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Comments
Actually, you have had so much practice at waxing your car, it would be a nice little business for you. I'd pay about 20 bucks for having my car waxed.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Or maybe you do know and just don't care.
It is not a good thing to say in this day and age.
Or maybe he knows how to reach your button. :surprise:
It is not a good thing to say in this day and age.
The guy that owns the garage where I go, refers to himself as a "grease monkey". Maybe he knows what he is but doesn't care, or, he's not caught up with names/titles. He actually makes jest with auto mechanics that call themselves "technicians". :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Heck, I might even pay to see that.
Of course there are guys that would take offense to being called a “grease monkey”. I never said there wouldn’t be. Come to think of it, the guy that I was talking about is smaller than me. So maybe he knows his limitations. Heck, when I was at my fighting weight I’m sure even I could have handled him.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
As far as a license plate frame, the dealer is under NO obligation to provide a plain frame if you don't liker their dealer one - I bought chrome plated plain frames for my cars and had custom "Old Town Cruiser" frames made for my convertibles.
Now it it has nice Cadillac crests on it, I may keep a tastefully sized dealer badge
But I'm not buying a new car for at least a year - I need to find a 95 or 96 Fleetwood first.
I was ready to buy until they insisted on putting a licence plate frame on the dang thing. :P
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
99% of the people who earn their livings keeping our complex cars on the road find that term highly offensive.
Try walking into a professional shop and yelling out.." Which one of you Grease Monkeys wants to work on my car?"
I know... garbage collectors like to be called "sanitation engineers", doctors don't like to be called overpriced witch doctors, lawyers... ambulance chasers or crooks, edmunds host... baby-sitters. The list goes on and on. The little winky eye emotorcon should have explained all of this...i.e not to be taken seriously. :confuse:
Later, It occurred to me that the salesman had not followed up with any attempt to determine if I might be interested in any other cars he had. It would have been easy to mention that he had several similar cars on his lot (I had seen them on his web site) but nothing. No "we might have another one you'll like" or even a "come on down" pitch.
What would you sales guys do in this situation? Did this guy miss an opportunity or is this the new low-pressure approach? I find it odd considering what has been said about the "up" rotation. I would expect the salesman to not want to waste his. :confuse:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
went to dover delaware and back saturday.
saw at least half a dozen vehicles pulled over with flat tires.
some of the roads in the northeast are pretty bad.
Anyway, had a hankering for some of that BBQ this weekend and made a special trip to go get it (about 15 miles away from where I live).
Waiting for my ribs to get finished, one of the guys from the dealership came across the street to get some ribs, too. He said he was the GM.
Started talking to him. He said the dealer principal was joining the other nationwide Chryco dealers who were closing to appeal their decision. The dealership is probably the smallest dealership, for any brand, in the general area (including IN, KY, as well as OH).
He went onto say that they were profitable....had been around in one form or another for 50 years, and was no burden to Chrysler. They sell about 75 new cars a year (doesn't sound like a lot). But, most of their business was in used cars, and that repeat business was their life blood.
The GM had been there about 12 years. Dealership has 10 full time employees. He said he had one sales person (actually said he was the sales manager). One finance guy. 2 Admins. A couple of lot guys. The rest were service techs.
They own the dealership and the buildings it sits on outright.
I kind of felt badly for this guy. He said they aren't sure how things are going to turn out. Chrysler won't send them any more new cars. He's stuck with new inventory that's already been "cherry picked". The rest are undesirable models/options/colors that make them practically unsalable since word got out they were losing their franchise. Competing dealerships are willing to buy their new inventory.....but want them to do it at a loss.
He was kind of hoping that they turn into a "used" only lot. But, in this particular area, there's a ton of used lots....and even more "buy here/pay here" lots....all in an already economically depressed area.
Was nice talking to him. I couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Lots of doom and gloom with the picture he painted, however.
(KYFDX.....if you're reading, this is what I think is the only Chrysler dealership in a town called Hamilton....route 4).
I let the potential customer know that the vehicle had been sold, and then try to switch him to something else. If he isn't interested, then I get his e-mail and phone number to follow up when something is traded in or bought from auction. 95% of the people are agreeable to this.
