Any Questions for a Car Dealer?

scanty · May 2003

From the April 22, 2003 TCC Daily Edition

"FORD TO SUSPEND T-BIRD MID-DECADE

Reports across Detroit indicate that Ford will suspend production of the Thunderbird two-seat roadster in the middle of the decade, and inside sources confirm the move to TheCarConnection while adding that a new T-Bird with echoes of styling from the 1961 model could reappear in the company's lineup by mid-decade. TCC's source says Ford made some "big mistakes" with the T-Bird, especially over-building during an extended 2002 model year. As a result, dealers still have a bunch of '02s they are having trouble moving, and the incentives they're offering are cutting into their sales of 2003 models. The Thunderbird had been intended as a limited run vehicle, but the current sales situation isn't helping prolong its shelf life. Right now, work is ongoing on an unapproved project that would resurrect some of the themes of the 1961 Thunderbird, but for now, the current T-Bird is set to stop flying in either the 2005 or 2006 model year. Sales of the model in 2003 are off more than 22 percent from last year."

jeffmust2 · May 2003

http://www.blueovalnews.com/2003/tbird/reduxundone_joseph.050103.- htm

mark156 · May 2003

landru2 · May 2003

There were definitely some problems with Ford's introduction of the T-bird. However, the news that Ford intends to end the current model in mid-decade ranks up there with "Sun will Set Tonight" as a headline. If it ends in 2005 it will have been available for 4 model years. That doesn't sound like an unreasonable amount of production time these days. I'm not going to take the time to check but I'd be very surprised if there weren't many cars that have had a 4 year production cycle.

suvshopper4 · May 2003

Another link to a story of the 4-year T-Bird run, by Jim Mateja of the Chicago Tribune, via today's Phila Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/classifieds/automotive/5809455- .htm

For what it's worth.

audia8q · May 2003

Don't forget that the T-bird is mostly built from the Ford parts bin. So the developments cost were actually rather reasonable compared to a car started from scratch...

It's a shame the car will be going away, even if temporary. I drove one for a demo last summer and was thrilled with the car.

dillydill · May 2003

How come my local Lexus dealer has about 50 used Lexuses with half factory certified but the other half are not. Why aren't all of his Used Lexuses certified
Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.

Dillydill

mackabee · May 2003

They must meet a minimum mileage standard among other things.
: )
Mackabee

jeffmust2 · May 2003

Have to be within a certain age and mileage range for the dealer to label them CPOs. Also, since the CPO tag with extended warranty means the dealer will ask more $$ for them, it's probably a good marketing tool to have some that are non-CPO on the same lot at a cheaper price to attract buyers with less bucks - and also as a bargaining tool.

"Well, Mr. & Mrs. Prospect, that used silver 2000 RX300 with the CPO warranty goes for $25000 - but that white one over there, same age and mileage, goes for $23500, $1500 less because it's original warranty is about to expire. If I can talk to my sales manager...and get you the CPO one for the same lower price...do we have a deal tonight?"

When I bought a CPO LS400 a few years ago, the talk was that it costs the dealer only a few hundred to put that label on the used cars - especially if they do a lousy job on the "128-point" inspection routine and fixing any problems that crop up. My Lexus did have a few problems - but they were taken care of post-sale, not pre-sale.

crkeehn · May 2003

For the past couple of days, I've been bombarded by the Overnight test drive ad for GM cars.

Is that a good idea or something that corporate will love and the dealers will hate?

audia8q · May 2003

Since the program is new the jury is still out....but the fine print allows the dealer to pull credit reports and submit the credit application to see if the buyer is qualified and the test driver must have full coverage insurance.

This will eliminate alot of the problems a program like this could cause.

abtseller · May 2003

will give you an overnight test drive regardless of a special TV commercial or not. IMHO, this is like a screamer ad, which will bring the uninformed through the door, en masse, and the salespeople will have to filter them out.

"I flip burgers at Wendys, I'd like to test drive that new H2"

I can see it now..

Ed

isellhondas · May 2003

It's a dumb idea that won't sell many cars.

I suppose desperate companies resort to desperate measures.

