Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Dealer's Tricks - bait & switch, etc.
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Which Acura's don't come with sunroofs? It's standard on RSX, CL, TL, and RL. I don't know about the SUV and NSX. But, their really not "cars" in the traditional sense.
In any case, I didn't walk out because of the $45; I walked out because the sales manager of the dealership asked me to. It's his store; I have to leave when he tells me to.
Still, if you don't want one you shouldn't have to take one I guess.
A dealer might he hesitant to special order a Lexus without a sunroof out of fear the buyer will cancel the order and leave him stuck with a car nobody wants.
Personally, they aren't that big of a deal to me.
And then, I would have gone back to the same dealer for service and discover they charge $10 per quart for synthetic oil---but the service advisor kindly warns you about it: "bring your own oil because we charge $10 per quart and the last customer freaked out when he heard that".
There are good BMW dealers---but not in the Bay Area there aren't. Only a few good people among a host of bad ones.
Say I come to the dealer to pick up my new car after it was delivered there and I want to take it out for a drive before I take it. Basically, just to make sure all is in place etc. I would not be trying to question dealer's honesty, but just would want to drive a car that I never drove before. After all, everyone states that after I drive it off the lot after signing for it, it's all mine with any minor annoyances or troubles that come with it.
My question is, how would the dealer react to such a request?
Would my taking the car for a drive in this manner be considered "driving it off the lot"?
thanks
A sunroof is a wear item.** It breaks long before the useful life of the car ends. Of course, this is true about all the other gizmos on the car as well. For example, my passenger-side doorlocks haven't been quite as automatic as I would like. A sunroof is just one more thing to go wrong.
I don't really care about sunroofs either; who brought up sunroofs anyway? :-)
*barring preventative maintenance, i.e. replacing the motor before it breaks, or somehow "cleaning" the drainage lines. (Hmmm, can that be done?)
**except on Hondas. On Hondas they just last forever. So just get over that sunroof thing, already. At Honda, we're on to bigger and better things.
There were issues with them back in the 70s and 80s when most sunroofs were installed aftermarket. But the OE roofs have been pretty much perfected.
And a sunroof has never hurt resale value.
91 300E
87 420SEL
83 XJ6 (Piece of garbage trade, but roof works well and is unleaky)
82 528e (ditto)
94 Range Rover County LWB
95 S500
96 740iL
95 XJ6
96 XJ6 Vanden Plas
95 900SE V6
91 740 Turbo
90 740GL
95 850 Turbo
Hmmm...
Should I keep going?
Bill
I too have owned many a car with a sunroof and have never had the slightest problem.
The only sunroofs I've seen cause trouble have been on European cars. We took in a 89 Audi that had a roof that wouldn't work. The Audi was a junk wholesale piece with 175,000 miles on it.
And since you mention Hondas...I've NEVER seen a Honda with a sunroof problem although I'm sure there is an occassional glitch.
Unless you park under trees or something with the sunroof open the drains won't plug. If the do get plugged up, a shot of compressed air with a rubber tipped gun will clear them up.
The motors don't "always" break, and the drains don't "always" plug up!
But...hey, you got what you wanted and that's what really matters!
But...does it start? Do the dash lights work?
Sorry...I have no use for those things!
Just me. I guess...
No leaks, no problems... this one is a honey.
I'll post a link to pics you know where.
If they are properly maintained, they arent all that bad...
Bill
Yeah... it was (it sold).
A small block in a 535i eh?
Hmmm...
But it would be more fun to find a 5-speed 85-87 735i..
Bill
m3fan-- "subject to test" written on an order signed by management is completely normal. If a dealer told me 'no way', I'd say no way to the dealer.
I just got a playtoy '86 Mustang 5.0. Gonna' do a 393 stroker (of a 351W). Fun on the autocross course as well as dusting rich boys in their toys.
There were some operating quirks to the sunroof on my '93 Mazda 626, but it never, ever leaked.
Nick Vanderville
Internet Manager
Winkel Pontiac GMC Hummer
-Reno Nevada-
I put a 350 Chevy in a 1995 Jeep Cherokee 4WD last year. What a blast.
Had my 9-5 in for the 10K service. Tried to get a 9-3 Viggen as a loaner but they gave me the base cabrio instead. Still, fun.
I'd love a 9000 Aero as a toy. But a 9-3 Viggen cabrio would be best.
