[Mr. Luddite]

On 5/13/2017 9:15 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 13 May 2017 08:03:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/13/2017 7:48 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 5/12/17 8:45 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/12/2017 6:18 PM, True North wrote:
Funny you say that. One Site said the Quest was manufactured from
around 2008? Until 2016.
That seemed odd to me but maybe Mrs E got a good deal on a leftover
2016 model.
I'm sure Richard knows the story.

BTW..Toyota sent me a form letter today saying how special I am owning
a 2013 Highlander and living in this geographic area. Due to high
demand for my model they have a special promotions on to enable be to
upgrade to a 2017 model.
Aren't those car salesmen thoughtful.


It is a 2016 model. Had 3K miles on it as a dealer "demo" but is
warranted and titled as "new". Peppy little sucker though and quiet.
All that matters is that "she" likes it.

Don't know if they still make them or not.

I got a similar letter about the Nissan Altima I bought just about a
year ago. "Due to a shortage of clean, previously owned autos we can
offer you 125% of the current market value of your 2016 Nissan Altima
towards the purchase of any new Nissan product.

Geeze. Gimme a chance to put a few miles on it first, will ya?


My wife got an email earlier this year from Toyota, offering her a
fantastic trade-in on her 2016 Toyota Camry, which had a grand total of
7,100 miles on it (which the dealer knew). So we went over to the
dealership and voila!...left with a spanking new 2017 Camry and a step
up in model and trim, too. I still have no idea how this happened, but
the cost to her to do this was almost nothing.


Funny thing is that for me I've pretty much lost interest in cars in
general. As long as it runs well and is comfortable to drive I really
don't care what it is. The days of styling differences and even
performance differences are long over. The styling of cars today is
determined by wind tunnel testing to optimize gas mileage ratings. As a
result, the Toyotas, Nissans, Fords, Chevys, Hondas, etc., all look the
same from 20 feet away. No question the engines have improved
enormously. My brain is still stuck in the 60's and 70's when a car
approaching 100k miles was ready for the junkyard. Today, it's
considered "low mileage". My younger son just replaced a Saturn (one
that I had for a while) with another Saturn called a "Vue". The Saturn
he replaced it with had 198K miles on it and still ran fine, other than
a small oil leak. The doors and side panels of Saturns are plastic, so
there is no rust whatsoever on it.


===

We once rented a Saturn Vue for a month and I thought it was a great
little car. It had the fit, finish and feel of a good Japanese car.
I really don't understand why GM dropped it other than their usual
wrong headed decision making.


My son really likes his.

I just drove Mrs.E.'s Quest for the first time this morning. Had to
bring it back to the dealership for an inspection sticker. I was very
impressed with it. Rides nice, plenty of pep and handles well. The
seating options are really clever. I may remove the seat directly
behind the driver (they are sorta like captain's chairs) so she can
easily load groceries on the floor via the sliding door. It will also
provide easy access to the third seating area in the back. Not bad.

[Tim]

8:56
On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:29:38 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:
- show quoted text -
===

Those things last forever with a little TLC.
- show quoted text -
....

Oh yes, Wayne. 236,000 out of my 1995 Lincoln town car till gobs of wired stuff went bad. I like the idea of sitting on a living room couch gliding smoothly down the road like sliding on oil. 25mpg highway isn't bad either...

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/m..._oem_1_500.jpg

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 13 May 2017 08:22:50 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:



I didn't think about it but I suspect you are right about these offers.
I'll bet they only apply if you finance it through them. It just starts
the interest cycle over again.

I haven't financed a car purchase in about 25 years.
They dealerships don't like cash buyers. I was told that only 8 percent
of buyers pay cash for a new car.

When I bought my truck in 2008 the salesman tried hard to convince me to
finance it through Ford but I told him I wasn't interested. He then
tried to get me to finance it, even if I just paid it off in a month or
two. They must get some kind of kickback if the vehicle is financed
through the financing arm of the manufacturer.

These deals are deals because people finance and don't look at the end
date. "My payments are almost the same". They don't mention that it is
the same for 5 more years.
I suppose it is fine if you are consigned to dying with a car payment
due.
Like you, I have not really financed a car for decades but I did take
the finance deal with Ford on my wife's Lincoln. You are right, I got
the guy to admit I only had to keep the note for 90 days (by then they
have sold the paper). I also had to finance a minimum of ~$10,000 to
get a $1000 kick back so that is exactly what I did. I ended up making
about $600 after all of the finance charges and that was only about 4
months. It was still worth doing. I wonder how many people read the
"Z" form to see what the actual cost of a financed car is.
BTW that "zero percent" money comes at a cost too. They will usually
knock off 2 grand if you don't take "zero percent" money and there is
another kickback for using their financing but you have to waive the
cash at them before they offer it up.
I usually spring the cash on them at the last minute and see how badly
they want to sell the car.

