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Comments
I agree and I have done just that. I stopped going to a local restaurant years ago because of that even though I liked the place up until they started doing that. I think the people in business that know how to run their business don’t do that. It just comes across as too folksy and I don’t like the exploitation side of it either.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I don't even like it when politicians show their big happy families. Do they really have to show me what wonderful family people they are. I would only base my decision to vote on what the candidate stands for, or the dealership, cute kids won't influence me, probably make me feel the politician or dealership is exploiting his loved ones.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Now that's what I call being upside down in your trade.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
A local car dealer used his actual daughter for years and she actually grew up on his commercials. Then he started using his grand daughter.
Didn't stop Chrysler from giving his dealership the boot after about 40 years. Sad.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Anyway, I'm wondering why he retired, and I know I'll probably never really know I wonder thought, if he really just suddenly decided to retire, maybe inspired by the recession? Or do you think he was pushed. I know it's totally speculation, and you can't really know, and maybe it's none of my business..... He was a very senior salesperson and very successful. He said he could pretty much write his own deals within reason without the approval of the higher ups.
Anyway. It's already been a couple of months, and so it's rather late, but I was thinking about maybe writing a very short happy retirement card or something, and asking the dealership to give it to him? Is that a silly idea, or would a retired salesperson, whether voluntarily or involuntarily retired, appreciate a little touch like that from a customer he probably remembers? (I used to meet him briefly and say hi or chat for a couple of minutes usually about every 6 months when bringing in one of our cars for service.)
It would be nice to know the WHOLE story behind this.
It seems as though NBC Chicago is getting their story from the lady who was fired and her friend.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
drove honda - got fired
The lady worked at the Dodge dealership for 3 years and got fired when she drove her graduation present - a new Honda in to work. Maybe tensions were high with the announcement. It isn't right but peoples livlihood and lots of money ate at stake - not easy.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Exactly.
I played manager a number of years ago where I work, and was living in a hovel, relative to many of those who worked for me. Two people working bring in more money than one -- go figure.
Is it worth it? It's the biggest experiment run in the last half-century. Are children raised by other than their parents (mostly the mother) going to work out well?
Time will tell.
My wife and I flushed hundreds of thousands of dollars down the chute on the theory that it mattered to have mom at home.
Maybe we were stupid.
Mulally (sp?) has been doing good things. I got stung by my last Ford product, but I'm happy that the corporation seems to be recovering, without Big Brother.
Hang in there!
Just a quick opinion. I actually think a good child care program could be better than being at home, in many cases. The first year or two, it is probably better to have the child at home if possible...if the parents are knowledgeable and take an interest.. IMO from age about 2 on a good child care centre offers a more interesting day, and children learn to interact, and there's way more activities that most parents can't possibly do. Also, some women might not feel challenged looking after a child all day long...when they could have an interesting career. There could be some advantages to 2 incomes as well. Home or Childcare, they both have advantages and disadvantages, one isn't better than the other in every case, it depends on the people involved.
Just an opinion from a teacher and observer.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I like his "We'll take the high road." Too late.
I don't think so. There's something to be said for nurturing that comes best from the home, if possible. While social interaction with other children is important, it can also be achieved through going to parks, church events, neighborhood activities, etc. It appears that the first three years are the most crucial in laying a good foundation for security, support, and love. If mom can stay at home a year or two longer, it's just an added plus.
Latch key children haven't had it easy either---old enough to stay alone, and alone enough to have problems. In recent years, after school programs have helped tremendously with this problem.
The nuns used to say, "Give me your child until age six and I will give you a good Catholic for life." The expression has an important message. Whether it be a good child care facility or your own home, certain patterns will be set pretty much in stone by age six.
Prenatal care and activity is also an interesting phenomenon. While pregnant with my great nephew, his mother played the piano daily and listened to foreign language tapes. My nephew drug her to every baseball game he could find because he loves the sport. Lo and behold. My great nephew is now twelve. He plays the piano beautifully, loves foreign languages, and had rather play baseball than eat. He is also a pretty good football and basketball player. Coincidence? Maybe; maybe not. It's just been interesting to observe.
Richard
The story mentions that her last review from a manager was excellent - it does not mention why she was fired. The "high road" comment refers to the personnel file. Maybe she was caught stealing, or doing something dangerous on the property. Maybe she falsified records prior to being hired and her criminal check came in with a mark. Perhaps she received a moving violation four days earlier which gave cause to the dealer to fire her.
