The Automobile Thread

A customer of mine was in the market for a new Land Cruiser. They go for $100k. The local dealer was adding a $35k markup at the time. A friend of hers advised her to shop around. She found the exact same vehicle in New York for $99k. No markup. They shipped it across the country for free.

 

Well I went onto Downtown Oakland Toyota’s website and here is the listing. It all matches up, but it says call for pricing. That’s when the sticker shock comes in.

https://www.downtowntoyota.com/new/...V4+Prime-0b0371780a0e09b1045529fb55ea13e5.htm

 

I recently ended up doing an engine swap for my daughter’s 2009 Mazda 3, rather than go out into the car market. If you need something immediately these days, you’re in trouble.

the explanation I’ve heard for the impossible markups is that the dealer doesn’t want to sell their only car in stock, and they don’t want to register it themselves. So they put a ridiculous markup on the test driver and then ask for sticker for cars you’re willing to wait a few weeks for.

 

This kinda makes sense. At the Ram dealer the other day, the salespusher didn't have any cars on the lot, but kept saying he could bring one over from the storage lot. I mean, if you have the inventory, why not put it on the lot and sell them.


I've also been told several times that if you can't find what you are looking for.....order one. Factories are building sold units as a priority as opposed to units that are just allocations for Dealer X. Ram is telling me 6-8 weeks.

 

Years ago our G35 coupe gas gauge stopped working. I decided to see what might be the problem and removed the rear seat cushion to get to the access cover on the floor pan.
When I got to the sending unit connection I found this


Looks like some rodent made it’s way to the top of the fuel tank and was getting cozy. Car used to sit for days sometimes since it was my wife’s car and she works from home.
A quick wire splice and the gas gauge came back online.

 

Thanks! After seeing this, I researched it and it is likely one of two things .... that connector or the element on the other side could need cleaning. It seems like a somewhat common problem on the G35/37's & 350/370Z's. I found a YouTube video of some guy doing both sides on his G37, and since it is essentially the same car as the 370Z I should be able to at least check.

 

When I went to pick up that stumpy from my friend's dad he offered to let me check out his Plaid Tesla. We hit 103 in about 5 seconds between Cameo Shores and the turn-off for Newport Coast Dr. on PCH. With enough time to slow down and stop at the red light. The smoothness of the power delivery and then the braking was kinda nuts.
The horn setting being La Cucaracha was a bit kitschy, but, the man's 80, so, I can't judge.

 

We got my wife a Tesla Y and couldn’t be happier. The kids are in multiple extracurricular activities so between hauling them to those and going back and forth to her office it made the most sense. Her MB GLE350 was costing us over $500/mo in fuel. To be honest we ended up ordering one because we literally could not find any cars with the packages we’d want to test drive but with gas prices where they are I’m glad we made this move. Ordered the Tesla, scheduled a test drive, kept the order. Ordered July 5th and delivered in mid August.

I splurged for the Performance which does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, made myself almost throw up one morning after too many beers. The extra storage in the frunk and below the trunk area is nice, makes a small “SUV” more like a midsize for cargo. We’ve already done a few road trips with no packing issues or range anxiety. Having that kind of acceleration is nice when dealing with crappy drivers on the freeway here in So Cal.

We already had a 220v outlet in the garage so a $35 attachment gets me ~20mph charging. Electricity bill only went up ~$100/mo so definitely saving money right now.



(I still drive my 4Runner)

 

Welcome back.

 

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Toyota-RAV4-Prime-double-MSRP-16649490.php

 

its funny that they deny the price, but they can sit down and discuss it.

 

This is one I really struggle to get my head round. Everywhere else I have lived the typical process if you want a new car is to go to the stealership, have a test drive / kick the tyres and then sit down and place your order and negotiate the price. They tell you when your build is scheduled, you pay your deposit and come back when they call you to tell you its ready to be picked up.
The idea that you walk in and drive out the same day with a brand new car is bizarre, I wonder how many people end up compromising on what they want simply because they think they must pick from what is available?
*Obviously none of the above holds true if you are buying used or a demo model.

 

Tons do, but all buyers don't necessarily go in thinking they have to leave with a new car. In the past when dealers were flush with inventory, it was common for the salespeople to steer people into whatever was on the lot, especially if it was more expensive than what the buyer was looking for. "We'd have to order that and it will take six months, but I can get you into a new [thing with more stuff you don't want] today!" The objective, or course, is to make a quick sale and not give anyone time to back out of a special order.

Nowadays I guess they stand to lose more sales by not having a test driver than from people getting tired of waiting for delivery.

