News flash: almost ALL Chrysler dealerships are GOP dealerships.

>> ^MarineGunrock:< br />I did buy it used - but there is no secondary alarm system that I know of - I would have went off by now. Besides, as far as I know, it's not possible to install a secondary alarm on the car. I can't even get people to touch it to put a car starter on it.
If you so much as tinker with the electrical system, the computer shuts off to prevent theft. It then has to be towed to a dealership to be reset. (That's my understanding, anyway.)


Kill switch technology. One of the main reasons you take your car to a "certified" radio technician to change the radio.

I personally would relish seeing some wanker trying to steal my car, and then get in and try to drive it while the starter doesn't even turn!

I did buy it used - but there is no secondary alarm system that I know of - I would have went off by now. Besides, as far as I know, it's not possible to install a secondary alarm on the car. I can't even get people to touch it to put a car starter on it.

If you so much as tinker with the electrical system, the computer shuts off to prevent theft. It then has to be towed to a dealership to be reset. (That's my understanding, anyway.)

I called the Volvo dealership and spoke to a salesman - he said he's never heard of the siren-noise that I described - and apparently neither has the internet.

Around the time of the financial bailout a lot of people pointed and said "this is why we need government regulation" and "the free market doesn't work." Bullshit. Let those morons go under and see if anyone who's left standing will make the same irresponsible decisions. You're far more likely to make good decisions if you're held accountable for them.

While the collapse of the big 3 would certainly hit hard, some of the claims in this video don't seem to hold water. They mention parts and material suppliers as well as dealership employees losing their jobs. The faulty logic is the assertions that people who buy American cars now won't buy cars at all if there's no Ford, GM or Chevy. That's not likely, of course. If you need a car, you're going to have to buy something.

Parts and material suppliers can recover at least some of their business with the remaining manufacturers, who will see sales increases as people 'migrate' from American cars. Likewise, dealerships can start selling other brands. If I owned a Ford dealership, you could be damn sure I'd at least be looking into adding a more stable line of cars to my product line.

>> ^honkeytonk73:
Say NO. If they can't compete in a FREE AND FAIR market, then they deserve to fail.

I wanted to point out that it's not even a free and fair market; We impose tariffs on foreign automakers, raising their cost to help keep our cars competitive. These no-talent ass clowns can't even compete in a fixed market.

There are ways to get a good deal when trading in a car, but generally if it's a nice car that's only a couple of years old, why the fuck are you getting a new car already? I read an article about it a long time ago. I don't remember all the details, but it's all about manipulating the sales person. It only works if they make commission too. You can let the sales person jack the price up over invoice/sticker all they want, but make them give you more for your trade in.

There was another method I read about. Dealers pay a set price for a vehicle from the manufacturer and make a percentage of that no matter what they sell the car for. Anything else they can weasel out of you is extra money in their pocket. There's a way to find out what the dealer paid for the car if you have the VIN number, but I don't remember how. Get your own loan and have a check made out for that amount, and get an extra $250-500 in cash. Walk in the dealership, hand the check to the sales person, tell them this is what you're going to pay for the vehicle, hand them the envelope and tell them that's theirs if they make it happen.

Also, this was really interesting about our experience:

We told the dealership we had a loan from our credit union. They asked the terms of the loan and matched it on the contract. This is because if you don't show up with the check in 5 days, they will contractually be able to make you make monthly payments thru their lender.

The funny part is that we decided to just use the dealer's financing, so we started receiving a normal monthly bill from them. What this means is we acquired financing at a rate we defined without a credit or income check of any kind. In fact, they didn't even have any evidence we were approved for the loan elsewhere, so they had no actual idea if we could afford it.

What this means is that you could just walk into a dealership, claim you have a loan at some really good rate, and buy the car for a loan without having to provide paycheck stubs or a credit check.

Loan Hacking 101

My experience wasn't exactly as he described because there was only 1 of the vehicle we wanted within a few hundred miles, and we needed to buy from a specific dealership (because they offer so many perks that no one else has).

