At a car dealer

[Square Wheels]

The wife's Tesla is making a creaking noise.  Brought it in for service.  The place is deserted.  The sales section is currently closed.  The showroom floor has exactly 0 cars.  There are maybe a dozen in the lot, I didn't walk around, but I suspect many are used.

The waiting area for service is nice, very spacious.  There are unused offices, huge, that you can use.  Just write your name on the outside so they can find you.  I'm sitting in one now, I have a call at 9, this way I won't bother the other 1 or 2 people here.

Kinda creepy.  The last time I was at a Tesla dealer was when she bought it a few years ago.  It was absolute chaos.  I am sure the number of people in the building far exceeded the fire occupancy.

The world has changed so much.

[Dirtyhip]

There were far less cars on the lots locally.  Used cars have insame markups.  Eh, e just bought a new van with all the goodies we want.

[jsharr ★]

I was at the Kia dealer almost a year ago

[Square Wheels]

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I was at the Kia dealer almost a year ago

Still in the waiting room?

[jsharr ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

Still in the waiting room?

No.  Went home.  His Kia was making a strange noise too. 

[bikeman564™]

Not sure about now, but when I started looking for a Maliboo last fall, dealers had several vehicles on the lot. Where few years ago they were completely full.

[Longjohn ★]

The Ford dealer in Grove City has so many new pick em up trucks on his lot if he got any more he would have to start stacking them.

[petitepedal ★]

Well my Mazda place didn't  have much in the show room and at least 2 rows where vehicles normally are..were empty. They claimed blue book value on my 6 with 124,500 miles was $4,500..co workers said I could easily get $6,000 or $7,000 for it

[Parr8hed]

26 minutes ago, jsharr said:

No.  Went home.  His Kia was making a strange noise too. 

Did that ever get resolved? 

[Longjohn ★]

5 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Did that ever get resolved? 

Not chet

[maddmaxx ★]

Everything I read states that it will get worse before it gets better.

[Airehead]

Creaking sounds bad

[Square Wheels]

15 minutes ago, Airehead said:

Creaking sounds bad

Warranty sounds good. 

[Kirby]

My wild sister just got her new car, but she waited months for delivery.

[jsharr ★]

46 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Did that ever get resolved? 

They say they have the engine, just waiting for his turn in the long line of engine replacements.  We are still driving their loaner car. 

[Zephyr]

I am currently on a  2+ year waiting list for my next car.

[jsharr ★]

7 minutes ago, Zephyr said:

I am currently on a  2+ year waiting list for my next car.

So you went with a Kia? 

[Prophet Zacharia]

3 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

The wife's Tesla is making a creaking noise.  Brought it in for service.  The place is deserted.  The sales section is currently closed.  The showroom floor has exactly 0 cars.  There are maybe a dozen in the lot, I didn't walk around, but I suspect many are used.

The waiting area for service is nice, very spacious.  There are unused offices, huge, that you can use.  Just write your name on the outside so they can find you.  I'm sitting in one now, I have a call at 9, this way I won't bother the other 1 or 2 people here.

Kinda creepy.  The last time I was at a Tesla dealer was when she bought it a few years ago.  It was absolute chaos.  I am sure the number of people in the building far exceeded the fire occupancy.

The world has changed so much.

I appreciate your research, but I am leaning towards the Subaru.

[Square Wheels]

Upper control arm on driver's side.  They also replaced the passenger side because they've seen when one goes the other goes shortly after.  There is a cabin camera.  It was recently activated.  No idea what it's supposed to do, but it's given a few errors.  They replaced that too.

Car is just over 3 years old, still under warranty, cost = $0 (USD).

[Square Wheels]

6 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

The place is deserted.  The sales section is currently closed.  The showroom floor has exactly 0 cars. 

So I asked, this dealer is currently service only.  The few cars I saw in the lot were owned.  There are no sales happening at this location.

[Tizeye]

7 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

There were far less cars on the lots locally.  Used cars have insame markups.  Eh, e just bought a new van with all the goodies we want.

 

6 hours ago, Longjohn said:

The Ford dealer in Grove City has so many new pick em up trucks on his lot if he got any more he would have to start stacking them.