Ya, you ran into an order taker on that phone call.
"Global oil demand remains weak and U.S. supplies are near 19-year highs. And higher oil prices could drag on any nascent recovery.
"The market sent a clear message in May, it will ignore any and all bad news. We expect to see a correction" that will take prices back down to $40 a barrel, wrote Stephen Schork in his Schork Report."
So, those who are invested in oil, probably not a good idea to stay long.
I have decided to be the guy that figures MSRP. We can get the stock moving. I'll have this apply to new old stock as well Anything considered new even though it may be 2, 3 or 4 years old.
You want to sell some cars. I can make that happen with the "new" MSRP numbers.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
I honestly do not know where oil is going in next 3 month - up, down, sideways. Can't tell. Correction may be in cards. What I do know is those 2 billion people will weigh in sooner rather than later - or are already. China is about to spend the same amount of money on infrastructure as Pelosi sent to States for their bureaucracies in so-called stimulus. Those roads, bridges, plants, powerlines need fuel and energy to build. Considering their price of labor, think were the oil would be if US were actually going to spent its stimulus on real infrastructure project and multiply that impact by 3 (would be even more if their corruption was lower).
This US-centrism really drives me nuts sometimes. Because somewhere in Indiana people lost jobs, all world is not coming to stop. Those 2 billion people in India and China will simply disappear and not ask for more. Yes we are largest economy in the world, but the growth, which translates into pressure on natural resources, is happening somewhere else. This means our contribution to that pressure becomes smaller and smaller fraction of the overall demand.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
The "it's the high demand in India and China" excuse has been used before for high oil prices. Then the price of oil dropped like an anvil on Jupiter, with a gallon of gas going from $4.30 a gallon to $1.30. So, in my view the China and India argument is non consequential.
It's the big money speculators out to make a quick buck that is driving up the price of oil. Like with any commodity being sold (i.e coffee, orange juice, gold, pork bellies) human emotion and greed can drive the price up just as well as supply and demand.
Or... maybe it's a conspiracy.
But c'mon Jip - "excuse"? You really do not see 2 bilion people furiously buying cars and building roads, getting more protein in their diet having any contribution on price pressure? It's really all speculation to you all the time?
2018 430i Gran Coupe
You'd be surprised that as a newbie how many calls I took, and said no we don't have it, without taking the name and number, only to have that car come in on trade literlally within the next day or so.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
We have a representative form of government so your consent is implied by virtue of these folks having been elected. :P
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
If I owned and operated one of the closed dealerships, I would be contacting the U.S arm/importer of a few of those Indian and Chinese car companies. They are going to be here in the U.S. and one of their weak areas is a dealership network.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Build Your Dreams car company in China, which has electric cars that will go a lot further than the Volt, is itching to get going in the U.S. I think a lot of ex Chrysler and GM dealers will be signing up. Here is some background info......
Cost is about $22,000. The Chevy Volt is apparently going to go for 40 K when it hits the market, and of course, there's the Tesla at $100,000.
The cost of operation is very, very low. You have no tune-ups, no maintenance whatsoever on these vehicles, and the price of electricity nationally is about 10.4 cents per kilowatt hour. So that's about equivalent to buy gas at about 75 or 80 cents a gallon.
Working on it plugging into the wall, so you don't need to have fill up stations. Also, looking at solar energy to cut down on pollution. I would rather invest in BYD's than GM.
The dealers that were cut might do better in the long run.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Mahindra, an Indian company plans on importing a compact diesel P.U. to the U.S late this year, 2009. From all accounts it looks to be a pretty nice truck. This is a vehicle that people have been wanting here for a long time. About the size of a Tacoma, mid 20's pricing, 2 door or 4 door, and 35 mpg. Four year or 60,000 mile warranty. They are also planning a diesel hybrid for 2010. You can google up a ton on info on it.
Personally, I will believe it when I see it, but you never know.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
You would have a point if they ran on a platform that included taking over a major corporation in such a way that would get us arrested if we tried it.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Wow you mean that things like brakes don't wear out?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
No, it is not up to U.S. standards yet and it isn't as good as a Toyota yet. But, as Houdini said, the first Toyotas, Hondas, and Hyundais weren't that great either. BYDs car company is working hard to get their cars into the North American market.