But I could be wrong I suppose...

jaserb · May 2003

for a 24 hour test drive. Too bad that
1. I'm not in the market and
2. GM sells nothing that remotely intrigues me (okay, maybe a 9-5 wagon).

-Jason

tboner · May 2003

When I heard the GM spots on the radio (you are then actually encouraged to pay attention and not just drool over the hardware) they mention age, license, insurance, and approved credit as qualifications to test drive the vehicle overnight.

So I imagine if you want to drive it overnight, they are going to run a credit check.

This ought to minimize the BK kids driving H2's on a Friday night.

TB

isellhondas · May 2003

Came in the mail. They want me of all people to do a 24 hour test drive!

Maybe they are hoping the test drivers will take "ownership" of the car during that time. Their family, friends and neighbors will see it and figure they bought it.

It'll be interesting to see if this experience works. I just see the downsides. The tremendous mailing expense for one thing. Oh, let's go through Mc Donald's and get chocolate shakes!

Oops...oh well, they can clean it up...

I think this will attract a lot of flakes who just want a nice new car to go out on the town with!

jlawrence01 · May 2003

I generally own GM vehicles and I never get one of those offers .......

qbrozen · May 2003

I just can't believe they'd allow a 24-hour test drive. I know there are tons of people like me out there who have a long commute to work each day. Can you imagine all of these new vehicles with triple digits on the odometer? Try selling that and not giving a huge discount.

zueslewis · May 2003

1) there has to be a car deal in the works for this to even happen - good credit, job, not $10K upside down in the trade, etc.

2) once you get this new GM product home and show all your family and friends, coworkers, etc., IF you bring it back, you KNOW what everyone would say....YOU COULDN'T AFFORD IT.

Whether you could or not, that's human nature for people to think that way. The overnight test drive is the oldest trick in the book for that very reason. You CAN'T bring it back because everyone will think you're a bum and couldn't qualify.

brock8 · May 2003

Any help would be appreciated. I leased a new vehicle less than 30 days ago. I've already had to tow it back twice for two different reasons. After reading the lemon law, It doesn't quite apply to me. My question is, Is there a certain amount of time that you have to simply get out of your contract if you are unsatisfied? Please help.

zueslewis · May 2003

provision for getting out of a contract - sorry.

Contact your manufacturer's rep through your service manager, though, to try to resolve whatever mechanical problems you're having.

grandtotal · May 2003

I generally own GM vehicles and I never get one of those offers .......

There is no sense in preaching to the converted. Far better to try and win over people who currently drive Ford, Honda, Toyota...

JPham · May 2003

I have good credit and need to move a large piece of furniture tomorrow ... things that make you go HMMMM

JP

rroyce10 · May 2003

...... I have been doing this for almost 10 years (I wonder if I can get some $$ from GM for my idea.?

) ..

"Over Nighters" have worked for me for a long time .. the neighbor picks up the customer from the service dept, you get some folks from service that are just strolling around waiting for their vehicle, you get some folks that aren't sure and want to "think" about it - so let them think about while they are DRIVING it, not sure if they would like an SUV or a 4dr sedan - can't tell by reading Womens Quarteley, so let em' Drive it for a night .. of course (depending on the situation) I will take a credit report, licenses copy and ins .. in almost 10 years, 3 out of every 10 bought, that's not a bad batting average .. we will see how all the "cross shopping" effects this one.

Terry.

masspector · May 2003

the overnight test drive would have worked great for landru's home depot guy..just like jpham mentioned. So is it not considered inconsiderate any longer to use the dealerships brand new truck to haul plywood? "Well you wanted me to give it a true test drive, right?" LOL

acrafton · May 2003

I posted a year or so ago about how the last 3/4 cars I bought were all with overnight test drives - offered by the dealer and it made the difference in buying. Many of the sales folks here thought I was silly - "what take so long", "it takes a 30 min drive to know if you want it" . . .

I can't imagine (personally) buying without it . . .

Specs of last few cars:
Mercedes ML 320 - bought
Saab 9-5 wagon - bought
Used MB E320 - bought
MB C 240/320 - did not buy (see above purchase)
Saab 9-5 sedan - didn't buy (see above purchase)

So, in each case, the dealer got a sale of a comparable model, etc. . . with no buyers remorse.