And I am hoping the used market holds up as it almost makes up for "no discount of MSRP" on new. It doesn't make up for the bogus dealer add-ons or "market adjustment" surcharge that dealers are making with existing inventory. That is the reason I am looking at custom ordering, but the used car value has to hold up during the 4-6 month build delivery time.

Waiting for Ford to re-open the order book on the Escape or Maverick Hybrids. No particular affinity to Ford, and if I was getting a 1500 truck would be GM or Ram with the 3.0L diesel. While incentives are very limited on all cars, I cut through the game with Ford's X-Plan eligibility (two military organizations I belong to) which gives me special pricing just below dealer invoice in addition to any other incentives Ford may be offering. Participating dealers historically would apply to existing stock, but they have pulled back and now custom order only. Also, it is dependent on participating dealers and the one local on was only accepting custom orders under the plan for past customers - and even being a past customer from their franchise in a neighboring city didn't qualify me - so to New Smyrna Beach I go. X-Plan also neutralizes that dealer's "no dealer fee" advantage as it caps the fee at $100 which can be as high as $1000 in Florida (highest in the nation). Chevy and Ram don't have similar programs. 

Most people don't realize they quailfy for X-Plan, but in my research stumbled on a senario where virtually everyone qualifies - albeit with a 90 day wait for the benefit. Yes, it is limited to membership in an organization, one of which happens to be the Mustang Club/forum. You don't have to actually own a Mustang, just be a (fake) enthusiast and join the club for $35 Digital (not the $25 Associate) membership and the benefit becomes active after 90 days membership. I am eligible through membership in DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and Veterans Advantage which is a paid buying discount program that one purchase, like 5% off airline tickets or 10% off Apple computers more than pays the fee.

[jsharr ★]

6 hours ago, Parr8hed said:

Did that ever get resolved? 

So I texted the GM and service advisor today.  Was told possibly by end of next week.  They are waiting for a part to get back from the machine shop.  I am not holding my breath.

[MickinMD ★]

7 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

There were far less cars on the lots locally.  Used cars have insame markups.  Eh, e just bought a new van with all the goodies we want.

High used car prices often occur when new car sales drop.

Before I bought my 2013 Honda Fit, I was finally going to "wise up" and buy a used one since the 2009-13 models were virtually identical and every one was selected as Consumer Reports "Best Bang for the Buck" car and one of the "most fun to drive."

But the typical price for a Base Automatic 2011 Honda Fit with 35K miles was $17,600.  I got a new 2013 Honda Fit with pinstripes and mudflaps thrown in for $18,000.

[Longjohn ★]

1 hour ago, MickinMD said:But the typical price for a Base Automatic 2011 Honda Fit with 35K miles was $17,600.  I got a new 2013 Honda Fit with pinstripes and mudflaps thrown in for $18,000.

You spent an extra $400 for virtually the same car, unbelievicable. 

[Dirtyhip]

I am at the dealership now. We are buying a Subaru cross trek.  There are plenty of cars here to sell.  We got a decent deal on a stick shift. Apparently, people can't drive one. This was returned because the buyer could not drive one. 😂

[Longjohn ★]

1 minute ago, Dirtyhip said:

I am at the dealership now. We are buying a Subaru cross trek.  There are plenty of cars here to sell.  We got a decent deal on a stick shift. Apparently, people can't drive one. This was returned because the buyer could not drive one. 😂

Are there any teeth left on the gears? How is the clutch?

[Longjohn ★]

That is a pretty car.

[Airehead]

1 hour ago, Dirtyhip said:

I am at the dealership now. We are buying a Subaru cross trek.  There are plenty of cars here to sell.  We got a decent deal on a stick shift. Apparently, people can't drive one. This was returned because the buyer could not drive one. 😂

Sounds fun. 

[Ralphie ★]

As my car gets older I find myself sorry I didn’t get a standard transmission since an automatic can go at anytime. 

[Dottleshead ★]

We got Our RAV4 just before the pandemic chaos

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

10 hours ago, jsharr said:

So you went with a Kia? 

With a two year wait, it almost sounds like he just bought an engine.

 

 

(Apologies!)