Saab is working on a "Viggen" version of the 9-5 due out in late '02. Should have 280-300HP; current Aero is 250HP.
No hassle from the dealer.
Now, with factory orders, I can understand the dealer's reluctance to allow the customer to "change their mind". I suppose it depends on what you sell, and how many options are available for the vehicle in question. If the special order is something that would sell anyway, hey, why not give the customer the ability to back out. But, like the guy who wants the pink and purple Hummer , "really special orders" that wouldn't normally be available in stock would need to be handled differently.
My .02
In the big picture, it's all cash to the dealer, whether it comes from you or from a bank.
Also, since banks pay the dealer to send them finance business, a dealer is actually more likely to sell for a lower price if you finance rather than pay "cash."
Finally, speaking from a Ford store, I can offer rates far better than any bank on almost every model we sell. Unless you're using a large downpayment, it is always better to take Ford's low rates than it is to take the rebate and finance at a bank.
FTR, I hardly used the sunroof - no way it should have broke that frequently. The only good thing was I was able to get it closed both times ....lol
Oh yeah, when I asked, the service rep said "yeah, we've had problems with sunroofs on the S90s..."
So....my new car has no sunroof AND it's not a Volvo!....one less thing to worry about.....
I've got an '88 Acura Legend ... when it rains, I'm driving a swimming pool.
Guess it's a crapshoot. Ordered my RSX, here's hoping this one don't leak.
And we're talking goofy stuff...
Topaz/Charcoal (Gold with Black Guts) Vanden Plas
XJ8 Without a Sunroof
V70 T-5 Manual with no cold weather, No leather, no roof, no nothing.
etc...
Basically, stuff that we'd be hurt if we didnt inventory.
(This is taken from an e-mail from a friend of mine who also sells Jags and I agree with him)
I.E. Customer ordered a car from me once without a sunroof. Now, you can do this, but there is no price reduction. Customer was also emphatically warned of future resale problems, that we'd do it for a 10% Nonrefundable deposit, etc... Basically.. "We'll do it, but you're either taking delivery or losing your deposit" Customer signed a buyer's order with this clearly stated.
I basically told him upfront that this was financially foolish.. but.. OK...
Car comes in. He shows up "My friend said that I will have bad resale if I dont get the sunroof, I want one with a sunroof and he says I should pay invoice"
(This was on a VERY hot and in-demand car where market was at best $1,000 off of MSRp, what he had agreed to).
Nope. Not going to happen. We tried to explain our position, but he would have none of it. XJR at invoice? (In 1998 btw) Not going to happen.
Customer throws a fit, is explained what the terms were, again, upfront. Customer says we have lost his business and wants his deposit back. Again, told that it is not refundable that it will be used to mark the car down.
Car was advertised (MSRP was about $69K) for $57,900 or so for like 5 months before it sold.
Bill
the only time the dealer is concerned about payments is when he is financing your purchase.
i think it would be easier for you to get the sales person to talk price instead of payments if he knows up front that you are not financing through him.
of course some dealers are offering some great rates right now.
the down side of low dealer financing may be that they won't sell you a car at that low rate unless you pay msrp and buy useless add-ons.
this is why you should do your research... too many variables.
That 0% stuff is certainly hard to beat!
What almost universally happens is that someone reads somewhere that they can get a better price if they say they're paying cash. So they negotiate a cash price refusing any discussion of payments. Then they want to know how much their payments will be. Then they inevitably freak out when the selling price goes up by $2000 (or whatever) because they cannot get the cash rebate if they finance. Often the deal will be lost here as the customer leaves either to save face or because they don't believe what they are being told.
Also, the level of mathematical ignorance in the general public is astounding. There are huge numbers of people that will go through the whole sales process, negotiate a price on a $40,000 truck and are then shocked to find out they can't get payments of $350 a month with $0 down.
So although talking about payments exclusively *can* be a way to increase the purchase price, most reputable salespeople will at least bring it up to determine that the customer's payment expectations are at least realistic.
If you prefer, you can leave the price higher and have a cheque for the rebate amount sent to you.
In your case, if there was say, a choice of .9% or $2000 rebate your price would've been $2000 less if you hadn't taken the .9%.
All ad prices will be using the rebate and all ad payments will be using the low rate.
And foremost: negotiate, negotiate, negotiate--