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Gotta keep the mileage low, because there can be only one Highlander.
Called the sales manager as we were pulling out of the parking lot to tell him they lost a sale & future business (we ended up buying a Ford Flex anyway). Considering they had at least 40 Highlanders on the lot, one being gone for an hour wasn't likely to cost them a sale.
Sucks that dealers can ruin the car for you in this way...so sad! I get that they don't want some 20-year old hooligan just wanting to joy ride and potentially crash brand new sports cars.....but wish dealers would let up this kind of stuff. Another reason to get gently/enthusiast-owned used examples...
Sucks that dealers can ruin the car for you in this way...so sad! I get that they don't want some 20-year old hooligan just wanting to joy ride and potentially crash brand new sports cars.....but wish dealers would let up this kind of stuff. Another reason to get gently/enthusiast-owned used examples...
It worked out for us in the end. The Flex worked out a lot better for my wife's business than the Highlander ever could have.
Didn't necessarily ruin the Highlander for us, just that particular dealer. Just boggled my mind that they wouldn't allow for a slightly extended test drive. I'm not inclined to drop $40k on something I drove around the block & informed the sales mgr of such.
It worked out for us in the end. The Flex worked out a lot better for my wife's business than the Highlander ever could have.
Didn't necessarily ruin the Highlander for us, just that particular dealer. Just boggled my mind that they wouldn't allow for a slightly extended test drive. I'm not inclined to drop $40k on something I drove around the block & informed the sales mgr of such.
Another one of my pet peeves is when the salesman comes in the car with you for the test drive, and especially when it's a few of you testing the car. Like just let me fricken take it and see what it's like, I don't need you to tell me about shit that I already read about before coming in, for the whole entire drive. I understand why they would want to come along for a test drive for something high horsepower or new, but I'm talking about normal mid size used family crossovers for example. I remember once my aunt was test driving a lexus GX and went with her husband and 3 kids to test drive it and the idiot salesman tried coming along, granted it's 7 passenger, just use common sense and let them go alone. They aren't going to rip it in a car full of kids.
^ Yep, it was me, wife & our 2 girls (in carseats). Same when we tested the Flex, salesman climbed into the 3rd row
With my truck, the salesman rode on the test drive, but then let me take it for 2 days while the paperwork was being worked out.
^ Yep, it was me, wife & our 2 girls (in carseats). Same when we tested the Flex, salesman climbed into the 3rd row
With my truck, the salesman rode on the test drive, but then let me take it for 2 days while the paperwork was being worked out.
See it's shit like this that pisses me off and makes me despise the salesman. Like use your common sense and let people go alone (or ask them if they want to). The salesman must have felt like a mega idiot in the third row that whole drive. I wonder though if it is dealer policy to go on test drives, out of the 10+ times I have taken dealer cars on tests drives about half the time the salesman would not join.
See it's shit like this that pisses me off and makes me despise the salesman. Like use your common sense and let people go alone (or ask them if they want to). The salesman must have felt like a mega idiot in the third row that whole drive. I wonder though if it is dealer policy to go on test drives, out of the 10+ times I have taken dealer cars on tests drives about half the time the salesman would not join.
I don't mind if I'm by myself testing a car, because I want the sales pitch and the good salesmen actually know where to take the car to get the most out of it, but when I'm showing my wife my preferences, I don't need him in the back just echoing everything I say.
See it's shit like this that pisses me off and makes me despise the salesman. Like use your common sense and let people go alone (or ask them if they want to). The salesman must have felt like a mega idiot in the third row that whole drive. I wonder though if it is dealer policy to go on test drives, out of the 10+ times I have taken dealer cars on tests drives about half the time the salesman would not join.
Originally Posted by kurtatx
I don't mind if I'm by myself testing a car, because I want the sales pitch and the good salesmen actually know where to take the car to get the most out of it, but when I'm showing my wife my preferences, I don't need him in the back just echoing everything I say.
I didn't mind it when I was solo, but with the wife & kids, and moreso on a used car, you feel less inclined to discuss the vehicle with him there.
