George, I have played this game before. They're just not playing nice. Suddenly, they have a super deal.
Great, put the winter tires in the back, make sure they're wrapped.
Oh, we can only offer that deal if we leave the tires out.
Hmmm...the deal you gave me is the same as the winter tires are valued at.
It's been going on for over a month. That's ok, there's another Ford dealer just blocks from this one.
Tony, hehe, no kids. That's been out of the picture for a good 6 or 7 years now. Believe it or not Hanh is actually older than I am.
Jim, last go round was like yours. This one, quite the opposite.
I will bring pics when the time comes.
Great, put the winter tires in the back, make sure they're wrapped.
Oh, we can only offer that deal if we leave the tires out.
Hmmm...the deal you gave me is the same as the winter tires are valued at.
It's been going on for over a month. That's ok, there's another Ford dealer just blocks from this one.
Tony, hehe, no kids. That's been out of the picture for a good 6 or 7 years now. Believe it or not Hanh is actually older than I am.
Jim, last go round was like yours. This one, quite the opposite.
I will bring pics when the time comes.
New cars: Eight years ago my existing car was getting long in the tooth and I was thinking about getting a new one. I had taken a Mazda 3 for a test drive a few years before and liked it, so I swung by a Mazda dealer on the way home from work. There was a Mazda 6 on the lot with a big sticker on it that read "SAVE $7786.00!!" so when a salesman showed up I said "Tell me about that car". It was a 2010 and the 2011's were arriving, and it was the only 2010 6 they had left, It also had the GT trim package and the 6-speed manual. I don't think the manual transmission was very popular on the mid-size cars. I took it for a test drive and loved it. The salesman I was dealing with was a rookie, so he was pretty reasonable, but then he had to involve a sales manager. She was less pleasant, and the more we talked the price kept going up. I took her paperwork home, then went back a day or two later and button-holed the salesman. I showed him how her numbers did not add up, I showed him the list price and the SAVE sticker, and told him if he would subtract the SAVE amount from the list price I would buy the car for that price. I drove it home the next day. Still driving it now, still love it.
So have I. In big city Florida there was always several dealers to choose from, and playing them all against each other was required.
Want to walk the lot and browse the cars without being hassled? Dress like a nerd, show up with a clipboard and a few newspaper adds. They will think you are never going to buy anything, and if you are there long enough the looser of a coin toss will be the sales idiot in charge of bothering you.
Want the best price early on? Show up dressed in crummy clothes (or my usual shorts - flip flops - tank top) driving the biggest piece of junk you can borrow. An old rusty pickup truck works really well at high end dealers.
The Lexus of Palm Beach guys didn't bother us for almost an hour until we walked in and asked about a used Volvo they had run on Ebay. Then they told us to wait outside for their "internet guy." He was actually civilized but the Volvo wagon had been sold and he drove us all over the lot in a blinged out golf cart trying to sell us something we really didn't want.
A local Acura dealer had a Volvo wagon listed in the newspaper. Again we showed up in the truck dressed like bums and asked about the Volvo. While they were scratching their heads I spot the Acura version of the Honda Crosstour in the showroom, which is basically a hatchback styled Accord. I climb in and start checking it out. The sales guy returns with some story why the Volvo wasn't available then tells us that "you don't want that, they are $40K." I calmly turned towards the door and stated loud enough for all to hear, "dude, you just failed car weasel 101, get the chump's info and run his credit before chasing him away. I was prepared to write a check for a $15K Volvo and I have an 825 credit score. Have a nice day." (true at the time).
I had a Volvo wagon that I got when my father passed and liked it. I had sorted out my choices on "Cars.com" by "cubic feet of cargo space." The Volvo V70 and several others including the Element were on my list. We go look at a used Element and a used Kia Soul at a local Jeep dealer. The Element had a dead battery which meant that it had not been driven in a while and CarFax revealed that it had been in their inventory for several months. We throw a low ball offer at them, which was quickly refused. We leave. Several weeks later I'm at a Carmax lot test driving a Toyota FJ Cruiser when the phone rang. It was the Jeep dealer with a counter offer on the Element. I explained that I was presently at Carmax test driving a Toyota, and his offer magically matched mine. I bought the Element, and am still driving it 10 years later.
A friend at work traded his Escape for a Flex. I looked over and decided that it may work well for hauling kids with a good collection of "kid stuff" in tow, but it doesn't work for someone like me who hauls more "stuff" than human cargo. IE, the seats can not be removed and suck up much of the cargo space when laid flat.
I like the Element because the rear seats pop out with a couple of clicks, and although quite heavy can be stashed in the garage where mine have been for several years. Want to haul a pair of Altec VOTT cabinets. they will fit, and still leave room for a driver and one passenger. Unfortunately Elements vanished from the market when the tsunami hit Japan and all available Elements in the pipeline were snapped up for well ABOVE the sticker price within a few months.
What do I replace my 11 year old Element with when it gets unreliable? Maybe one of those little Transit Connect vans.
Yep! My countrymen actually come to Norway to "steal" diapers from Norwegian babies to sell them for profit in Sweden.
Swedes are a proud people.
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Ahahahah
I've been spending mine on those the last few years or so!!!
Finally getting a small budget back for DIY.
Happy days!
The Escape had a sticker of just under $35k. I walked out of there by writing a cheque for $29k and change, all in, including 4 mounted snowies.
This one has a sticker of $52.4k. Best offer so far is $49.9k with 4 snowies.
All in is: $55.8k
You can see why I'm not rushing to line their pockets.
This one has a sticker of $52.4k. Best offer so far is $49.9k with 4 snowies.
All in is: $55.8k
You can see why I'm not rushing to line their pockets.
I bought a headlight bulb $17.99 no cheque needed I carry that kinda cash with me all the time.
Awhile back I was in the auto parts store shopping for a headlamp bulb for an '02 Nissan. Kid took my info, clicked around on the computer, "There's 2 different ones here."
"How much is the first one?" I asked.
"Nine dollars."
"And the second?"
"That one is a hundred dollars."
"Good lord! It's a light bulb, not an alternator!" I exclaimed. Without missing a beat, the kid chuckled and replied, "You haven't bought an alternator lately, have you?"
(Epilogue: Bought the nine-dollar one.)
"How much is the first one?" I asked.
"Nine dollars."
"And the second?"
"That one is a hundred dollars."
"Good lord! It's a light bulb, not an alternator!" I exclaimed. Without missing a beat, the kid chuckled and replied, "You haven't bought an alternator lately, have you?"
(Epilogue: Bought the nine-dollar one.)
I am looking for two row seating or I would have considered the Explorer. TBH, I didn't know the Flex still existed. We see so few around here. How do you like yours?
Love/hate. It is the best vehicle I have ever driven overall, basically extra extra roomy plus super fast with 355 bhp up front. But, the ecoboost has a bad reputation, and sure enough one turbo has blown on mine. That was $3.9K to fix, and probably still not done since it looks like a new cat is needed. Do NOT buy an ecoboost in my opinion.
This will be my second ecoboost. They just came through on the price after I sent a rather scathing email this morning regarding their conduct. All in is $54k flat, with the winter package and a boatload of goodies. Hopefully I pick it up today.
Pics coming soon.
Tony, do you still drive like a teenager?
Pics coming soon.
Tony, do you still drive like a teenager?