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:22:35 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:


I haven't gotten to that point yet. I still enjoy the performance, handling and features of a nice car. I suppose I'll be dialing that back some when I retire. I have to admit that when I drive my old yard truck it's nice to not worry about getting door dings.

I figured out a car is just a piece of metal ~45 years ago and I have
not bought myself a new one since my 71 Jeep. I can make a new car
"old" pretty fast anyway. I keep them until they start costing me a
lot of money. Nobody wants a car I get rid of.

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 13 May 2017 08:00:00 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:


8:56
On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:29:38 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:
- show quoted text -
===

Those things last forever with a little TLC.
- show quoted text -
...

Oh yes, Wayne. 236,000 out of my 1995 Lincoln town car till gobs of wired stuff went bad. I like the idea of sitting on a living room couch gliding smoothly down the road like sliding on oil. 25mpg highway isn't bad either...

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/m..._oem_1_500.jpg


===

You'd have to buy a Rolls Royce or Bentley to get comparable roominess
or comfort.

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[Its Me]

On Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 11:16:55 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:22:35 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:


I haven't gotten to that point yet. I still enjoy the performance, handling and features of a nice car. I suppose I'll be dialing that back some when I retire. I have to admit that when I drive my old yard truck it's nice to not worry about getting door dings.

I figured out a car is just a piece of metal ~45 years ago and I have
not bought myself a new one since my 71 Jeep. I can make a new car
"old" pretty fast anyway. I keep them until they start costing me a
lot of money. Nobody wants a car I get rid of.

I agree on the new car thing. I haven't bought new since a 1998 Explorer I had. The Audi was a CPO car with 10k miles on it. I got it for the depreciated price and since it was CPO a 5 year, 100k warranty.

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 13 May 2017 11:16:34 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:22:35 -0700 (PDT), Its Me
wrote:


I haven't gotten to that point yet. I still enjoy the performance, handling and features of a nice car. I suppose I'll be dialing that back some when I retire. I have to admit that when I drive my old yard truck it's nice to not worry about getting door dings.

I figured out a car is just a piece of metal ~45 years ago and I have
not bought myself a new one since my 71 Jeep. I can make a new car
"old" pretty fast anyway. I keep them until they start costing me a
lot of money. Nobody wants a car I get rid of.


===

Same here. I keep them until they become unreliable maintenance hogs.

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[Its Me]

On Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 11:00:02 AM UTC-4, Tim wrote:
8:56
On Sat, 13 May 2017 06:29:38 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:
- show quoted text -
===

Those things last forever with a little TLC.
- show quoted text -
...

Oh yes, Wayne. 236,000 out of my 1995 Lincoln town car till gobs of wired stuff went bad. I like the idea of sitting on a living room couch gliding smoothly down the road like sliding on oil. 25mpg highway isn't bad either...

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/m..._oem_1_500.jpg

There's a reason that same platform was used for years as police cars and taxis.

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 13 May 2017 11:21:07 -0400 (EDT), justan wrote:



Now you have. Harry always makes unbelievable deals. Emphasize
unbelievable.

===

Apparently it feeds his fantasy of being a great businessman or what
ever.

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On Sat, 13 May 2017 11:10:08 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 13 May 2017 08:22:50 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:



I didn't think about it but I suspect you are right about these offers.
I'll bet they only apply if you finance it through them. It just starts
the interest cycle over again.

I haven't financed a car purchase in about 25 years.
They dealerships don't like cash buyers. I was told that only 8 percent
of buyers pay cash for a new car.

When I bought my truck in 2008 the salesman tried hard to convince me to
finance it through Ford but I told him I wasn't interested. He then
tried to get me to finance it, even if I just paid it off in a month or
two. They must get some kind of kickback if the vehicle is financed
through the financing arm of the manufacturer.

These deals are deals because people finance and don't look at the end
date. "My payments are almost the same". They don't mention that it is
the same for 5 more years.
I suppose it is fine if you are consigned to dying with a car payment
due.
Like you, I have not really financed a car for decades but I did take
the finance deal with Ford on my wife's Lincoln. You are right, I got
the guy to admit I only had to keep the note for 90 days (by then they
have sold the paper). I also had to finance a minimum of ~$10,000 to
get a $1000 kick back so that is exactly what I did. I ended up making
about $600 after all of the finance charges and that was only about 4
months. It was still worth doing. I wonder how many people read the
"Z" form to see what the actual cost of a financed car is.
BTW that "zero percent" money comes at a cost too. They will usually
knock off 2 grand if you don't take "zero percent" money and there is
another kickback for using their financing but you have to waive the
cash at them before they offer it up.
I usually spring the cash on them at the last minute and see how badly
they want to sell the car.


===

And after making your best deal possible you still have too make it by
the "closer" who is selling the extended warranty, undercoating, pin
stripes, mud flaps, vinyl roof, etc. I once made a pretty good deal
on a new Camry only to have my wife get sucked into the pin stripe
deal for something like $200.

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