I didn't mind it when I was solo, but with the wife & kids, and moreso on a used car, you feel less inclined to discuss the vehicle with him there.
Right. For me, it's like "Show me what this thing can do."
These dealerships are in northwest Austin not far from where it gets hilly. Audi had me go with a specialist out to the hill country and just WORK that quattro AWD. Acura had me do similar. BMW was like "go have fun". Lexus was like "here, let's go on the highway".
Another one of my pet peeves is when the salesman comes in the car with you for the test drive, and especially when it's a few of you testing the car. Like just let me fricken take it and see what it's like, I don't need you to tell me about shit that I already read about before coming in, for the whole entire drive. I understand why they would want to come along for a test drive for something high horsepower or new, but I'm talking about normal mid size used family crossovers for example. I remember once my aunt was test driving a lexus GX and went with her husband and 3 kids to test drive it and the idiot salesman tried coming along, granted it's 7 passenger, just use common sense and let them go alone. They aren't going to rip it in a car full of kids.
Eh, this is easy to say when you've done your research or are an enthusiast.
I'm going to tell you why we don't do this. First off, 4 out of 5 times when we let a client have a car for a day or more, it comes back either A) with a dirty interior/trash, B) excess mileage, or C) no gas. Sometimes a combination. We have seen clients who treat our cars with absolutely no respect; having kids doesn't mean shit, if anything, the probability of getting the car back dirty increases. Due so, we see no reason to let ol' Joe take a car home for a couple hours & put mileage/wear on the vehicle. We had a brand new IS that came back that looked like it had been used to transport gravel in the back seat, tree sap all over the roof, & 2 curbed rims; our GM saw the car and was ready to cancel anymore BVAs.
Second, just because you know everything doesn't mean everyone does. Sales people go along to answer questions, explain features that have to be experienced on the road, & of course, to encourage the sale.
The basic explanation is that we don't allow test drives without supervision to protect our property. There are people out there who do not give 2 fucks b/c it's not their car & there's no one around to tell them no.
Right. For me, it's like "Show me what this thing can do."
These dealerships are in northwest Austin not far from where it gets hilly. Audi had me go with a specialist out to the hill country and just WORK that quattro AWD. Acura had me do similar. BMW was like "go have fun". Lexus was like "here, let's go on the highway".
I lived in Austin when the NC Miata came out. Was just browsing at Roger Beasley & a salesman pretty much walked up with keys & said 'let's go for a drive'. A couple turns in & he put me on FM 2222 @ MoPac fun times were had between MoPac & 360.
I lived in Austin when the NC Miata came out. Was just browsing at Roger Beasley & a salesman pretty much walked up with keys & said 'let's go for a drive'. A couple turns in & he put me on FM 2222 @ MoPac fun times were had between MoPac & 360.
That's pretty much exactly what Audi North Austin did, as well.
Eh, this is easy to say when you've done your research or are an enthusiast.
I'm going to tell you why we don't do this. First off, 4 out of 5 times when we let a client have a car for a day or more, it comes back either A) with a dirty interior/trash, B) excess mileage, or C) no gas. Sometimes a combination. We have seen clients who treat our cars with absolutely no respect; having kids doesn't mean shit, if anything, the probability of getting the car back dirty increases. Due so, we see no reason to let ol' Joe take a car home for a couple hours & put mileage/wear on the vehicle. We had a brand new IS that came back that looked like it had been used to transport gravel in the back seat, tree sap all over the roof, & 2 curbed rims; our GM saw the car and was ready to cancel anymore BVAs.
Second, just because you know everything doesn't mean everyone does. Sales people go along to answer questions, explain features that have to be experienced on the road, & of course, to encourage the sale.
The basic explanation is that we don't allow test drives without supervision to protect our property. There are people out there who do not give 2 fucks b/c it's not their car & there's no one around to tell them no.
I can respect your point of view, I guess I can't/don't see it like that because I would never ever return a vehicle in any less condition than I took it. The longest I have ever test driven a car was maybe 30 minutes, never longer. I have a respect for cars as more than just machines to be honest with you. But I can understand your point of view, the majority of car buyers are disgraceful sheeple and I can see why you would not want to let them go alone. When I was speaking, I was talking about my case specifically, not that I feel it should be the case in general. I like going alone because it gives me a chance to really try the car out without having someone tell me what to do the whole time, however I can see why someone who has never learned about the car might feel otherwise.
