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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
48012 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 4:35 AM
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Replying to: graphicguy (Nov 11, 2009 3:19 pm)  Richard |
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Replying to: houdini1 (Nov 11, 2009 1:04 pm) I am proud of you too. You got the car for an excellent price, everyone came out ahead, the dealer will survive another day, no clobbered baby seals. It's a win (you), win (your son), win (dealer), how often does that happen?
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 11, 2009 3:19 pm)  Richard |
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 11, 2009 3:24 pm) |
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Coming up on the one year anniversary of this tale so I thought I would share it with you all. First a little back story. I had sold my previous bike in April 07 to pay off some high interest loans and generally get my sh*t together. So here it was a year and a half later in Nov 08 and i'm basically dead on the inside from lack of riding.  The few times I bummed a buddies bike were not enough to sate the beast within. I cut my sport bike teeth on a 03 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and coveted the heavily upgraded 05-06 ZX-6R (636 for short). Especially because they were only made for four years and 06 was the last year made. On my way home from work I pass a Yamaha dealer every day. They usually have five or six used bikes sitting outside and i'll glance over to check their wares. This particular day I see a sleek black face peeking out behind a Honda CBR. Now I can spot a Ninja at 500 yards but I couldn't tell exactly what it was going by at 45mph hidden behind a row of bikes. So I continue home and look up their number. A salesman picks up, lets call him Glen because that was his name. I ask Glen if he had a 636 on his lot and if so how many miles and what did she run? I get put on hold for a minute and when he comes back he says "Sure do, 15,000, $8,999". The silence on my end was so deep that I thought I was going to fall into it. After my neurons started firing again I said "Hey there Glen, when did they start charging brand new prices for two year old used bikes?". He stammers for a second and says "oh I read the wrong line $7,999". Wow, the savings. I prefer face to face anyways so I tell him i'll stop in at lunch tomorrow. The next day I stop by and start inspecting the bike without going inside. Not a minute goes by and Glen is crashing through the door and offering a vigorous handshake. Hmmm, desperation or just good salesmanship? This dealer is a ghost town and seems to have been that way recently. He immediately starts selling me on the bike which doesn't bother me because I love talking about bikes, especially 636's. He doesn't say anything that I don't already know however and eventually shuts up as i'm poring over every detail. The bike is in good shape, never been down, no oil leaks. I've always thought because of the abuse that sport bikes accrue and their high revving nature that their mileage should be looked at as half dog years. So this thing has approx 50000 comparative car miles, not bad. The idle is a little fluffy because of an aftermarket exhaust and needs to be adjusted. Luckily the exhaust is relatively quiet (I can't stand obnoxious exhausts) however it was mounted slightly crooked which immediately sets off my OCD. Its good enough to buy so I go inside to talk price. He says "You're in luck, I talked to my SM and we can give you another twelve hundred off what we talked about on the phone!" I'm thinking "thats good because this thing is worth $6,000-$6,500 tops". He show me a break down that goes like this: Bike - $6799 TTL - $499 Doc - $399 Prep - $299 Total - $7996 Will I keep my cool? Will the salesman survive? Will my bike lust overcome reason? In the immortal words of a great man: To Be Continued...
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Replying to: driver100 (Nov 11, 2009 3:18 pm) It IS Christmas Vacation (sometimes known as Griswalds Christmas) because it is about Chevy Chase's family (the Griswalds). Buy the DVD, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. jmonroe
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Replying to: lvranger (Nov 11, 2009 4:39 pm) 
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sit down before you read this craigslist ad. maybe a clue in the sellers name?
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Replying to: jmonroe (Nov 11, 2009 2:33 pm) Now, if cars don't have a dozen cupholders, people won't buy them. I NEVER use my cupholders except to hold my sunglasses or something else. I'll drink my coffee before I leave hom and maybe have another one when I get to work. And, when I was a child I can't ever remember anyone eating or drinking anything in cars. We ate at home or we pulled over. Cars get traded in that look like rolling restaurants! The seats and carpets are badly stained and the cars stink inside. The detailers must have strong stomachs to get into these cars and clean the filth of other people. I just don't understand, that's all... |
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Replying to: isellhondas (Nov 11, 2009 6:33 pm) I will grant you that by the time I sell a car its main value is that it still runs. Out of four cars only one is under 100K on the clock. Heck only one is under 120K. |
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