27 September 2009
The Autumn of our Discount Tent
27/09/09 13:03
Fall is definitely here. It's now dark when I get up. There is a slight chill in the air in the mornings. Though we're at that point where you need a jacket in the morning but by noon you don't so you forget it at the office.
I did get pickup truck this week. A very nice Mazda B3000. 3 liter V6, 5 Speed, Extended cab. It's in fabulous condition. It only has 130,000km on it. There's not a speck of rust. The interior, I swear the previous owner must have worn slippers when he was driving. It's immaculate. The most amazing bit is that it's a '96 so I got it for a very reasonable price.
Not that it was easy though. You see I've dreaded dealing with used car salesman since college. The whole time I lived in Minnesota I worked with Vern Eide Honda in Sioux Falls. There was no haggling. We'd make phone call, tell the guy we always worked with what we were looking for and the price we wanted to pay He found the car and had it brought to Minneapolis. We'd inspect it if we liked it we signed the deal, other wise we said take it back. Even the Mini was different. Because it was a specialty car there was no haggling. This is what you want that is the price. Take it or leave it.
My dread of used car salesman goes back to college. I needed a car and ended up getting royally shafted to the extreme. I ended up paying too much for a Datsun B210 with a warped head. They planed the head rather than replacing it so compression was so high that it would ping on anything. The head liner fell down blocking the back window. The car left me stranded several times. It was a miserable experience. But I have put that trauma behind me
They had the truck listed at $9995, an absurd price. Bluebook value was $4500-$5500 depending on condition. I went in promising myself I would pay no more than $5500 or I would walk. They tried every trick in the book. They gave me a list of things they promised to fix, justifying the higher price, essentially getting me to pay ahead for their repair work. It told them I could fix that all of those things myself. They said it was in premium condition, overlooking the things they just said needed to be fixed a minute before. I told them it was still a 13 year old truck and with the list of needed repairs there was no way I'd pay any more than $5500. They said they were losing money. I said "Well if YOU want to back out of the deal, I completely understand." They tried everything but I held my ground. In the end I paid $5500. The only concession I made was I gave them a promise that I would refer the next three people looking for a car to them (Yeah right).
One odd thing. When I took delivery there was a bottle of mustard in the car. Confused, I asked the salesman about it. She said to check the label which read "
Steve Marshall Ford
Steve cuts the mustard every time!
Worst…company…slogan…ever.
So now I have a pickup truck. There are a few things I need to fix. A few lights, I want to check the ball joints, I don't think they're shot but I want to see how close they are. I want to do a flush and fill on the cooling system as a precaution. An oil change for the same reason. Nothing unexpected for a car this age. It'll surely cost far less than the $2500 they had quoted to do it at the dealer. Especially if I do as much as I can myself. It'll be fun.
Some have asked if our move to the island has been good for us. I'll let you decide.
'Nuff said.
Until next week,
Doug and Marsh
I did get pickup truck this week. A very nice Mazda B3000. 3 liter V6, 5 Speed, Extended cab. It's in fabulous condition. It only has 130,000km on it. There's not a speck of rust. The interior, I swear the previous owner must have worn slippers when he was driving. It's immaculate. The most amazing bit is that it's a '96 so I got it for a very reasonable price.
Not that it was easy though. You see I've dreaded dealing with used car salesman since college. The whole time I lived in Minnesota I worked with Vern Eide Honda in Sioux Falls. There was no haggling. We'd make phone call, tell the guy we always worked with what we were looking for and the price we wanted to pay He found the car and had it brought to Minneapolis. We'd inspect it if we liked it we signed the deal, other wise we said take it back. Even the Mini was different. Because it was a specialty car there was no haggling. This is what you want that is the price. Take it or leave it.
My dread of used car salesman goes back to college. I needed a car and ended up getting royally shafted to the extreme. I ended up paying too much for a Datsun B210 with a warped head. They planed the head rather than replacing it so compression was so high that it would ping on anything. The head liner fell down blocking the back window. The car left me stranded several times. It was a miserable experience. But I have put that trauma behind me
They had the truck listed at $9995, an absurd price. Bluebook value was $4500-$5500 depending on condition. I went in promising myself I would pay no more than $5500 or I would walk. They tried every trick in the book. They gave me a list of things they promised to fix, justifying the higher price, essentially getting me to pay ahead for their repair work. It told them I could fix that all of those things myself. They said it was in premium condition, overlooking the things they just said needed to be fixed a minute before. I told them it was still a 13 year old truck and with the list of needed repairs there was no way I'd pay any more than $5500. They said they were losing money. I said "Well if YOU want to back out of the deal, I completely understand." They tried everything but I held my ground. In the end I paid $5500. The only concession I made was I gave them a promise that I would refer the next three people looking for a car to them (Yeah right).
One odd thing. When I took delivery there was a bottle of mustard in the car. Confused, I asked the salesman about it. She said to check the label which read "
Steve Marshall Ford
Steve cuts the mustard every time!
Worst…company…slogan…ever.
So now I have a pickup truck. There are a few things I need to fix. A few lights, I want to check the ball joints, I don't think they're shot but I want to see how close they are. I want to do a flush and fill on the cooling system as a precaution. An oil change for the same reason. Nothing unexpected for a car this age. It'll surely cost far less than the $2500 they had quoted to do it at the dealer. Especially if I do as much as I can myself. It'll be fun.
Some have asked if our move to the island has been good for us. I'll let you decide.
'Nuff said.
Until next week,
Doug and Marsh