They had a guy on TV who predicted in the 80s that Japanese cars were going to be major competition in North America. He said people laughed at him. (He said GM execs are out of touch with reality and that they have to change their whole management to change their way of thinking). But, I think it could be the same with Chinese cars...I would take them seriously.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Look what happened when Daewoo tried to elbow themselves into a market where they weren't needed or wanted.
The Big Three were building crappy cars and they let their guard down at a critical time.
Sales Guy(SG): "You lookin' to trade that?"
Me: "No, I'm probably going to sell it outright."
SG: "When do ya think you're gonna buy somethin?"
Me: Who knows? Tonight, next month, it all depends. Do you have any Genesis
Coupes with the Track package?"
SG: "Yep, there's one on the showroom floor?"
I walk in and notice that the car has one of those wonderful "Accessory" window stickers; this time it's for almost opaque black window tint : $499.
SG: "This is a really nice car."
Me: "I hate heavily tinted windows."
SG: "It's the factory tint."
Me: "Then how come there's an additional $500 tinting charge that isn't part of the Monroney sticker?"
SG: "Huh? Let me see that. Uh, I don't know. I'm pretty sure the tint is factory."
Me: "Thanks for your time."
Having had my fill of Liars Club, I stopped by Bluegrass Porsche.
After walking around the lot I was approached by a Sales ProfessionalSP.
SP: "Hi, are you looking for anything in particular?"
Me: "I'm looking for a new track car; the only problem is it needs to be a true four passenger car."
SP: "Well, we just traded for a very nice RX8."
Me: "They are nice cars, but the Louisville Mazda dealers are hopeless; I have to take my Mazdaspeed 3 to Cincinnati to get decent dealer service."
SP: "How do you like your Mazdaspeed 3?"
Me: I thought a high powered and somewhat fast FWD car would be an nice change of pace. As it turns out, I never realized I could hate something so much."
SP: (Laughing) "So, what are you looking for?"
Me: "Probably an E46 M3. I really would prefer an E30 M3, but they are becoming a bit to valuable to use as a daily driver and a track rat."
SP: "Would you like me to take your name and number in case a nice M3 comes in?"
Me: "Sure!"
SP: "You know, if you only needed two seats there would be a whole lot of other possibilities."
Me: "Don't I know it. I have to wait for four more years until my son goes off to college; my wife won't allow me to have more than 22 wheels on the floor of the garage at any one time."
SP: "I understand. Thanks for coming in."
Epilogue: Hyundai is building cars that compete with the upmarket European and Japanese cars, but their sales force appears mired in the seventies- at best.
In contrast, the trip to the Porsche dealer got me thinking about buying a CPO Cayman and just leaving my son at home 99% of the time...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Seven days later, I received this in response:
"Hello, I am following up about the request you made over the internet for a _____. My name is _____with ____ Client Care Department. The reason I am writing is to review the specifications on the ____ and make sure I have all the information necessary to provide you with a price.
I would really appreciate a quick reply or call ______to go over this when you have a chance- I promise it will only take a few minutes.
Please reply when you have a moment or click here to Schedule a test drive."
I was out of town on the seventh day and before I could tell the guy that a) what part of my original inquiry do you not understand and b) the car in question is no longer listed in your inventory, I received this on the ninth day:
Thanks for your reply....the questions I have for you are: (I'm only asking to save you time!)
{???? I haven't replied yet; if you can't respond before 7 & 9 days, I'm not sure my time is high on your priority list}
1- How soon are you looking at taking delivery?
{I'm not; apparently it is sold already}
2-Are you going to finance or pay cash?
{NYOB at this point}
3-If you are financing, scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best, how would your rate your credit
{10, as if it matters now}
4-Is there a trade in and if so what is it, payoff, miles, condition, who the payoff is to, etc.? (we need trades by the way)
{who the payoff is to??? A little premature, I think}.
5-How much down payment are you planning?
{ I don't know yet, what's your bottom line , take it or leave it number?}
6-What is your payment range?
