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2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
* What a new car will cost you to drive per year (depreciation only), with a warranty and no repair costs.
* Calculate how much it will cost to run your current car (depreciation cost) plus repairs.
The difference may be less than you thought. Also, it is like buying a house, it is a forced savings plan, you pay more because you get a new car sooner than necessary, but you won't be in for a huge shock when the price spread becomes huge.
In the meantime you get the latest safety and technological equipment.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The Prius was a steal. Very little other than the odometer to indicate it's not new. Oh, and they don't make them in that blue anymore (too bad, because it's exactly the right color).
Meanwhile, an event that looks like it will hold up the car fund for a while. The drain on our washing machine seems to have sprung a good sized leak. This isn't a huge plumbing deal but we have to get a bunch of drywall removed to get access to it. In the meantime there's the laundromat. Up until now having the laundry upstairs worked so well...
If you play your cards right, you should be able to make money on this. If you follow the prices paid sub-forum for CR-Vs, and look at the asking prices for 2 year old models, there is a definite possibility of a profit margin.
Heck, even a Mazda CX5 can't be had with a stick and AWD.
Of course two years from now that $35K Tesla will be out there....
time to rejoice. After the first ding, you can relax.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I wrote a great letter, but I am not going to send it until our deal is all completed...just in case. If we need service I may get ignored having this on my record.
In the letter I told the president, that it costs 6 or 7X as much to gain a new client, as it does to retain a loyal client (some studies say 10X)
Here is the link for those who may be interested:
IT TAKES 6 TO 7X AS MUCH MONEY TO GAIN A NEW CLIENT VS KEEPING A LOYAL ONE!
To gain a new customer there are advertising costs, possibly cash giveaways, special on site or off site promotions, salesman has to spend hours with many customers to gain a new one, then there is all the paperwork, filing, etc., COMPARED to a loyal customer who just walks through the door and trades in his car for a new one. Usually people move up in options or a model too, but, the new customer may start with a more basic model. Audi and any car company is foolish to lose a good customer when they could solve a problem fairly easily - and actually make even more money in the long run....another case of "false economizing".
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I recall having a transmission issue on the '03 WRX that resulted intermittent "rattle" in one of the gears. After I showed the issue to the tech during a short drive, he picked on my keeping my hand on the shifter between the shifts (mind you I did it in a light manner) and alleged that the whole issue was my fault. They took the car in, fixed it free of charge, but in the paperwork put an elaborate statement it was a "goodwill gesture" rather than a warranty issue. Goodwill my foot, but bottom line, it got fixed without me paying. What they accomplished though, is an improvement in their failure statistics, which was somewhat problematic for that model year. They redesigned the transmission for the next model year from mine, with everything same, but the affected gearset, the new components in my car were the one after the redesign. It was clear design issue, but Subaru simply took a "wait the issue out" approach to avoid a service action, still fixing what needed to be fixed in the meantime. A little sneaky, but the customers are happy, the statistics "improved" and once the cars reach certain age and mileage, Subaru can wash their hands from the rest of those that were not replaced.
If Audi did at least that much (on paper blame your wife for the clutch, but still fixed it as a "goodwill" gesture), they will keep their customer, perhaps even strengthen the relationship (as many reasonable people may say "perhaps it was me, but they are such nice people").
BTW, none of the manufacturers is free of those stories. My friend has a 2008 (edit: or perhaps it is 2010, I can't remember) C300 that suffered from some kind of issue with starter motor electronic control module that immobilized the vehicle. The issue is reportedly widespread for that vintage model. It's (if you can believe it) something like up to couple of grand to fix it, depending what exactly is the problem. The car is out of warranty, he researched the internet and learned MB handles those cases "individually", i.e. the outcomes are all over the place, from totally free repair, to deeply discounted, to full-price, simply refusing to issue a service action (which he claims they never do, unless it's a government-induced, err "voluntary" safety recall). He submitted his request for consideration and is waiting for their response.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Yep, the Secret Warranty.
(And I remember hearing that it was "bad" to rest your hand on the shifter back in the 80s. No idea if that was true).
2018 430i Gran Coupe
On the Canadian News last night they talked about a new LG/Kenmore refrigerator that almost burned a house down because the interior light didn't shut off: Basic facts:
. Part of the interior of the family's LG refrigerator melted beyond repair due to a defect the manufacturer has known about for years.
"The cover for the light bulbs themselves — it was melted completely. It was all bubbled. You could see singe marks on the light bulbs and the housing. … We're concerned that could have ignited — to get that hot, to do that sort of damage."
Christine Hine called LG Canada's customer service.
Christine Hine says she is shocked there hasn't been a recall about a problem that has been known for 10 years. (CBC )
"[They] said that because they thought it was such a low incidence there was no safety recall. But when the repairman came he was well aware of the problem. He said he'd been repairing the problem for almost 10 years
In 2010, the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office put out a warning about the interior light bulbs in certain bottom mount, French-door LG refrigerator models and similar Sears' Kenmore refrigerator models, manufactured by LG between 2004 and 2007.
According to the fire marshal, approximately 145,000 affected refrigerators were sold in Canada through various major department stores.