The point is, we don't know why she was fired. All the story tells us is that she showed up in a new Honda (which was a gift) and was fired upon her arrival. The story implies heavily that the two facts are related. I would tend to believe they are not. In any case, without a contract she is an at-will employee and the dealer may release her for any reason. It sucks, but it's true.
The story does say that when asked why she was fired their response was due to the car. Of course its hearsay, but the story does link the two events.
In any case, without a contract she is an at-will employee and the dealer may release her for any reason. It sucks, but it's true.
Well they can't fire her for any reason. If the firing is in any way discriminatory they broke the law.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Yes, if it was discriminatory - but it would have to be defined under the law (age, weight, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.)
I don't believe the law covers type of car you drive. Like I said earlier, it is a crappy reason, but there may be other reasons we are not aware of. As you pointed out, the only real link we have in the article is hearsay. I don't believe hearsay - a side effect of teaching high school for too long.
...although this is the look people give when you don't automatically believe their ridiculous stories! :surprise:
As Judge Judy would say, "if it doesn't make sense, it's probably not true." It doesn't make sense that they fired this girl just because she pulled in driving a new Honda. It's a safe bet that many employees there do not drive Dodge products. She was fired for something else, most likely - we just don't know what that is from the article.
Boom, oldfarmer is almost completely right. Except, you should give this guy a new car and not charge him anything. Seriously, he obviously can't pay for it, and car sales are down, so just give it to him!!! Didn't I just see an article on here about a brand new Viper he might be interested in owning? Bring that one over - don't worry about his repo'ed car - that's no big deal, right? :sick:
Seriously, I can't believe how nice a guy you are to even talk to this loser. The most I would have done for the guy is give him the phone number to the finance company (only if you guys arranged the financing). Other than that, give him the taxi company's phone number.
It would seem so, since the dealership says they will take the high ground.
On the other hand she says she got an excellent review, and she has been there for 3 1/2 years.
In Canada you can't just fire someone without just cause, like theft. She would have to have been given written notices and warnings before being fired, or would be given severance pay. It would be nice to know the real story.
It does remind me I always wondered when I drove by the Ford plant in Oakville Ontario Canada. There were always other makes in the employee parking lot. I think the extra discounts for employees was supposed to stop that, but I guess if someone gets a good deal on a used car they aren't going to pass it up. I remember talking to a guy in the 60's and he worked at Ford, but drove a Plymouth. He said if you were there watching them being built you woulodn't buy one either. :surprise:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
On the other hand, Chrysler/Jeep is undergoing a restructuring with their bankruptcy. They are closing 800 dealerships and are NOT required to buy back the inventory from these stores.
So, I am wondering what is going to happen to this inventory. I thought that some other dealerships may purchase the inventory to supplement their own, but then quickly discarded that idea. I don't think these other dealerships are willing to take the risk on even more product right now.
Do you think that the dealerships that are being closed will have fire sales? 50-60% off? Resale values will plummet across the board. What kind of overall effect do you think this will have?
I think that is what will happen, the dealers lucky enough to survive will have to buy up the excess stock, they'll probably make it part of the agreement not to get cut off. In theory, these dealers will need the extra inventory because of all the new sales they will have. I don't expect you'll see 50 to 60% off because of this, maybe if there is a full bankrupcy.
Speaking about names in the car business, how does Mr Madman work or is it Mr. Moo?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I guess that I should have waited to buy my new convertible. Can you imagine the deals that customers will get? Still, it would bother me taking such advantage of a poor broken dealer. It's one thing to get a good deal at invoice or close to it, but to buy way below dealer cost is like being a grave robber. Many people won't care. They'll suck the blood from the dead dealer. It is a shame in this world to witness such a thing.
Richard
Richard
Richard
In regards to my name, drop the "Mr." and call me whatever you want. :P
I'm not sure I share your sentiments about the broken dealer. If they are being closed, that means they did not make the cut which means they were not performing. There are all sorts of reasons why this is happening. If they have to sell their product at a huge discount, that's what the market is bearing.
I just wonder what this is going to do to overall values of these products and how it will affect our marketplace. Get the deals while you can. Noone gnashes their teeth and pulls out their hair when a furniture store goes out of business and has a huge sale. The customer just comes and buys up the store's inventory. The worst thing you could do is NOT buy anything from them. Then they have nothing at all to shore up their finances but inventory that noone wants.
Since I'm not going to Illinois and buying a Chrysler i don't have much of a stake in this but the dealer doesn't sound right to me.