In each case the dealer did not run a credit check but did take a copy of license and insurance.

Adam

dillydill · May 2003

Thanks.

Dillydill

isellhondas · May 2003

I guess we are all different...I sure don't understand but that's O.K. too.

manamal · May 2003

Warning: I think I told another version of this story....

This does was not an overnight drive; rather, a longer drive. It was the end of 2001...my wife was 5 months pregnant, and we were shopping for a 'mommy mobile'. We where shopping early because (on paper) the preferred car was an Oddessey, which had a 1-2 month wait. The problem was, we could not test drive an oddy...we could look, and liked what we saw, but driving would have to wait for 'our car' to come in.

So, we continued to look. On a lark, we drove to the SAAB dealership to look at a 9-5 wagon. I did not think we could afford it, but it turned out it was only $500 more than the Oddy (Oddy had a big premium). so, we took the SAAB out for a drive...salesman said 'take as long as you want...take it out towards the mountains...' We drove it for about two hours. We had some concerns about the size and reliability, but the drive of the car one us over.

Funny thing is, if we could have driven an Oddessey, we probably would have never looked at the SAAB.

isellhondas · May 2003

If that's what it takes to make a buyer happy...

Only 500.00 more? Hopefully the resale on that Saab won't be too painful down the line.

If you keep it a long long time it won't matter.

manamal · May 2003

After 6 months, the SAAB was T-boned by a caddy running a light at 60 MPH. No one was injured. Car was totalled. Valuation from the ins co. was favorable (made a nice profit). But, I replaced the car with a Minivan (I did not appreaciate how much space a baby takes up). In that case, I needed the van right away, and could not wait for the Oddessey...so I have a Sienna.

masspector · May 2003

I think I have asked this before and did not get an exact answer, so I will try again.

Is there a website that lists car deprciation in percentage and is easy to compare them? Or at least shows trends, like Lexus depreciates 25% in 5 years vs 65% for Ford, etc. TCO on edmunds is a help but it is hard to compare all brands and makes at one time.

Thanks for any help

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hey masspector. The only web site that I am aware of that shows the sort of depreciation trends that you are interested in is Automotive Lease Guide's (ALG) site. ALG is sort of the industry standard for residual values. Many banks base their residuals on ALG's numbers, though many captive finance companies publish their own slightly different residuals. Unfortunately, even though at one time its information was available on the Web for free, I believe that one has to pay to see ALG's residual values now.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

kyfdx · May 2003

This is kind of an indirect way to get the residual percentages, but here goes.

Go to leasecompare.com. Put in your model and MSRP, and it will give you residual values along with the monthly lease terms. You can divide the residual by the MSRP you entered to get the residual percentage they are working with. I believe these numbers come from ALG.

CARMAN: Not trying to promote this website, so delete this message, if inappropriate.

regards,
kyfdx

kmag · May 2003

Ive been scrounging to find a low mileage car, and have not found anything locally that was a good fit. Searching on the Net, I found a 02 Saturn SL with AC, CD 5 speed and 10K miles on, priced at 7495 - which is a fantastic price, its not a fantastic car but it will suit my needs.

Carfax is clean, it was registered to a private owner. The salesman I talked to on the phone was very freindly, said he'd had the car 3 weeeks, there wasn't much interest in the car and he had just dropped the price.

Here's the catch - the dealer is a 2.5 hour drive away. The salesman said he could set up financing, they work with my bank, he will bring the car down, said I can drive it and if I like it and want it, sign for it right there. Or I can come pick it up and save $100.

Im familiar enough with Saturns, Ive tested several recently, including a similar 01, so I dont need to test drive it for that reason. However it seems very weird to buy a car this way. But I think I'm going to do it. Any thing I should look out for in this deal?

zueslewis · May 2003

calling dealers to find out if they have a particular new or used car.

The only thing you risk, it seems, is time. Make the guy promise to fill your tank and buy you lunch if you don't like the car.

