I'm a car salesmen, Go ahead and ask me anything

[MoneyGuy]

I want to thank Tim for his advice. My daughter bought the car on the weekend and we saved a bit due to the advice. Thanks, tim.

[TimSJ]

Glad to help.. Hope she enjoys the car

[MoneyGuy]

We turned down the extended warranty. She hasn't picked up the car yet (Friday) so could probably still add it if she changes her mind. Is the extended warranty a good purchase on a new car? I tell my clients generally not to accept the EW on electronics, just use a gold or platinum card instead to get an extra year, but what about a new car? It was a few hundred dollars for an extra two years and 20K. Trying to remember here but I think the Mazda 3 currently has 80K or 3 yrs on the powertrain and 100K or 5 yrs on other stuff.

She's have it undercoated off-market soon after she takes the car.

Odd thing: Her insurance company says the car will be $200 cheaper to insure if she keeps the insurance on her beater and insures both cars. IOW, her brand-new Mazda will cost $1900 to insure by itself, but if she also insures the beater it will cost $1700. I'm surprised.

[bigtmac19]

Any suggestions on a cheap car for a 19 year old male driver. He basically wants something cheap, as the insurance he will pay will probably be worth more than the car.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by fotze

they told her it was because the car is 4 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive brakes are metal to metal and their is no lubricant for those. I am pretty sure the Mazda5 is not a 4 wheel drive car. I am ######ed when it comes to cars but it sounds like they are lying.

Nice dealership...

How many km's on the brakes? Squeal usually means the wear indicators are kicking in.

[itcrossedtheline]

Originally Posted by fotze

Not so much a car salesman type question. I have a mazda5 and the breaks squeal when using them, particularily when backing. The first time the dealership repair area said it was because the breaks are not used enough (this is a 2 year old car), today they told her it was because the car is 4 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive brakes are metal to metal and their is no lubricant for those. I am pretty sure the Mazda5 is not a 4 wheel drive car. I am ######ed when it comes to cars but it sounds like they are lying.

Had the same problem on My mazda 3, talked to the dealership, part of the problem was the same thing they told you, brakes not being used enough, also they recommended that i warm up the car for a few more minutes. This problem really just happened in the winter.

[TimSJ]

generally brake squeal is caused by a vibration in the pad. Sometimes a paste can be applied to the back of the pads or the retaining clips to stop the vibration.

[shane_c]

2 questions for you Tim.

1) why are some dealers interest rates much higher than others. For instance.... 5 yr at GM is around 1.5%. 5 yr at Jeep is 7%.

2) do dealers care about my debt ratio or do they just want to see my pay stub and see that I have good credit? The reason I ask is that since becoming a home owner I have been declined for anything I've applied for through the bank, no matter how minimal, despite being with them for all 30 years of my life, having about 50,000 equity in the house and having top notch credit. They just come back and say that even though I only pay 1/2 the mortgage that technically I'm responsible for all of it and that puts me over my debt ratio. When we were renting, they'd basically give me more than I asked for. Now they'll give me nothing. So since I'm looking to get a new car in the spring I'm wondering what they care about financially.

[fredr123]

Quick question Tim: What's the ballpark resale value of a well-maintained 93 Ford Thunderbird?

[shane_c]

bump

[TimSJ]

sorry shane been busy...

The basic rates are around 8.5 right now for a car loan.. What the manufacturers do is buy the rate down. say the car is a $20k car the yearly interst would be approx $1700 per year or $8500 for a 5 year term. Now if the manufacturer wants to offer a 2.5% rate they would pay the diff between the 8.5% and the 2.5% or 6% approx $6000.. That is basically how they do it.

not sure on the second part of your question.. I would say that you should not have too much of a problem getting one of the captives (GMAC, ford Credit, Toyota Financial, et all) to take your business. They need the car sales.

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by fredr123

Quick question Tim: What's the ballpark resale value of a well-maintained 93 Ford Thunderbird?