But will people be willing to save $1000s if there might not be a company around to honor the warranty? I am sure many would take the chance, but this might hurt the dealers still left even more. If selling off this stock at fire sale prices is the plan, then it is a poor one......one other thing we found in the book business....if you sell something too cheap people think there must be something wrong with it, and you actually sell less. You can sell a product for too little and make it seem really cheap, or damaged.
It is also better to sell one car at cost price plus $1, than to sell 10 at a loss of $10,000 each. If this is the plan, Chrysler deserves to go down, unfortunately, it's kind of like jumping on their own sword to use an eloquent analogy (Richard will be proud).
Thanks for clarifying the name thing mmm
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Probably not if they follow the Circuit City model where the discounts were insulting. We got better discounts from CC when they had their monthly promotions. On the other hand, CEO Obama might require them to sell out at 29 cents on the dollar.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Richard
I would guess that would depend. If after you sell the one car at a $1 profit you still have the other 9 hanging there you might well be better off selling at a big loss.
So far, admittedly early, I have seen no evidence of fire sale pricing.
Richard
The automaker sought approval in a bankruptcy court filing to terminate franchise agreements with 789 of 3,181 dealerships as of June 9.
Toyota Motor Corp., which has only 1,200 dealers.
Chrysler said 50 per cent of its U.S. dealers account for 90 per cent of overall sales, according to court documents.
The U.S. automaker said it would not repurchase any new vehicles, tools or parts inventory from terminated dealers but will assist in finding buyers for stock, according to a memo to dealers that was obtained by Reuters.
"The bankruptcy process that we are in allows us a once-in-a-lifetime chance to achieve a rightsized dealer body," Chrysler vice-chairman Jim Press said on a conference call. "We do not have enough production or sales to keep all the dealers alive or prosperous."
The closure of the dealerships is also likely to flood the market with new and used vehicles from closed dealerships.
Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc, the largest public dealership group, said he supported Chrysler's dealer consolidation plan as this was long overdue, but said it could put pressure on vehicle prices in the short term.
"This is an unprecedented event in the midst of an unprecedented economic situation," Jackson said. "I think it's a relatively short-term painful event."
"It's going to be an exceptional time for consumers," he added, referring to expected stepped-up incentives to clear inventory.
Chrysler said the terminated dealers had 44,000 vehicles in the inventory and those dealers represent about 14 per cent of Chrysler's annual sales.
It is surprising that Toyota just has 1200 dealers and Chrysler will still have twice as many as Toyota.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
"...jumping on their own sword..."
Some days, you are just better than others. :P
"...the name thing..."
You can always call him Scott.
Richard
No, because after you sell the one for $1 profit....you add a new strip of chrome on the trunk on the other 9 and make it a new 2010 model.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Yes, I did forget that, but does it apply if there is a full bankrupcy?
Reminds me of a political cartoon, a picture of Congress in session, with a Jiffy lube lift and repair bay right in the middle of the floor.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Dealers who were cut are saying this morning that they have received no memos or calls from Chrysler offering this help. Interesting, isn't it?
Richard
We'll know that after a year with Fiat. :P
Richard
And the workers at Plymouth bought Fords for the same reason. It all comes clean in the wash, doesn't it?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Any thoughts on doing a trade-in with the dealers on the chopping block, if the dealers would not pay off my trade-in and then declare BK? I've heard of horror stories like this happenning to others. I'm thinking of making a very low offer on a Dodge Challenger but am not sure how to protect myself from something like this happenning.
Used cars are a non-issue. Some dealers have other franchises and will stay in business. Others will stay as used car dealers. Those that sell used iron to other dealers (direct or auction) will have no effect - same number of used product just fewer outlets. Also, some of the hitlst dealers are part of large dealer groups and can transfer new and used to other locations.
I think used cars could be a bit of an issue. Mainly if new Chryslers are selling for $10000 less, what does that make a used Chrysler worth. It could bring down the value of all used cars, maybe even below cost price.
I think they have to think this through a little better. Maybe buy one, get one for half price, at least it moves more metal. Or like the tires, buy 3 and get one FREE.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Inventory is becoming an art. No one wants to sell out of an empty basket yet no one wants like the old days where we had cars coming out our ears and have to pay floor plan on them.
I don't see excess liquidation of inventory for Chrysletr or Goverment Motors being a problem. They both have production idled right now, and GM despit all its problems was still the #1 manufacture the last two months. With plants idle inventory will drop quick and dealers will start snatching it up.
We already see Chrysler and GM used product values slumping when we trade for them. Which we havwe been doing allot of. More GM then Chrysler.