Anyway, instead of negotiating a price over the phone, we had them find and retrieve the car. We showed up the next day, went straight into the office, and said, "We have the money. Just show us the invoice and we'll negotiate how far below invoice we're willing to pay." Then, as usual, after a little back and forth, a "boss" came in and explained why they couldn't go any lower. I told him to go down just a little more or we'd walk out. He shook my hand and we drove off.

Soooo, so much easier than leaving all the eggs in their basket. Funny thing is they temporarily give you a contract for the same rate you say you got on your own (just in case your loan doesn't come through) and we ended up using their loan which we received without a credit/income check of any kind.


In reply to this comment by MycroftHomlz:
So how did it go. Was it just like he said?


In reply to this comment by lucky760:
This is more or less how we bought our new car and it was the easiest car buying experience ever. I'm very glad I watched this video first. The most essential tip of acquiring a loan prior to starting the purchase process makes all the difference.

My first car was a 1993 Saturn SL1, which I loved dearly...right up 'till I totaled it in a snowstorm.

Then I moved on up *cough* to a 1989 Ford Escort Wagon. No air conditioning, no power anything, and a wonderful AM/FM radio. Went well with the ramen noodles I was subsisting on at the time, too.

Eventually I managed to talk my dad into letting me have his 1991 Integra in 1998, rather than trade it in for the peanuts they were offering him at dealerships. I only just got rid of that car last year. It was quite the warhorse -- sold it with 180,000 miles, and though it did have quite a few serious repairs around 120,000 miles, it was still running fine.

I don't think dealerships actually repair anything anymore, they just take components and replace them. This is logically since it benefits everyone in the chain of the production.

This is why I hate electronic cars so much, if the computer breaks you're fucked.

I'm convinced that over 90% of the problems I've had with my cars are ones that I can fix fairly easily. Having repaired my fair share of bicycles I'm actually amazed at how simple car repair is in comparison. It's really not that complex.

When taken to a repair service, most work is going to be a rip off. Dealerships are much worse. I wish I could find that article I read that talked about how Dealers will (on average) charge over twice what a national auto repair chain will.

Gasp! visual atrocity! I'm wasting my breath (fingers in this case) on advising a guy on being practical.

Get thee to the Hummer dealership.. MALE

Good advice, but WTF is an "as is" slip? I've never heard that one before. He says an "as is slip" means no warranty on a new car. A dealership can not void your warranty. The warranty doesn't come from the dealership, it comes from the manufacturer.

I hear people all the time that are afraid to take their car to other places for service because the dealer says they will void their warranty. If that ever happens to you, do these two things. Ask to have that in writing, which they will probably not do. Then have the manufacturer's customer service number in your wallet, ask to use their phone and call them right there and tell them what the dealer is telling you.

The only time I ever take my vehicle to a stealership for service is for warranty service. Always keep receipts for any service you have done, and if you do some of your own maintenance, like I do, keep copies of the receipts of the things you buy for the maintenance and a log of what you did and the date and mileage you did it.

I say it's a great first bike-The price is right-The bad part of it is, your lack of knowledge of the Harley. the things are made to be user-serviceable, and with any regular use, you must service them quite a bit-If you will avail yourself of the small bit of knowledge you will need to fore-go their service package (routine maintenance combined with what you should have if you are wanting a Harley, BASIC MECHANICAL APTITUDE, i.e. internal combustion is not a complete mystery to you like most weekend warriors) You can save yourself the headache of having this thing ina shop more than you have it on the road-

Harley is temperamental, and a routine maintenance checklist for one should resemble something akin to a helicopter's, though staying on top of it, not as technically advanced or expensive. If not your sole means of transportation, then it's your testicular tickle, an extra payment every month, and more debt-Overall, this model is a good first Harley, because it does not come with all the frightening mechanical baggage of a full-sized, and much more expensive, money valve.....

Your call, Testosticlees, but I would definitely consider taking on the study of basic maintenance that you can perform, rather than letting a dealership milk you, as so many do......

My opinion of Harley-Davidson is, it is a good bike, it can be a bike that serves you many years, but you can't just jump and go like you can with a rice-burner...

My other opinion of HD has to do with the hype of recent years as it relates to the efficacy of owning one....

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Badger, commercial, dealership, rude, plaid suit' to 'Badger, commercial, dealership, rude, plaid suit, Johnson automotive' - edited by looris