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Stories from the Sales Frontlines

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#45344 of 92278 I smell something by nyccarguy

Aug 26, 2009 (8:54 pm)

Replying to: houdini1 (Aug 26, 2009 9:09 am)
Wow, that's annoying. I posted something last night that never made it to the board. I apologize.
 
It smells like VICTORY! Last night I arrived home to see my best friend with his Black Infiniti QX56 4WD with a U-Haul car dolly sitting in front of my apartment building. Now mind you I constantly break his chops about his truck. I tell him the badge on the back should say QE2 instead of QX56. To say the QX56 is enormous is an understatement. He's got a superwide grin on his face and says to me "Go ahead, make a remark about the truck." The truck rocks, that's all I can say.
 
Of course the my clunker BMW wouldn't start. We jumped it real quick, drove it carefully to where the QX was parked & up the extended ramps on the dolly. The scariest part was when the car settled into the wheels wells of the dolly. I thought it was going to go right into the rear end of the QX. We tie it & chain it down and off we went.
 
The ride was relatively trouble free. Every time we drove through a construction zone where the road was ripped up, I swore we were going to loose the car. My wife sent us a text to ask where we were. I replied & told her where we were on Long Island. She then asked me if we still had the BMW.
 
We pulled into a Mavis Discount Tire parking lot next door to the dealership, unhooked & unloaded the BMW. It fired right up & I drove right into the dealership (literally, remember...bad brakes - just kidding). I went inside to get a salesman since the gentlemen I am dealing with isn't there. I told him the car is being traded in as a clunker so I wanted him to see me driving it around the parking lot.
 
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

#45345 of 92278 Getting closer and closer by nyccarguy

Aug 26, 2009 (9:01 pm)

to the end. At this point my 1990 BMW 325i is at the dealership. My Cash 4 Clunkers paperwork has been approved. I got approved for financing this afternoon. He told me the rate was 5.9%. I asked him if he could do any better, that I had been quoted 5.39% by another Acura dealer. He said he'll call in the morning that he didn't know my credit score, but the bank (he said CHASE has a better rate than Acura Financial) just approved it immediately on the computer. We're going to pick the car up Saturday after work. I'm so excited! I CANNOT WAIT!

#45346 of 92278 Re: The sage continues...Continued [houdini1] by nyccarguy

Aug 26, 2009 (9:22 pm)

Replying to: houdini1 (Aug 26, 2009 9:09 am)
This has to be the type of buyer that drives salesmen INSANE !!! Or maybe it is the newest variation on the Bobst method where the salesman gets so frustrated he just gives you the darn car.
 
I disagree. The only people I drove insane were myself (and I didn't need to drive very far) & my wife. I am very calm, cool, & collected with car salespeople. For the most part I was dealing with 2 dealerships. The one closest to my apartment where I test drove the car 3 times & they wouldn't give me a price over the phone when I was ready to give them a deposit and take delivery that weekend. The other dealer was in Norwalk, CT that I went to on a referral from my best friend who was trying for 2+ weeks to sign up as a Cash 4 Clunkers dealer just to sell me a car.
 
I didn't start calling the other dealers until panic time, Friday when I knew the Cash 4 Clunkers program was ending Monday. Even then, I called and spoke to a salesperson asked them 1st if they were a Cash 4 Clunkers dealer, if yes, then I asked them if they had any 4cyl TSX TECH w/ Black Interior. I didn't grind by any means.
 
Cash 4 Clunkers worked out well for me. Out the door it comes out over $1600 cheaper than if I would have gone to the dealer that quoted the cheapest price over the phone. Plus now my wife and I can switch off driving the TSX to cut down on the miles on her leased '07 BMW X3 (if she keeps up, she'd be about 10K miles over) and my '01 Honda Prelude (which with over 114K miles is still an amazing car, but no spring chicken).

#45347 of 92278 Re: The sage continues...Continued [nyccarguy] by murphydog

Aug 26, 2009 (9:42 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Aug 26, 2009 9:22 pm)
Quite a saga, glad it work for you -
 
One question - you sound like the example that driver rolled out - your C4C price was not $3,500 bettter than your non C4C price - I have to ask, do you feel ripped off?

#45348 of 92278 Re: The sage continues...Continued [murphydog] by nyccarguy

Aug 26, 2009 (10:04 pm)

Replying to: murphydog (Aug 26, 2009 9:42 pm)
I don't feel ripped off. I could have gotten the car cheaper, but it is my own fault. I waited too long. If I had just listened to my wife and Mom, gone down to Curry Acura (they have the exact car & color we wanted) to get a price, I probably would have gotten & great price + $3500 clunker rebate. I did call them back, but they stopped taking clunkers in on Friday.
 
The dealer who gave me the best price (almost $300 over invoice) was not a cash 4 clunkers dealer. - Acura of Westchester
 
The dealer who did everything in his power to try and sign up to become a cash 4 clunkers dealer to sell me a car didn't come through in the end (He wanted $800 over invoice). -Devan Acura
 
I called the dealer I'm buying from on the last day of the cash 4 clunkers program. He had a car with a black interior & the TECH pkg in stock, was a cash 4 clunkers dealer, willing to take my paperwork. His price is a full $1500 over invoice. He said he's not interested in taking a penny less. I still come out ahead. My BMW is worth $500 if I trade it in, maybe if I fix the glove box, put new emblems on it, & polish it up really nice, maybe I can get $1000 as a trade in. I'm paying $660 more than the dealer I was working with in CT. You'e talking about splitting hairs on a 5 year loan.
 
Plus the most important thing, I'm getting the car I want and didn't have to settle. I have very specific tastes when it comes to how a car drives.

#45349 of 92278 Re: CARS Program [murphydog] by tidester

Aug 26, 2009 (10:09 pm)

Replying to: murphydog (Aug 26, 2009 6:58 pm)
I don't think it's quite that simple.
 
either way the money flows into the economy and gets spent of stuff
 
Money was taken out of the economy (via taxation) in the first place so on that score it's a wash.
 
if the dealer makes an extra $1,000 on a deal that money stimulates the economy
 
Again, it's a wash. You're suggesting that the dealer "spending" $1,000 is somehow better than the customer spending his/her own $1,000 which is non sequitur.
  
if the buyer save an extra $1,000 that money gets spent on other stuff...
 
Correct. Another wash.
  
quoting driver100: "I think it is taking advantage of the government (which is you and me) to charge full MSRP on a car that was never sold for that price in the past"
 
I've seen several postings in the Cash for Clunkers - Does it Work for You? discussion where people negotiated a deal for substantially less than MSRP and when the customer brought up the C4C issue, the dealer tore up the papers and insisted everything henceforth would be based on MSRP - period. Instances like that may be the basis for driver100's perspective but he can certainly speak for himself.
  
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#45350 of 92278 Re: CARS Program [driver100] by oldfarmer50

Aug 27, 2009 (4:20 am)

Replying to: driver100 (Aug 26, 2009 3:58 pm)
"...make you an honorary Canadian..."
 
Honored.

#45351 of 92278 Re: CARS Program [tidester] by driver100

Aug 27, 2009 (4:39 am)

Replying to: tidester (Aug 26, 2009 10:09 pm)
when the customer brought up the C4C issue, the dealer tore up the papers and insisted everything henceforth would be based on MSRP - period. Instances like that may be the basis for driver100's perspective but he can certainly speak for himself.
 
Tidester, yes, I can speak for myself....but you do it a lot better. All your points are perfect, and explain my position very clearly.
 
The good news is at least we got over a 100 posts on the topic, and we heard from some people we have never heard from and some we haven't heard from for a long time.

#45352 of 92278 Re: CARS Program [driver100] by jimbres

Aug 27, 2009 (5:09 am)

Replying to: driver100 (Aug 26, 2009 4:29 pm)
Right, but the customer should have paid $18,000, same as the day before C4C, less $4500 or $13,500 after his rebate. The dealer is not only going to make the small profit he would have at $18,000, he will now get that profit plus an extra $2000, since he can charge full MSRP or $20,000.
 
I think that your argument rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the C4C program. You apparently think that the underlying purpose of the program was to put money in the pockets of the car buyers & that it's somehow wrong for dealers to take any part of the $4500 rebate for themselves.
 
In truth, the government never cared how that $4500 was split, as long as (1) car sales went up & (2) gas hogs were taken off the road & replaced by more fuel-efficient vehicles. As a Congressman (John Dingell) told a NY Times reporter yesterday, "The program did exactly what it was designed to do - stimulate our economy".
 
If you feel the need to pity someone here, then spend a few minutes feeling sorry for the silent 3rd party: the long-suffering American taxpayer whose pockets will be picked to cover the cost of this boondoggle. Don't waste your time worrying about the car buyers who cashed in on this program. They may not have gotten as much as you think they should have, but they paid less for new wheels than they otherwise would have.

#45353 of 92278 Re: CARS Program [jimbres] by driver100

Aug 27, 2009 (5:28 am)

Replying to: jimbres (Aug 27, 2009 5:09 am)
. Don't waste your time worrying about the car buyers who cashed in on this program.
 
Since the money is being wasted it might as well go to the dealership owner instead of to the customer. Why not go down to your local car dealership and just hand him $100 from your pocket....it would be simpler than having him fill out all those forms he is complaining about.

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