Also not all salesman are the same, some will let you get comfortable and do your thing. Others are pushy and want you to go on a predetermined road course thing and expect you back and ready to sign 10 minutes later. It is the latter that bother me the most.
For the second straight year, owners of vehicles at least 3 years old are reporting more problems with their cars, trucks and SUVs.
Their biggest complaint? In-vehicle connectivity and voice recognition systems misinterpreting their commands.
J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study found a slight increase in the number of problems reported by more than 35,000 owners of 2014 models surveyed about their vehicles after three years of ownership. They reported an average 156 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 152 last year.
Issues with connectivity were drivers' biggest pain point for the third straight year, speaking to the growing complexity of the technology being built into vehicles. Consumers who are used to the consistently high performance of their phones and tablets are often left wondering why their car fails to regularly connect.
But it wasn't all bad news. The 10 best-selling 2014 models were reported to have far fewer problems than the industry average, including the Ford F-150 and the Toyota Camry. Those vehicles were the best-selling truck and car, respectively, in 2014.
"The good news is that consumers don't have to spend a lot of money to get a very dependable vehicle," said Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power.
Still, the most dependable cars come at a higher price.
Owners of 2014 Lexus and Porsche models reported the fewest problems among the 31 brands ranked, according to J.D. Power. Drivers of these cars reported 110 problems per 100 vehicles, well below the industry average of 156 problems. This is the sixth straight year Lexus has been ranked as the most dependable brand by J.D. Power.
The other brands rounding out the top five were Toyota, Buick and Mercedes-Benz.
By comparison, J.D. Power said Fiat owners reported the most issues with their 2014 models, citing almost three times as many problems as the most dependable vehicles.
"The company values all feedback from our customers and third-party evaluators, including J.D. Power, as it helps guide our product improvements," Fiat Chrysler said in a statement.
The automaker noted that several of its other brands have performed well in J.D. Power surveys, including Ram, Dodge and Jeep.
"In J.D. Power's 2016 U.S. Initial Quality Study — their most recent initial quality study — Chrysler and Jeep were the most improved brands in the study, with each improving their initial quality scores by 20 percent from 2015," the statement said.
The J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study is one of the most widely followed reports in the auto industry, primarily because it includes comments from so many vehicle owners about what they are experiencing with their vehicles day in and day out.
"We find buyers are increasingly avoiding models with poor reputations for dependability, so manufacturers can't afford to let quality slip, particularly on their best-sellers," Sargent said.
I think they should separate the "First World issues" from the safety and reliability related issues.
It's kinda misleading when everything is being considered in that report.
Not to mention I feel something is going on with Porsche being number 2 on that list. Porsche derives a lot of their stuff from
the VAG (especially for the cayenne and macan) so I find it REALLY hard to beleive they are that dpendable. There is other reasons as to why it is coming up on top. I'm willing to bet it has to do with less of them on the road and therefore the issues seem less, or their owners want to look good and therefore will not admit they bought a turd.
I can respect your point of view, I guess I can't/don't see it like that because I would never ever return a vehicle in any less condition than I took it. The longest I have ever test driven a car was maybe 30 minutes, never longer. I have a respect for cars as more than just machines to be honest with you. But I can understand your point of view, the majority of car buyers are disgraceful sheeple and I can see why you would not want to let them go alone. When I was speaking, I was talking about my case specifically, not that I feel it should be the case in general. I like going alone because it gives me a chance to really try the car out without having someone tell me what to do the whole time, however I can see why someone who has never learned about the car might feel otherwise.
Also not all salesman are the same, some will let you get comfortable and do your thing. Others are pushy and want you to go on a predetermined road course thing and expect you back and ready to sign 10 minutes later. It is the latter that bother me the most.
If there were more people like you, I'm sure we'd have no problem letting you have the car. It's just an impossible task to know who was raised to respect others' property and who wasn't, sadly.