{ that's a function of the price, down payment, and interest rate; none of which I know at the moment}
To locate a new or used vehicle, just browse our inventory and tell me the stock number or the last 6 of the vin. Click on the following link to our website:
http://www.
Thank you for your time.....I needed clarification to complete and expedite your request.
{No you don't.... "options, accidents/paint work, and service history" --- I don't know how to be any clearer than that!!! Did you even read my original message??? or am I getting a canned response?}
Respectfully,
___________
But the cars weren't good enough. Look what is happening to Hyundai and Kia....if the cars are good, if the price is right, if there is a dealership network, they can still win a percentage of the market. If Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Suburu said there isn't enough room, we would only have the D3, and we would be paying a lot more for cars that would have 1990's technology.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
China just raised their subsidized gas prices, that will curb their demand.
I don't know if conspiracy would be the right word, as I'm not a big conspiracy theorist. But, I think a nice start to getting this under control would be to put some speculators and oil execs feet to the fire would be a good start.
Some of this is a flat out lie. I heard one "insider" report stating that demand goes up in Spring/Summer, causing prices to rise resulting in the recent rise in pump prices by 60+%. I don't buy that. Again, same old tired story, told the same old tired way.
We're swimming in so much oil that we're running out of places to put it. Not one sign that oil demand will recover anytime in the remotely foreseeable future, as it will continue to fall. It's almost like the industry thinks if they tell us the same lie, over and over again, eventually it will become truth.
Layoffs, factories shuttered....don't see any increase in demand there. People aren't buying....well, much of anything that's related to the oil industry.
Just to keep this with just a shred of relevance to sales stories, the marketplace for new cars is severely crippled. This is hurting any sort of recovery for them....for no good reason.
Do they really expect that someone would admit that their credit was bad? I can just see some deadbeat thinking that over.
"Hmmmm, my credit? Let's see. Last week I was turned down on financing that ham sandwhich....sooooo.... I guess I'll put down....10, credit excellent." :lemon:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Personally, I wouldn’t respond to a guy that is essentially saying “c’mon down” to an internet request for info or is sending you a ‘canned’ reply to specific questions that have been asked but which he doesn't acknowledge. He’s asking waaay too many personal questions at this point. However, if you feel you must respond, I’d correct the typo “{NYOB at this point}” to NOYB
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
In contrast, I received a phone call from a salesperson at Kings who answered all my questions in a knowledgeable and professional manner. Guess who I eventually bought a car from???
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
It doesn’t seem like this Oxmoor guy can do business with you. It’s too bad that they seem to have the brands you want. :mad:
FWIW, I went to the web site of the dealer I bought my Genny from in Ohio and the only Genesis Coupe they have in stock is the 3.8 V6 automatic for $29,875. They didn’t have any of the 2.0T sticks/automatics or the 3.8 V6 sticks. All it said was leave your contact info and they would try to find one for you. I figured that you might be interested in those so I put in ‘roadburner’ @ Edmunds. I hope I didn’t overstep our friendship on this. :confuse:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
The full name is "The Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd."
Full article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/business/03auto.html
Now please return to your oil price debates, and quest for a car without an adendum sticker.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Once you've agreed on a price, divulge your loan arrangements & challenge the F&I guy to beat the CU's terms.
What do you think of this approach?
On the other hand maybe they will leave us alone so we can repay our debts to them.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
This method is complicated if you don't know what you're doing. Why don't you just say up front that your credit union can give you this rate. We would tell you right away that a manufacturer's subsidized rate can or can't be better, and then we can move on to talking about price.
Plus if we can't beat your credit union rate, then we can give you the massive rebate in lieu of financing, since you have your own financing already. In all cases we provide both scenarios: payments with regular rate and massive rebate, versus payments at subsidized rate with minimal rebate.
Hiding stuff until the last minute will get you sent back from the finance office back to the salesman's cubicle for renegotiating and presentation of the above mentioned options.
By giving us more info, it makes the whole transaction much easier on you, and will make things quicker too.
And yeah, as long as the car rolls off the lot with plates attached, we don't care where you got the money for it.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX