offer on the farm that may put me in GG's income bracket soon.

Suddenly, those BMWs are looking pretty nice.

houdini1

That is what I have always heard about farmers...they are poor all their life and then die rich.

driver100

BTW, just had a developer make an offer on the farm that may put me in GG's income bracket soon.

The rule of farming is...if you get a big windfall you jusk keep farming until it is all gone too.

I have a brother in law who did that.

graphicguy

oldfarmer....if you aspire to my income bracket, why set your sites so low?

I've had an AMEX card for a good long while. I use it strictly for business travel expenses. Don't remember there being an income gate you had to hit. Just a clean credit record. Maybe their qualifiers have changed with all the credit woes the country has been through over the past couple of years, though.

Unless AMEX is sending money back to the dealership for any downpayment put on the card, I can't see any advantage for either AMEX, or the dealership, except for the obvious co-marketing opportunities. My AMEX card has to be paid off every month (or incur some major financial penalties and interest charges). I know they've got other credit cards which allows them to collect interest, but I'm unfamiliar with those. Maybe that's what AMEX is counting on? Interest being paid on the downpayment charge?

The prices they quote are pretty hefty discounts. So, I'm not certain what the dealership gets out of it, except the hope of expanding their customer base? And moving a car quick and easily?

Interesting concept, in any event!

houdini1

I don't know about advantages to dealer or amex...but there are certainly advantages to the buyer. We always pay cash whenever possible for bigger items like cars...but I have nothing against putting as much as I can on a credit card...gives me a months float plus there is usually some type of rewards program...then pay it off when you get the bill.

Amex is not that hard to get but there may be an annual fee. You can even get around the fee by getting a "Costco" amex, which can be used just like any other amex card.

oldfarmer50

"...The rule of farming is..."

The actual rule is: " If you want to farm for 20 years and end up with a million dollars, it's easy. Just start off with TWO million." :P

jmonroe

Interesting concept, in any event!

I noticed a connection to the other site you mentioned (True Car), for the price you get. However, it looks like the price you get through Amex is a guaranteed no hassle price.

FWIW, I ran my '09 Genny through the Amex site and they were around $1200 more than I paid in March, if I went to a dealer 35 miles away, and the 2010's are out now :confuse: If I wanted to go to a dealer 195 miles away (the guy I bought from in Ohio was around 120 miles away so it's probably not him but it might be Fitzmall in Maryland), the price was around 700 dollars less than what I paid in March. I'd say that is not too good either considering the 2010's are out now. Maybe I did get a good deal when I bought.

jmonroe

explorerx4

i remember my wife telling me that someone at their company charged a car to their amex corporate card, then quit before the bill came in!
before my 24th birthday, i had an amex gold card, but eventually i gave it up and don't miss it.

snakeweasel

i remember my wife telling me that someone at their company charged a car to their amex corporate card, then quit before the bill came in!

Can you say grand theft? I would be very surprised if that happened and even more surprised if the company didn't press charges (or threaten it to get their money back).

explorerx4

they never pressed charges or got their money back, as far as i know.

houdini1

Unless the company was completely inept, they had to have had provisions for things like this to be handled in a fair and orderly fashion. My bet is that it was paid back.

fezo

I'll have to check that Amex deal when I get back next Monday.

Meanwhile tooling around in an Impala rental. It's OK. Of course there are no curves to negotiate here in Florida...

snakeweasel

My bet is that it didn't happen as its been mentioned here that most dealerships won't put the whole price of a car on a card banks charge merchants a percentage of the charge.

As for companies procedures most won't release a final paycheck until credit cards are returned and charges are processed.

houdini1

The most I've ever been able to put on a credit card is $5,000. (to get the incentives and the float)

That was just a small percentage of the total. I would have put the whole amt. on if they would have let me and been eating out for free for a year !!

graphicguy

j.....I always check fitzmall pricing before walking into a dealership locally. Can't remember who turned me onto them (you? jipster? snake? fezo? someone else?) a good long while ago.

If I were going to buy a Hyundai or a Toyota (nothing else they carry has interest to me), I'd use them as research. If the delta in price between locally and Fitz was big enough, I'd consider buying from them and driving back to OH. That'd be a 2 day trek for me, though....one up, one back, hotel room, maybe a flight.