Our sales folks are generally more relaxed and are not trained to be high-pressure types. If you don't want the car, you don't want the car. The company keeps a close eye on client reviews to build upon, and a negative one describing pushy sales people won't sit well.
If there were more people like you, I'm sure we'd have no problem letting you have the car. It's just an impossible task to know who was raised to respect others' property and who wasn't, sadly.
Our sales folks are generally more relaxed and are not trained to be high-pressure types. If you don't want the car, you don't want the car. The company keeps a close eye on client reviews to build upon, and a negative one describing pushy sales people won't sit well.
Thank you and absolutely it is all about respecting other people's property. Some people are ridiculous honestly and lack any form of self-awareness or accountability.
I remember once test driving a car with a relative once (like 8 years ago, wish I was as old/confident as I am now) and the guy literally kept on trying over and over and over to get them to sign over an offer and she kept saying she has to talk to her husband who works out of the town (he legitimately does) and he kept on pushing and pushing. It was ridiculous. Literally 30+ mins of him trying to make her sign an offer on a car she wasn't sure about and she couldn't even make the decision alone.
Not to mention I feel something is going on with Porsche being number 2 on that list. Porsche derives a lot of their stuff from
the VAG (especially for the cayenne and macan) so I find it REALLY hard to beleive they are that dpendable. There is other reasons as to why it is coming up on top. I'm willing to bet it has to do with less of them on the road and therefore the issues seem less, or their owners want to look good and therefore will not admit they bought a turd.
Porsche always scores high on those lists. Always. I have a feeling there isn't much that goes into a VW that finds its way into a Porsche.
anyone else here has a dashcam? Good idea? Regret it? Meh?
I don't drive all that much, but around here in downtown Vancouver there are a lot of asshat drivers, especially the cabbies... There's also a lot of parallel parking, one time (when I was in my old car), I was parked, just talking on the phone and this lady, who apparently sucked at parallel parking, totally backed into my car, luckily, it only just bent the front plate... but now I have a new car (well... new "used" car), and I kinda want one that also records during parking.
Porsche always scores high on those lists. Always. I have a feeling there isn't much that goes into a VW that finds its way into a Porsche.
I don't know about that man, I feel like something else is going on here that makes the numbers look different than they are. The cayenne (porsches best seller, and likely contributing to 50% of their sales if not more) shares an enormous amount of parts with the touareg. Arguably though the newest Touareg (2011+) did a MASSIVE overhaul and replaced a shit ton of very finicky crap with more reliable stuff and thus far has proven to be rock solid compared to the 2004-2010 models. But the Touareg sells in miniscule numbers so the rest of the VW line pulls the brand reliability down. So maybe they really are doing something about reliability in porsche.
Yeah I have a few friends that have cams. One just plugs into the cig lighter so it only works while the car is on. I have another that has a YouTube channel for all the asshat drivers.
Dash cam in Asia, especially Taiwan is very very common and there are a lot of different types you can choose from.
I really like the Broadway Mirror with a HD monitor built in that i saw when i was visiting a few weeks ago. Does not take up extra space and can be completely hidden if not turned on.
Thank you and absolutely it is all about respecting other people's property. Some people are ridiculous honestly and lack any form of self-awareness or accountability.
I remember once test driving a car with a relative once (like 8 years ago, wish I was as old/confident as I am now) and the guy literally kept on trying over and over and over to get them to sign over an offer and she kept saying she has to talk to her husband who works out of the town (he legitimately does) and he kept on pushing and pushing. It was ridiculous. Literally 30+ mins of him trying to make her sign an offer on a car she wasn't sure about and she couldn't even make the decision alone.
Been in a similar situation when I was looking at a 5.0.
Dealer took my car to appraise it whilst I went on the test drive. Came back, wasn't sure on the car, and they held my keys hostage from me, asking me, "Well, what if we do this?" I had to threaten to call the police after the 4th time asking for my keys. My mother went through the same ordeal back in the late 80's with a Supra & my dad threatened the same thing. I couldn't believe anyone would have the balls to try that kind of strong arm tactic.
Been in a similar situation when I was looking at a 5.0.
Dealer took my car to appraise it whilst I went on the test drive. Came back, wasn't sure on the car, and they held my keys hostage from me, asking me, "Well, what if we do this?" I had to threaten to call the police after the 4th time asking for my keys. My mother went through the same ordeal back in the late 80's with a Supra & my dad threatened the same thing. I couldn't believe anyone would have the balls to try that kind of strong arm tactic.
It's honestly ridiculous. That time I was much younger and WAY more reserved. Had that happened now, I would have told him to STFU and left. Like come on, if people are spending thousands on a car, they need time to think about it. No amount of pushing and forcing is going to make them buy a car they don't like.
Thank you and absolutely it is all about respecting other people's property. Some people are ridiculous honestly and lack any form of self-awareness or accountability.
I remember once test driving a car with a relative once (like 8 years ago, wish I was as old/confident as I am now) and the guy literally kept on trying over and over and over to get them to sign over an offer and she kept saying she has to talk to her husband who works out of the town (he legitimately does) and he kept on pushing and pushing. It was ridiculous. Literally 30+ mins of him trying to make her sign an offer on a car she wasn't sure about and she couldn't even make the decision alone.
Originally Posted by Rick_TL-S
Been in a similar situation when I was looking at a 5.0.
Dealer took my car to appraise it whilst I went on the test drive. Came back, wasn't sure on the car, and they held my keys hostage from me, asking me, "Well, what if we do this?" I had to threaten to call the police after the 4th time asking for my keys. My mother went through the same ordeal back in the late 80's with a Supra & my dad threatened the same thing. I couldn't believe anyone would have the balls to try that kind of strong arm tactic.
And both dealers would immediately lose a sale from me. Benefit of being in a huge metropolitan area. Odds are there aren't any solo-represented manufacturers in town.
Made the local and Porsche community news here in KC. A well known and respected Porsche shop here in KC just totaled a 2016 GT3 RS. Apparently owner of the shop was witnessed doing hard launches without TC in downtown area and the inevitable happened.
Made the local and Porsche community news here in KC. A well known and respected Porsche shop here in KC just totaled a 2016 GT3 RS. Apparently owner of the shop was witnessed doing hard launches without TC in downtown area and the inevitable happened.
Seeing that makes me realize I need to buy a dash cam for my 'Vette now when it goes into service for its recall.
Yup. From reading that rennlist thread....and reddit, it seems that it's probably not uncommon for these shops to stretch the legs of a newly modded car (eh ok for some testing purposes I suppose) but people are saying that this occurs FAR more common than most realize and that most of the time nothing crazy happens but when it does......it's a big problem.
There are stories of Rennlist posters mentioning their previous higher performance cars (GT500, GTO, etc.) getting abused by shops/techs...even dealer techs as well.
Originally Posted by TylerT
Anddddd this is how you kill your own shop.
Yup. The one type of person you don't want to piss off is one that can afford 250k cars....you bet he will must a high powered legal to take that shop to the cleaners. Lot of people are saying that depends on how financially secure the shop is....but essentially the shop is likely to be pretty much done.
going up for sale at local dealer soon..... anyone want it? Honestly price is lower than I would have expected. Shit, there are US-spec '98 Supras going for more.
1998 Skyline GT-R
Fully redone
with title
$69,800
Details -
Gts-t with full GT-R conversion.
Rb 26 motor
130k km on chassis
Fresh rebuilt motor 10k km with adjustable cam gears.
Full GTR Body kit.
7675 precision turbo
12psi boost 560hp
Tuned by profunction on DTA Fast
Custom turbo manifold
4 inch exhaust
3 inch intercooler piping
Complete fuel system with 2000cc injectors and walbro 450 in-tank for e85
Custom oil catch can 12-an
Coilover suspension
18 inch rims.
LEGAL IN USA
Title in hand
I didn't mind it when I was solo, but with the wife & kids, and moreso on a used car, you feel less inclined to discuss the vehicle with him there. 
fun times were had between MoPac & 360.