 

We went in last week with the thought of ordering a new car. They had pretty much exactly what my better half wanted on the lot, price was msrp with an incentive from the dealer, a fair deal given the train wreck that car purchasing is these days. We drove out that day with a new car.
It's a very fun car to drive, but like most these days way to much tech IMO.

As a note I thought long and hard on an EV, but figured in 2-3 years they'll be much better than today.

Besides, who wants an ebike of a car. Can you imagine the remarks we'd get!

 

Well that looks boring and ordinary!

Congrats!!

 

I know, right!

She came home saying " I got a thumbs up from another car!" Happy wife

 

I had to do a double take - trying to figure out what that decal and striping were at the bottom.

Just a reflection. Phew!

 

Congrats, @Danimal!

Ordering cars is a conundrum. Sales managers at my spot definitely prefer to push for the right now sale. Personally, I like ordering cars for customers. Sure, there's always a chance they could back out, but I think the type of buyer that's custom ordering a high end car is the type that values the relationship with their sales team, and is much more likely to be a repeat customer, as well as a good source of referrals. That said, I'm trying to steer people away from ordering at the moment, unless I'm convinced they're flexible on their timeline and truly willing to wait, because I don't want to set them up for disappointment and frustration. Normal turnaround time from order to delivery on an Audi in SoCal is easily 3 - 4 months. Right now it's well over 6 months. I ordered a simple Q5 hybrid for a customer on 9/19, and it's still in waitlist status. Once it gets approved and scheduled for production it's still at least 3 - 4 months before it arrives. Even an RS7 that I ordered for a customer back in July is showing a March ETA, and that's a car I already had an allocation for.

 

that's part of the problem.....

When i walk into the dealer an say I'm looking for Model X, with A, B, C, and D......with A, B & C being most important.....and the salesman trying to sell me Model X with D only...."what if I make you a good deal on it".....don't get bent outta shape when I say thanks for you time and leave. Obviously he wasn't listening to most of what I said.With vehicles being as expensive as they are, I'm not going to compromise on 75% of what I want.

 

Nice looking whip! As I'm now a car guy, and no longer a bike guy, I approve!

Those Q4 BEVs are looking good... definitely have our eye on them. Hopefully smaller than the ID.4 and more car-like. Is Euro-delivery still a thing? Always thought that would be pretty awesome way to go.

Right now we're sorta' looking for a used BMW E90 (2007-2011 328i) wagon... high miles but single owner/well maintained sort of thing. If anyone comes across just such an animal that their uncle or cousin or neighbor is selling, drop me a line!

 

I think Q4 e-tron is going to be a smash. I was hoping it would be a much needed shot in the arm, but unfortunately the release just got pushed back to end of Q1 '22. We were told early last month that we could see them within a couple weeks, so this new news was a buzzkill. It's the same size as the ID.4. Bells and whistles aside, they're essentially the same car. As far as I know Euro delivery is still an option, at least conceptually, subject to whatever Covid restrictions are currently in place.

 

Nice purchase @Danimal! Have you raced it against your other krautwagon to work out which ones faster yet?
Also isn't it the unwritten rule if the missus gets a new car you get a new bike?

 

The "o" in Wagen kills me.

 

Nice looking whip! As I'm now a car guy, and no longer a bike guy, I approve!

Ohhh, I thought it was slotted between the ID.3 and .4, didn't realize it was just the Auto Union version of the .4.
Bummer, as I would really like an ID.3, but live on the wrong continent for that.

My buddy just bought an eGolf, and other than limited range (his is a '19 with the better battery), it's the perfect car. No big screens, actual buttons and knobs, no weird body panels. Other than the ugly rims, looks like a regular Golf. We'll look at one of those as well when the market cools down and maybe pick up an off-lease one. For a commuter the range isn't really a problem, just top off level 1 at home.

 

Electric trucks huh??

 

7148 lb weight - 4.5' bed

 

What does that mean exactly

 

I've spent all my time and $$$ messing with cars the last month! I did fill the Stan's on Middle Child's bike though!

 

A couple of them were parked at the Maple Springs gate Sunday. It’s not a truck-truck, but it’ll make Range Rover worry. It’s big Rover sized but priced like a Tahoe. They looked good dirty. I had struck up a conversation with a guy about his new Bronco, all he wanted to talk about was the Rivians that had passed him.

But the only people taking delivery right now are company employees, who have to pay for the privilege of being a beta tester.

 

Well I recently got a new bike...so that's pretty much out.

But in speed, the new sled isn't any slouch, but my 335is is a blast to drive, has about 100 more hp and the M3 trans among other things, so it really isn't a contest. And better yet, my beautiful wife isn't driving the garage queen any longer!
But that new car smell and feel is hard to beat....... think I'll be driving it some too.