Too old to really put a value on... It is worth whatever someone will pay for it. Sorry not much help on that one.. but once a car gets over 10 years old it is a very limited market and it really depends on the individual car

[return to the red]

here is a question for you. When A dealership says an employee gets the vehicle at "dealership cost" are you really getting the vehicle at their cost?

[TimSJ]

i would say yes.. I know that when i buy a car from here i am buying at cost.. but then again i know what the costs are.. Most places prob sell to employees at invoice plus any rebates and the holdback as a profit..

[Aeneas]

Hey Tim
This is probably too late, as I just left my wife at the dealership and she's going to buy the car today, but...
She wanted to trade in the old car we have. It is a 1993 Mercury Topaz, the "sporty" version, with 157,000 km, 6 cylinder.
I read your response to the '93 Thunderbird, but really we expected a little more. We did not want the hassle of trying to sell it ourselves. Two days ago the salesman told us $500. Today his manager changed it to $300.
She's pretty excited about her new car, so no big deal I suppose. Is that really all it's worth? It runs fine.

I also read your comments on all the extras...these guys told us the etching was mandatory on every vehicle, $299 I think it was.

Thanks in advance
Aeneas

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

I also read your comments on all the extras...these guys told us the etching was mandatory on every vehicle, $299 I think it was.

That most certainly is just a line they're feeding you. A dealer tried that on an Expedition we had bought, they had already etched the vehicle when I went to pick it up. I stood my ground and said no. And I didn't pay for it.

[chummer]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

these guys told us the etching was mandatory on every vehicle, $299 I think it was.

No kidding....mandatory??Just say no to all that extra stuff...etching,rustproofing,etc.

What dealer said that?I'll make sure they never get my business.

[Got Miikka?]

Jerry Lundegaard: See, they install that TruCoat at the factory... but I'll talk to my boss.

In the boss' office, boss is eating and watching hockey on TV.

Jerry Lundegaard: You goin' to the Gophers on Sunday?
Boss: You betcha.
Jerry: You wouldn't happen to have an extra ticket?
Boss: You kiddin'??!

Back in Jerry's office...

Jerry: Well. He ain't never done this before... but, seein as it's special circumstances and all, he said I could knock a hundred dollars off that TruCoat.

[TimSJ]

you can still say no.. to the etching.. you don't have to buy anything you don't want.. $37 i really think that is all it costs us.. offer to pay them that... but you didn't hear that from me.. lol.

as for the topaz.. $300 $500 that is really all it is worth.. they are just telling you that numebr to tell you something.. they are going to book the car at $50 and take whatever they can get a wholesales or a junkyard to pay for it.honestly i wouldn't even take it on trade... i would say to my custmoer you can leave it here and i will get rid of it for you but that is about it.. sorry..

[Aeneas]

Thanks everyone for your responses.
My wife had him running to his bosses office at least 15 times. We were there forever. The only thing we fell for was the etching, rats. I knew I should have asked CP before finalizing.
Got Mikka: that is totally what came to mind when he kept going to his managers office. The wife and I were speculating what they were really talking about.
Chummer: pm'd you with the name, didn't feel like bad mouthing them, it was likely my naivety to blame. Do what you will with it.
Ironhorse: maybe I'll try that tact on Wednesday, we are picking up the car then to save that 1% on GST.
Tim: thanks again. I suppose when you own something for a while you can tend to over estimate it's value. I'll see if I can get out of the etching. He had explained it to my wife when she visited by herself apparently. He glossed over it pretty quickly when he laid it all out today.

Me: What's this etching?
Him: (to my wife) That's the thing I explained to you yesterday, remember?
Wife: Do we have to pay that?
Him: Yes, all our vehicles have to have it. I explained that to you yesterday.

With all the details of purchase I was looking at, I just let it go because he'd talked to my wife. Guess that's the point, slip it in when my brain was full!

Now is a really bad time, but she is getting a Caliber, the top end one. Any thoughts or feedback on that unit? I like the way it looks. Drived nice. Wife loves it.