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[ultrarunner]

I have never had a issue. I have ordered 8 or 9 of the 20 or so vehicles I have owned. My father has almost always ordered and I would guess he has had nearly 35 vehicles. My sister and BIL do not order, too impatient. They always just search the net for what is closest to what they want and go buy it.

It all comes down to the dealer. When I ordered my 06 F-350 I could not decide on the color so the dealer ordered 3 identical except for color. He sold one the day it came in after I decided I did not want black. The other was sold in under 2 weeks that I did not take.

Chris

I've never ordered trucks... only the two cars.

I think part of my Euro BMW problem is there is no commission typically paid to floor sales people and ordering a car that might not be paid for till a couple of months later, especially if it is coming from overseas, won't show up on the weekly commission check.

It's probably also a factor that a lot of sales people tend not to stick around too long...

 

[Diamondpilot]

It's probably also a factor that a lot of sales people tend not to stick around too long...

See, its different in the country. I would say 2/3 the sales staff at my local Ford dealer have been there 10-15 years. I know the gal at the Nissan dealer where I got my Titan has been there 8 years now. I get a note from her about every 6 months to keep her in mind if I am shopping or know someone else that is. I sent her a sale about 3 months ago for a SUV and she sent me a $100 check 10 days later and a thank you note. My guy from the Ford dealer calls me monthly to shoot the bull, his brother is a pilot so this is his in. I know he is just drumming up business but hey, that is is his job.:thumbsup: I have no problem with that and he has sent me business also for boat/trailer needs.

Chris

 

[beppington]

That's "simple interest".

If, for example, a new car sits on the lot for 3 months, that 3% simple interest earned equates to a compound annual growth rate of 12.74%.

not quite

What don't you like, my math/ formula, or the 3-month on the lot period?

 

[ultrarunner]

See, its different in the country. I would say 2/3 the sales staff at my local Ford dealer have been there 10-15 years. I know the gal at the Nissan dealer where I got my Titan has been there 8 years now. I get a note from her about every 6 months to keep her in mind if I am shopping or know someone else that is. I sent her a sale about 3 months ago for a SUV and she sent me a $100 check 10 days later and a thank you note. My guy from the Ford dealer calls me monthly to shoot the bull, his brother is a pilot so this is his in. I know he is just drumming up business but hey, that is is his job.:thumbsup: I have no problem with that and he has sent me business also for boat/trailer needs.

Chris

I've noticed that myself with other businesses... from Banks, Home Depots to KFC takeouts.

Seems there are more career oriented people once you get outside the big urban areas...

The biggest contrast has been between WA State and the SF Bay Area...

 

[RollingsFarms]

yeah, those country dealers I deal with are looking for return business, not volume. they know your name and stuff about you, and more importantly they treat you the SAME way AFTER the sale as they did while you were signing the papers. my GM dealer is like that that i've bought two trucks and a car from. I think my days of messing with those city slickers are over with. I've given them plenty of chances and only gotten the same result each time. They're never going to change and neither am I. I guess I will always be stuck buying from this same dealership that has treated me awesome 3 times in a row. Stinks that I'll always have to drive a GMC or a Chevy, instead of getting to try out a Ford or a Dodge, but it is what it is. I would rather be treated well then buy something different and it be a nightmare the whole time I owned the truck.

Service before and after the sale, honesty, and paying a fair price is WAY more important to me then driving the latest and greatest truck/car.

 

[buck12]

See, its different in the country. I would say 2/3 the sales staff at my local Ford dealer have been there 10-15 years. I know the gal at the Nissan dealer where I got my Titan has been there 8 years now. I get a note from her about every 6 months to keep her in mind if I am shopping or know someone else that is. I sent her a sale about 3 months ago for a SUV and she sent me a $100 check 10 days later and a thank you note. My guy from the Ford dealer calls me monthly to shoot the bull, his brother is a pilot so this is his in. I know he is just drumming up business but hey, that is is his job.:thumbsup: I have no problem with that and he has sent me business also for boat/trailer needs.

Chris

I miss the small town dealers. Our Ford dealer closed several years ago and now I have to go to the city to buy. I have bought two vehicles, neither cheap vehicles by my standard, in less than two years at the same dealership and no one at the dealer has a clue who I am. I didn't buy to make a friend but it would be nice to have someone know who you are when you spent almost $70,000 with them.

 

[Bird]

I miss the small town dealers. Our Ford dealer closed several years ago and now I have to go to the city to buy. I have bought two vehicles, neither cheap vehicles by my standard, in less than two years at the same dealership and no one at the dealer has a clue who I am. I didn't buy to make a friend but it would be nice to have someone know who you are when you spent almost $70,000 with them.

I've only bought one car, used at that, over 2.5 years ago from my local Ford dealer, but the salesman still sends me cards or letters a couple of times a year. But the service writers and cashier in the service department all know me and call me by name.:laughing:

I do let them do all my service and like the people. Of course it doesn't always go as I'd prefer. Our '02 Crown Vic has the adjustable pedals; just push the little rocker switch on the dash and the brake and accelerator pedals go farther away from or come closer to the driver. My wife likes the pedals all the way up closer to her and I like them all the way down. Real neat little feature . . . when it'sｴ working. And it's always worked until this past week. So I took it to the dealer and you have to replace the entire assembly. Expensive, but I want everything to work right on my vehicles, so $517.93 day before yesterday, and then yesterday morning it wasn't working again. They've concluded they just got a new defective part and have to order another one.

