MoT's WDF

ManOnTime wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:44 pm Here's my complaint of the day:

My FIL is not a luddite, but leaves online interactions to those more savvy in doing them. He needs to buy a new car and asked me to research a best price for him.

I've contacted ten dealers, explained that it's a cash purchase (well not cash, he'll write a check obviously) and inquired about best price and potential discounts, etc.

Three have gotten back to me, and only one has quoted a price. Who knew buying a car would be so difficult?

cel4145 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 5:16 pm

ManOnTime wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:44 pm Here's my complaint of the day:

My FIL is not a luddite, but leaves online interactions to those more savvy in doing them. He needs to buy a new car and asked me to research a best price for him.

I've contacted ten dealers, explained that it's a cash purchase (well not cash, he'll write a check obviously) and inquired about best price and potential discounts, etc.

Three have gotten back to me, and only one has quoted a price. Who knew buying a car would be so difficult?

Some of the dealers are definitely a pain. I was shopping for a slightly used car (~10,000 miles) last June. Went to one dealership a couple of times and test drove a couple of cars. The 3rd time I went to see about a car that I asked about the first time (they didn't have it ready to show the first two times), and it was still within the same week. I asked for a price on the car I had been interested in from the very beginning. I was paying cash, so financing did not enter into the deal. The dealer made me wait 20 minutes while they wrote up the offer, and they gave the same price that I could find on their website. I did NOT go back to that dealer again, and I told the salesman as I left that I really appreciated them wasting my time by not being willing to show a good faith effort to deal.

ManOnTime wrote:Here's my complaint of the day:

My FIL is not a luddite, but leaves online interactions to those more savvy in doing them. He needs to buy a new car and asked me to research a best price for him.

I've contacted ten dealers, explained that it's a cash purchase (well not cash, he'll write a check obviously) and inquired about best price and potential discounts, etc.

Three have gotten back to me, and only one has quoted a price. Who knew buying a car would be so difficult?

larand wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:29 pm

ManOnTime wrote:Here's my complaint of the day:

My FIL is not a luddite, but leaves online interactions to those more savvy in doing them. He needs to buy a new car and asked me to research a best price for him.

I've contacted ten dealers, explained that it's a cash purchase (well not cash, he'll write a check obviously) and inquired about best price and potential discounts, etc.

Three have gotten back to me, and only one has quoted a price. Who knew buying a car would be so difficult?

Dealers generally suck. If you've identified the model your FIL is interested in, use an auto broker. No hassle, no BS, just sign the papers, write the check and drive away.

ManOnTime wrote:

larand wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:29 pm

ManOnTime wrote:Here's my complaint of the day:

My FIL is not a luddite, but leaves online interactions to those more savvy in doing them. He needs to buy a new car and asked me to research a best price for him.

I've contacted ten dealers, explained that it's a cash purchase (well not cash, he'll write a check obviously) and inquired about best price and potential discounts, etc.

Three have gotten back to me, and only one has quoted a price. Who knew buying a car would be so difficult?

Dealers generally suck. If you've identified the model your FIL is interested in, use an auto broker. No hassle, no BS, just sign the papers, write the check and drive away.

My FIL is notoriously frugal. There is no way he'd pay someone to do something he can get me to do for free. I'm picturing the dust rising from his checkbook when he cracks it open to pay for the car. [emoji38]

larand wrote: See, that's the thing. Brokers save you money, because they know the market and the business and negotiate the best price, most likely quite a bit better than you can do yourself. It always amazes me that people think they're going to stick it to the dealer when they buy a car; the reality is that the dealer does this every day and the average consumer does it every five years or so. Guess who usually comes out ahead?

larand wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:30 pm

ManOnTime wrote:

larand wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:29 pm Dealers generally suck. If you've identified the model your FIL is interested in, use an auto broker. No hassle, no BS, just sign the papers, write the check and drive away.

My FIL is notoriously frugal. There is no way he'd pay someone to do something he can get me to do for free. I'm picturing the dust rising from his checkbook when he cracks it open to pay for the car. [emoji38]

See, that's the thing. Brokers save you money, because they know the market and the business and negotiate the best price, most likely quite a bit better than you can do yourself. It always amazes me that people think they're going to stick it to the dealer when they buy a car; the reality is that the dealer does this every day and the average consumer does it every five years or so. Guess who usually comes out ahead?

I’ve been trying for several months to buy a Chevy Truck, for a variety of functional and recreational purposes.

It turns out you can’t do that. Yes, I was surprised too.

To be fair, I do see people buying Chevy trucks all the time, but I call them victims, not customers. That’s different than what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to identify the truck I want, then buy it, without being a victim. I’m aiming for more of a “customer” situation.

...

cel4145 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:52 am Complaint: People who put up blurry watch photos in for sale ads. I don't know if they don't know how to sell watches. Or if they are purposely trying to obscure the watches cosmetic condition. Either way, marks them as risky.

The Sultan of SoWhat wrote: ↑Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:49 pm What really burns me is that this Orient "Sun & Moon" is a lady's watch (@ 35mm). Its dial is nicely balanced, unlike the men's models.