In 2012, LG Electronics USA settled a class action lawsuit involving more than a dozen models with that potential defect built between February 2006 and February 2008. The Hines' fridge is one of those 2008 models mentioned in the class action.
It all has Christine Hine wondering why LG hasn't issued a recall.
"Given the fact that they knew there was a defect, and they failed to do a safety recall, they put our family and a lot of other families at risk," she said.
It seems most companies won't do a recall unless they are forced to do it, and that isn't right!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Put in Husky floor and cargo mats. I expect this car to be around and looking good a long time.
I'm going to put a rubber mat in the back of the Mazda. I figure at 124K there's no use in tying to keep further wear in the passenger area but you never know what I'll toss in the back.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
They are offering me a special, normally $240 a year now for $16 a month!
The most I ever paid was $92 a year. I told her it is worth $92 to me, but not any more than that. She hung up pretty quickly....I wonder if they will call back? Any bets?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I should tell them to cut to the chase - $92 a year or don't call back.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
It takes 2 hours, and costs $300! Apparently the whole seat has to come out...I thought about taking a hammer to it but...................
They wanted me to take a shuttle home so I booked it. Then I thought, I can read my newspaper and book in their lounge, get served coffee in a china cup, check out some of the cars, they even have a theatre there, so I cancelled the shuttle but they had to check to make sure there would be enough room for me in the lounge.
I was able to cancel the shuttle car, but, I always thought the dealer was doing me a big favor by taking me home and picking me up, but, it seems it is actually helping them! You learn something all the time.
BTW..........where's Mike? (and everyone else?)
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The last time I called a girl didn't want to budge on the price so I told her to cancel it. She was happy to do that. After a few minutes I called back and got a male. He offered the price I was looking for (I think it was $92, or real close to that). This has actually happened to me more than once.
2020 Ascent Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
We may renew on my wife's car before our summer vacation as it'll involve a couple thousand miles behind the wheel. But that's really her choice and right now she's content with music on a USB drive.
If I'm proactive and call them will I get a better deal?
Daughter let her trial subscription run out on the MINI - she uses her iPod for her music needs.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
Their rates seem to have gone up quite a bit too. I am thinking they may want to hold the line on pricing, they may consider it a premium product people will either pay for or not, but no bargain pricing anymore....that's the impression I got. I can live without Sirius, so the bottom line is for $10 a month max it's worth it to me.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I was sitting in the lounge which is a nice area, next to the cafe, in this all glass open concept showroom (this dealer was voted as one of the top 10 places to work in Canada in 2014), thinking how nice it is to be treated this way. The waiting area at the Chrysler dealer where I bought my 95 and 2000 Jeeps looked like a converted closet, with old cracked vinyl chairs, no windows, no light. It's almost a pleasure taking the car in for service these days. At BMW I had to make my own Kurig coffee and they got stingy on the pastries too....here they bring you coffee in a china cup and there are all kinds of fancy things you can get. For my $80 I also got a beautiful car wash including the interior......detailing and a Starbucks coffee could cost that much!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
What Sirius should come out with are apps that for no more than $5/mo you get the same channels on your smartphone or tablet, which you can bluetooth-tether to your car. As the audio would be wherever I am, not just in my car, I'd be much more tempted to sign up.
I haven't mentioned that even when we had the service we still had problems finding stuff we wanted to listen to. Even our favorite channels would do artists we didn't like. Despite there being no (or few) commercials, Satellite radio suffers from the same "there's nothing good on" problem that land-based radio (and TV) has.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
And, while I was waiting I sat in a canary yellow G Class. It looked really nice in yellow, and the interior looks really smart. Talk about good site lines, sitting really high over the hood, which has raised parking lights so you know exactly where the hood ends.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That's why they wanted me to take the shuttle...they probably have a note about me in their file.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I don't see a rate that could offered on their website, so they may not offer those low rates again.
On the other hand, the $300 storage bin removal cost me $80, so I am sure I am going to incurr an extra expense of $220 sometime soon - whenever I save on something it gets taken away anyway
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
About a month ago, I got the monthly email from OnStar telling me the status of things. Included in that is an oil life monitor readout and an estimated date of next service. According to that I still had 60% oil life left and the next service was some time away. In my mind I knew that the end of April would mark 6 months of driving (though I drove it very little this winter) and I figured I would take it in then.
A few days later I get an email from a lady at the dealer telling me OnStar had indicated service was due and when did I want to bring it in? Also she mentioned there is an open recall on my car. That is true - the cover plate around the sunroof switches was deemed to be not giving enough recess for the switches so there is a new design that tucks them further into the plate - simply a nanny thing that I would just as soon not have them change, but no biggie.
I write her back and tell her that I want to bring it in later in April and also that I want to make sure they have the new plate in stock when I bring it in so I don't have to come back a second time. I get no response. This past weekend I sent her an email reminding her of my previous email and telling her when I would like to bring it in. Still no response. Yesterday I phoned her, and she said she was away on training until then, and would call me back. Still waiting.
I am starting to wonder again about this place. I do know I won't be getting coffee in china cups or complimentary pastries.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I will say the service department is very efficient and courteous at this MB dealer. I think if I was treated the way you have been I would see if another dealer is better with their service.......but, as you know, I have a low threshold for incompetence.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250