 

[JDgreen227]

I've only bought one car, used at that, over 2.5 years ago from my local Ford dealer, but the salesman still sends me cards or letters a couple of times a year. But the service writers and cashier in the service department all know me and call me by name.:laughing:

I do let them do all my service and like the people. Of course it doesn't always go as I'd prefer. Our '02 Crown Vic has the adjustable pedals; just push the little rocker switch on the dash and the brake and accelerator pedals go farther away from or come closer to the driver. My wife likes the pedals all the way up closer to her and I like them all the way down. Real neat little feature . . . when it'sｴ working. And it's always worked until this past week. So I took it to the dealer and you have to replace the entire assembly. Expensive, but I want everything to work right on my vehicles, so $517.93 day before yesterday, and then yesterday morning it wasn't working again. They've concluded they just got a new defective part and have to order another one.

Bird, something that makes me furious about todays newer vehicles is that they have all these fancy and expensive gewgaws and gimcracks that can go wrong, and 98% of the time when they do, it is something even a reasonably good home mechanic doesn't want to do. My '04 Lesabre has the Electronic Stability System, for the past two years it has been giving us a message on the dashboard "service stability system" once in a while. Online research tells me the steering position sensor is failing...well, I can buy a new sensor for about $100 online, and from what I have read it is about a $400 repair at the dealer, parts and labor. Now, exactly what are the chances a conservative, careful driver like me will ever actually NEED the stability system in the first place? I don't drive the car in the winter, and the rest of the year it gets used maybe 3,000 miles at the most. My wife says we should have the sensor replaced as when it acts up it disengages the cruise control....DUH, we use the cruise control maybe 1,000 miles a year at most? what is so hard about NOT using the CC? Sorry for ranting BUT my situation is probably typical, having to spend big bucks on some stupid, pi-----t little part that isn't needed 98% of the time. Automakers put too much gimmickcry in the new cars today. Since the cars are so reliable now otherwise, they load them up with crap so something will go wrong and they can soak you for $100 an hour to fix it....and you didn't really NEED the crap in the first place.

Remember when a simple day/night inside mirror was all you needed....5 bucks to replace. How much do you think one of the auto-dimming, compass/gps enabled Onstar/etc mirrors would cost to replace? DUUUUHHHHH.

 

[Bird]

something that makes me furious about todays newer vehicles is that they have all these fancy and expensive gewgaws and gimcracks

I guess I only partially agree.:laughing: Of course I grew up, learned to drive, worked in my dad's service stations and auto parts store in the day when a car with radio and heater was considered well equipped, especially if they worked.:laughing: I drove a school bus one school year, first in a 1952 International and later in a 1957 International. They had the inside rear view mirror and a mirror on the driver's side; that was all. When I took a busload of kids to the state fair in Dallas, I sure would have liked to have a mirror on the right side.:laughing:

This Crown Vic is the first car I've had with the adjustable pedals. Frankly, I'd rather it didn't if the pedals were just in the middle of the range it has. But I really do like having mirrors on both sides and especially power mirrors. And I like the power windows and power door locks. And I probably use the cruise control more than anyone you've ever met; really like that feature.:laughing:

But with all the stuff on the new vehicles, I don't know that I could learn to operate all that stuff. And I really don't know that I'd ever have any use for most of it. I don't need GPS, satellite radio, etc.

 

[JDgreen227]

I guess I only partially agree.:laughing: Of course I grew up, learned to drive, worked in my dad's service stations and auto parts store in the day when a car with radio and heater was considered well equipped, especially if they worked.:laughing: I drove a school bus one school year, first in a 1952 International and later in a 1957 International. They had the inside rear view mirror and a mirror on the driver's side; that was all. When I took a busload of kids to the state fair in Dallas, I sure would have liked to have a mirror on the right side.:laughing:

This Crown Vic is the first car I've had with the adjustable pedals. Frankly, I'd rather it didn't if the pedals were just in the middle of the range it has. But I really do like having mirrors on both sides and especially power mirrors. And I like the power windows and power door locks. And I probably use the cruise control more than anyone you've ever met; really like that feature.:laughing:

But with all the stuff on the new vehicles, I don't know that I could learn to operate all that stuff. And I really don't know that I'd ever have any use for most of it. I don't need GPS, satellite radio, etc.

Here is an example of a useless, complex frill....when I purchased my Y2K GMC Yukon XL 2500 off the lot, it had one $790 option I could have done without....Autoride. But the rest of the vehicle was what we wanted. Well, the Autoride made a 6000 pound truck with 10 ply tires ride a little better...until the warranty expired.

The "Service Ride Control" has been coming on for about 6 years now, I honestly cannot remember how it rode when it was new, it's a 3/4 ton truck, I don't care how it rides.

Got a copy of the factory service manual from a salesman (Xeroxed) to diagnose and repair the system. THIRTEEN PAGES LONG to diagnose and repair four fancy shock absorbers !!!!

Just another worthless, overpriced gimmick to make you pay $100 an hour to have it fixed. For all I know, there is nothing wrong with the system except the light, do you think the dealer would tell me "oh we can turn the light off....." Yeah. They would tell me I needed an entire new system, this on a 38,000 mile truck. I think sometimes they intentionally gimmick things like the Autoride, Stabilizer systems, your pedals, etc. to go bad after the warranty expires so you have to go to the dealers.