I had a friend who bought a 'Vette from Kerbeck (near Atlantic City) a few years ago. He wanted company. So, I accompanied him on a bus (something I'll never do, again. In return I got a nice dinner and lodging in Atlantic City. We drove back in his 'vette by. Aside from the bus ride, it was a fun trip....definitely punctuated by taking turns driving the 'vette home.

Kerbeck did a nice job. They came and picked us up in Atlantic City and covered a dinner for us, to boot. His 'vette was ready to go....serviced, shiny. All he had to do was test drive it, inspect it, and do the paper work. We were on the road within 2 hours of hitting the dealership. 1/2 that time was spent just wandering around their dealership. Kerbeck is a cool place if you're in the market for a 'vette.

I've always felt that any local dealer could/would match any out of town dealer. IIRC, the price differential wasn't remotely close with the local dealers (right after the new C6s hit the market), even seeing Kerbeck's price we showed them. I think the delta was something close to $5K between local and Kerbeck.

Bottom like, while I've personally never done business with either Fitzmall or Kerbeck, I'd certainly consider it if I were in the market for one of their vehicles.

I know this has to drive dealerships, and sales people/managers crazy, but the wealth of information, and up front pricing with these "new" pricing sources makes it a lot easier on the buyers.

When I ran the Acura TL through the AMEX site, they didn't list the name of the dealership, other than to say it was 92 miles away from my home address. I'm sure I could pinpoint it, given a little research. But, it's clear it's not one of the local dealers. But, is probably in Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, maybe Indianapolis.

If I were in the market, I'd give the local dealer's a chance to meet/beat the pricing. If not, a 90 minute drive wouldn't be that much of an inconvenience to save $1,000.

corvette

So, I accompanied him on a bus (something I'll never do, again)...

I've always heard that there are a lot of, um, interesting characters on bus trips.

sterlingdog

Though I'm sure that banks no longer allow it, I did charge a car on a credit card in 1993. It was a Saturday afternoon and the banks were closed. I purchased a new Buick Estate wagon with all of the options---$23k IIRC. We planned to do the deal on Monday until I made a joke about putting the car on my credit card. The salesman (also dealership owner) said that it would be fine with him. I did it, as my wife politely passed out in the show room. That card had a $45K limit so I knew that I was easily covered. We paid off the card when the bill came. It was a funny experience. I still have the card with the same limit on it. Heaven forbid that I would ever have to use that card to its limit! Can you imagine what the minimum payment and the interest would be?! It would take you 100 years to pay it off with minimum payments. Maybe longer. :sick:

Richard

fezo

gg - you went to Atlantic City and never called? How sad. Only 30 miles away tops. That's where I'd have to go to look at a Chevy now. In the next town over from me AC is a local call.

I've used credit cards for down payments and such. When I bought the dreaded Windstall they didn't want to accept a card for $1,000 down and did a whole song and dance about how they'd make no profit. Knowing what I know now I wasn't quite a baby seal but maybe an adolescent one....

Cloudy and a bit cool in Florida. Tomorrow - a park day - is supposed to be much more to our liking....

sterlingdog

Up until the 1970's, very nice people rode buses. I shutter to think what you would find on a bus now.

We used to enjoy taking the train---Silver Meteor or Orange Blossom Special--- to New York during the Christmas season. The 12 hour trip was made pleasant by the nice lounge and dining cars. The food was excellent and the service was very good. That, too, is a thing of the past. It is a shame that we don't have the good rail service across country that is enjoyed in Japan and Europe. With all of the technology at hand, you would think that a high speed rail service would make sense in this country. The government can't even keep Amtrak in the profit column. It's sad.

Richard

oldfarmer50

"...I shutter to think what you would find on a bus now..."

Why you would find ME, of course. Driving.

mikefm58

I'm not sure if this has already been noticed, but from their FAQ.

Does the price include all fees?
Your special Cardmember price includes all manufacturer fees including destination. You are responsible for tax, title and documentation.

Here in Florida with SET and dealer fees, expect to add about $1200 to the price of a Toyota, :sick:

imidazol97

> shutter to think what you would find on a bus now.

At last. :confuse: A chance to help Richard64 with his choice of words.