I made that promise several times and never had to pay.

masspector · May 2003

for the info guys. I had tried ALG, but like you said the info I wanted was not free. It is not too hard to find info for depreciation on individual cars like you are talking about. I was thinking more of a top ten list that said these vehicles have the lowest and /or worst depreciation and compared them. Edmunds TCO is a pretty good tool if you are only comparing a few cars. Just subtract each years depreciation amount from the original price and you have a fairly good idea what it might be worth in 5 years.

jaserb · May 2003

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/99268/article.html

and

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/99270/article.html

Not sure how Edmunds computes it, though.

-Jason

masspector · May 2003

thanks, now how about a top ten list for cars that real people can afford..LOL

Something like that would be great, but have all brands and makes listed.

ateixeira · May 2003

Interesting, but is it resale as a % of the original MSRP, or the TMV?

Here's why it's important to ask - Kias (at the bottom of the pile) sell for hefty discounts. So for a shopper, he's not really going to experience the depreciation from MSRP, but rather from what he actually paid.

Conversely, what if the BMW Z8 owners paid a $25,000 dealer markup? His depreciation is grossly underestimated.

Looking at residuals is smart, but you have to compare them to your best deal on the purchase price.

Here is a real-world example. I paid $19.2k for my Forester back in 1998. 5 years later, the TMV is $10,876 (KBB value is similar FWIW). That's just 43% actual depreciation in 5 years, better than any car on the list including the elusive BMW Z8 with no markup.

See what I mean?

-juice

kmag · May 2003

I was thinking of buying him lunch!

zueslewis · May 2003

qbrozen · May 2003

being someone who just traded in his '98 Forester, trust me when I tell you it ain't worth anywhere near that in real life.

Good thing you like yours.

isellhondas · May 2003

What some source thinks your car is worth can be WAYYYY off so be careful.

I only wish the people who publish some of these numbers would be willing to write checks for what they tell my customers their cars are worth!

But sometimes the numbers can be fairly accurate.

kyfdx · May 2003

It states that its a percentage of TMV, which just shows how bad Kia depreciates.

kyfdx

rivertown · May 2003

I had a dealer make the same kind of offer, only on a new car with a 200 mile drive and no $100 price differential. Very cool!

My concern was meeting in daylight so that I could look the car over well. If it were a used car, I'd want to meet at my mechanic's garage so he could look the car over well.
Plan to help the driver/salesguy hook up with his transportation home.

ateixeira · May 2003

Rob: maybe it's my zip code? I was able to beat TMV private party for our 626, and that wasn't a high-demand vehicle. It snowed a *lot* this past winter and so I doubt it would be hard to sell an AWD with good gas mileage.

kyfdx: interesting. I wonder if the Z8 took any markups into effect?

Actually, I think it's that limited edition run of automatics toward the end that had huge markups.

-juice

qbrozen · May 2003

Of course zip code comes into play. As well as selling on your own vs. trade-in.

When somebody says "what my car is worth" I consider that to be wholesale value because, basically, that IS what its worth. What people pay for it is a whole different story.

I think either you lucked out with the 626 or your area really is deprived of such cars because I also tried to sell my 626 privately and I couldn't get a bite. Only guy who even talked to me about it showed me a printout of TMV and said that he wanted it below that number. I promptly told him to leave my property. lol.

anyhoo, I'd tell you what I got for the Forester, but you REALLY don't want to know. I know mine had more miles than yours, but it also had an automatic (yours is an L too, right?).

audia8q · May 2003

I'm with you......how come these used car appraisal experts won't back up their appraisal with cash....Dealers will!!
How come when a consumer does a self appraisal they assume that the website with the highest value is the only one that is correct? The rest are wrong. haha

I was thinking about starting a used car value website...put on very high and boarderline fictional numbers and I will have the most visitors to my website, overnight!!. Since no web site is willing to back up the numbers, they have every incentive to inflate the numbers to generate the most hits...with the most hits comes the ad revenue. sorta like letting the wolf watch the henhouse.

abtseller · May 2003

it isn't. It might be great in some parts of the world or on some makes/ models, but its a GUIDE, and IMHO, not a very good one.

Ed

Any Questions for a Car Dealer?

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles