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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
48164 messages, Last post on Dec 09, 2009 at 7:02 AM
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Replying to: mackabee (Jul 02, 2008 8:28 pm)  consumer clinics pushed the styling towards a truck look because the consumer clinic voted that it looked safer  same with the plastic inside,the clinic results favored a easy to clean surface. 
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Replying to: deskman (Jul 03, 2008 5:34 am) The more pertinent question would be "would you buy a minivan that's easy to clean, but is made of material that's closely related to the materials you'd find in a "leggo" kit, would you buy it"? The answer would probably be "No". Looking at the stats, truck, minivan and SUV sales are down 20%-30% across the board. Dealers can't get enough 4 cyl cars. Hybrids now have waiting lists. Took my Tahoe in for an oil change to my dealer yesterday. While I was waiting, I saw someone taking delivery of a Hybrid Tahoe. Sticker was north of $50K. Don't know what the guy paid for it, but I'd guess they got him for the full boat. Dealer said he'd sell Hybrid Tahoes all day, every day, if GM would ramp up more production. So, that means the desire for big vehicles hasn't subsided.....if they got decent fuel economy. I think the sticker said this Tahoe gets 20-21 MPG....same as you'd get with a 4 cyl Camry, or there about. Mine (flex fuel) gets around 15-16 MPG in mixed driving. I'll get close to 19 MPG on the highway. From that perspective, it ain't that bad. To get those numbers, I have to set the cruise control to 60-65 MPH. In town, I coast a lot (to shut down cylinders). Very irritating. But, plant the "go peddle" to merge onto the highway, and MPG drops like a rock. The biggest culprit is stopping and idling for long periods of time. My "3-er" gets good MPG....about 21MPG mixed. But, that's on the required premium juice. It costs the same (maybe a little more ) to fill up the BMW as it does the Tahoe. You want to become more fuel efficient? Have each community abolish 10%-15% of the stop signs and red lights. Over the years, all these communities put up stop signs, red lights just about at every intersection. Why? For good or ill, there was a point in time where there were more people walking and traffic needed to be controlled to keep from making them road kill. Today, I'd say foot traffic has dropped 50% from where it was 10-20 years ago. Bottom line, we don't need nearly as many stop signs and traffic signals. Do that, and I'd bet every vehicle on the road would get 1-2 MPG better. Crank up production of Tahoe/Yukon Hybrids and they'd sell like hotcakes. Mack....I would imagine that those Highlinder hybrids are tough to keep in stock, too? I know this is all very politically incorrect. Given some of the politicos and special interest groups choices, we'd all be riding around on Segways. It's "chic" to drive a Prius in CA. The vast majority of the rest of the country doesn't quite see it that way, though. People want what they want. Answer to the first song lyric....."Carry On" by CSN&Y.
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jul 03, 2008 6:33 am) |
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Some of you may recall that I bought my Mazdaspeed3 from a dealer in Cincinnati due to the assinine sales practices($3K ADM, no test drives w/o a signed buyers order, etc.) of the Louisville dealer Oxmoor Mazda. Well, yesterday I thought that I'd give Oxmoor's parts department a shot at my business. I'm instructing at a HPDE in a few days and I wanted a spare set of front brake pads. The parts guy comes back with a quoted price that is $57 over MSRP and  $100 over the internet price offered by a couple of online Mazda dealers. Idiots 
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Replying to: roadburner (Jul 03, 2008 8:38 am)
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Replying to: roadburner (Jul 03, 2008 8:38 am)
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jul 03, 2008 4:58 am) Apologies to GraphicGuy, I hadn't gotten down to the bottom of the page when I posted. He got the answer first. 
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Replying to: roadburner (Jul 03, 2008 8:38 am) I called that dealership about a month ago for a quote on a new ignition coil when I had one go bad. They were about $10 higher ($90) than the other dealership I called. But, they were going to charge me about $95 in labor to change out two additional coils that I was thinking of changing out while the intake was pulled off. The coils pull right out... might take a minute per coil. The other dealership wasn't going to charge me anything in labor for the two extra coils. edited: One time I had an oil change and the service receipt stated they put in 10w-30 oil, when the manual calls for 5w-20. When I called asking why they didn't put in the recommended type oil, the service writer replied that there was some type of glitch in their computer system, and they put the correct oil in. Either one are okay to use, but I don't want the heavier oil in during cold winter months. I go to the Oxmoor Mazda dealership for their $19 oil changes, transmission and coolant flushes. They run those services on special sale prices that are hard to beat. |
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Is always fun... Like most here, I'm sure the lyrics presented are instantly recognizable and pop into your mind's eye. Sometimes just hooking them up with the melody takes some thinkin'... The Procol Harum lyrics almost instantly translated into music in my head, as did the Petty song and Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Jimi's version, of course. What an intro... And, topic-time, I really enjoy this forum: the denizens, the stories, the slightly off-topic non-offensive banter. Reading stories/thoughts from Mack/BR/ISell/GP from Bawstn/the psychotic deskman et al will stick in my mind as I buy my next car. I won't feel quite so bad as I'm getting clubbed. Do I still want to sell cars as my next career? Don't know, people are so annoying!
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jul 03, 2008 4:58 am) |
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