May I respectfully submit that the phrase should be "I shudder to think...." :sick:

Unless one is using a camera shutter to capture the moment.

oldfarmer50

"...add about $1200 to the price..."

Why would anybody buy a car in Florida? :confuse:

kyfdx

Dang.... you beat me to it...

mac24

May I respectfully submit that the phrase should be "I shudder to think...."

Ah, I'm glad it's not just me that gets bothered by the misuse of 'shutter'. It's often misapplied to vibration too, as in "my brakes shuttered".
Shutters are for cameras and windows, not cars or people.
Maybe it's a confusion with 'stutter' as well?

Of course, this should really be on Kirstie's 'Grammar Peeves' discussion, so I'll bid you farewell and let the regular programming continue.

imidazol97

I hope all posteres take this in the kind spirit in which the teasing is offered. It's seldom anything is less than A-okay in richard's text. I feel like I just earned a 35 on the ACT composit. Of course he did misuse the word "cloths" recently, but we won't mention that.

I'll put the breaks on this talk and get back to car sails stories. :lemon:

verdugo

It is a shame that we don't have the good rail service across country that is enjoyed in Japan and Europe. With all of the technology at hand, you would think that a high speed rail service would make sense in this country.

High speed rail service only makes sense for short and medium distances. So the DC to Boston corridor is ideal. Amtrak has taken a lot of passengers away from the airlines, and I believe the route is their only profitable route.

LA SF is another candiate, Miami Orlando, Chicago ?, Dallas Houston?

But in Europe right now low cost airlines are booming, but for longer distances only.

sterlingdog

Oh! Goodness gracious, sakes alive! Aunt Pittypat Hamilton would have a stroke. I need my smelling salts. My homophones need adjusting. I should have closed the shutter when I began to shudder. What would an old English teacher do without his faithful students to keep him on track (topic?). I don't remember "cloths", but let's hope it was a typo. :shades:

You certainly may, and should, provide the necessary correction. I thank you for it.

BTW, it's "posters", not "posteres".

Richard

graphicguy

fezo...didn't know you were in Atlantic City.......next time. Funny, up until then, the only time I'd been to Atlantic City was as a kid, visiting relatives with my parents. Boardwalk was a wonderland back then. My 2nd trip 25+ years later, it reminded me of an ill conceived copy of Vegas.

The bus we took to Atlantic City (trying to remember......'05? maybe?) was filled with characters, all right. My friend and me being two of them. It's just a long trip. The stops were at some....(ahem).....lower end dining establishments. Lots of military either leaving home, or coming home, which was great. Lots of single Moms and their brood, which was alright, too. The rest? Ummmm....somewhere between "madams and felons" would be my guess.

I told him, "next time we fly, or I'm not going". Thankfully, we brought a stash of airline bottles full of Makers (which we weren't supposed to have, either) for the trip.

imidazol97

>posteres

It was a typo. My keyboard kind of stutters when I type fast. I used to type 130 words per minute on real typewriters.

>cloths vs clothes.

It was talking about buying clothes for your wife.

cdnpinhead

I shutter to think what you would find on a bus now.

Shutter?

OMG

snakeweasel

Shutters are for cameras and windows, not cars or people.

What? Your car doesn't have windows?

tidester

Your car doesn't have windows?

If my car ran on windows I'd have to shutter down! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

fezo

gg - we live 30 miles north of AC. The city itself is a dump anymore. I liked it better even at its worst pre-casinos. There are those who can prove using numbers that the city is better off than back then but I don't buy it. Too much trying to beVegas instead of inventing their own thing.

imidazol97 - getting richard on word usage! I'm both proud of you and very jealous.

Off to the house of mouse tomorrow. I didn't need all that money anyway I guess....

imidazol97

>getting richard on word usage

Not "getting." That sounds aggressive or hostile. It was helpful suggestions I was giving. But then I had a typing stutter which I sometimes do on this laptop keyboard and got an extra "e" in it. That'll teach me to use the spell checker.

Many times I'm typing and not thinking about the grammer and spelling--content is the reason we're here. But it has been fun. Now if the real sales people in here, unlike myself who used to be a wannabe, had more stories from their battle time spent in the showroom, there wouldn't be time for me to quibble over shudder and stutter.