Bumper Stickers


let’s roll
 Share

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, clbent04 said:

You can do that?  I'll have to make a similar request next time.  What do they do, just paint over it?  A lot of them are pre-stamped or the logos are even drilled into the body before they set them on the lot. Or are you just buying direct from the factory through the dealer?

Usually, they are raised lettering - a 3D plastic thing.  Sometimes it's a decal.  Either way, it's basically glued on, and they have a way to get it off that doesn't mar the car's finish in any way.

I'm not talking about the manufacturer's emblems.  I'm talking about the dealer's.  Joe Schmoe Ford - the Ford factory logo and whatnot can stay, the Joe Schmoe is going.

It is illegal, as far as I know, in all 50 states to buy from the manufacturer - the dealers all got together and arranged a legal racket (and monopoly) with politicians which makes it illegal to buy a car from the manufacturer:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, zil said:

It is illegal, as far as I know, in all 50 states to buy from the manufacturer - the dealers all got together and arranged a legal racket (and monopoly) with politicians which makes it illegal to buy a car from the manufacturer

Many states have made a small opening that allows Tesla to sell directly to the customers.  A sad day for conservatives when the more LIBERAL states are the ones allowing for greater competition in the free market.

Cars Direct says you can buy direct form the manufacturer.  But...

https://www.carsdirect.com/car-buying/how-to-buy-a-car-directly-from-the-manufacturer

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, zil said:

Usually, they are raised lettering - a 3D plastic thing.  Sometimes it's a decal.  Either way, it's basically glued on, and they have a way to get it off that doesn't mar the car's finish in any way.

I'm not talking about the manufacturer's emblems.  I'm talking about the dealer's.  Joe Schmoe Ford - the Ford factory logo and whatnot can stay, the Joe Schmoe is going.

It is illegal, as far as I know, in all 50 states to buy from the manufacturer - the dealers all got together and arranged a legal racket (and monopoly) with politicians which makes it illegal to buy a car from the manufacturer:

Yeah, I'll have to ask them about it next time, thanks. I hate those dealer logos

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Carborendum said:

Cars Direct says you can buy direct form the dealership.

The dealership is not the manufacturer.  If I have to go through the dealership, I'm paying them and the manufacturer.

PS: What's with this "Arrange Financing" crap.  Cash man.  Cash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, zil said:

The dealership is not the manufacturer.  If I have to go through the dealership, I'm paying them and the manufacturer.

PS: What's with this "Arrange Financing" crap.  Cash man.  Cash.

Sorry, I meant manufacturer.  Fixed.

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, zil said:

Right, but they're still delivering to the dealership and you get it from them - call me a skeptic, but I'm not buying the idea that the dealership isn't getting some money out of this.  Racket, man, racket.

That was the "but..." part of my post.

The reason this method exists is that most people don't want to deal with high pressure salesmen (which is almost all of them).  So, if you just have a list of options with a standard price for each option, that takes all the pressure out of it.

The dealership at that point is simply a point of delivery.  Nothing more.  Of course, there will still be people at the dealership that will tell you that you still need to do more...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

deal with high pressure salesmen

When I bought my first car when coming back from Moscow, the salesrep was very young and we sat down and he made some comment to the effect of "how much would you like to pay"?  And I said, "Well, if we were in Moscow, you would tell me how much you want, I'd offer half and end up paying 3/4."  He stared at me like a deer in headlights. :crackup: Then he said, "Let me just get my manager."

Now that I know about their stalling tactics, if I ever have to buy a car again, I'll walk in, hand them my reasonable offer and tell them they have 15 minutes before I walk out the door and never return.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, zil said:

When I bought my first car when coming back from Moscow, the salesrep was very young and we sat down and he made some comment to the effect of "how much would you like to pay"?  And I said, "Well, if we were in Moscow, you would tell me how much you want, I'd offer half and end up paying 3/4."  He stared at me like a deer in headlights. :crackup: Then he said, "Let me just get my manager."

Now that I know about their stalling tactics, if I ever have to buy a car again, I'll walk in, hand them my reasonable offer and tell them they have 15 minutes before I walk out the door and never return.

I wasn't that nice.

I told them exactly what I wanted.  He gave me a bunch of numbers that were higher than what I was asking for.  I informed him that was not what I was asking for.

He re-did the numbers but took out certain conditions.  I informed him the conditions stayed.

He re-did it and gave me what I was asking for.  I agreed.  But he said he had to get permission from his manager.

The manager cane.  I listened to his stalling tactics and said,"So, you're saying we don't have a deal?"

He got the general manager.  I listened to his points.  I conceded one point and offered an alternative.  I continued to listen until I asked,"So, do we have a deal or not?

He continued to argue and stall.  I got up and said,"It's time to leave."  He began to protest and ask me to stay.  I just ignored him and walked out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the world's best ministering brother.  He owns a used car dealership.  He let me browse the big auction site in Denver where he gets all his cars, then took me up with him when I found my top three.   He came back with like six cars for his lot, and I got the sweetest deal ever on a dream car.   Love that mild hail damage that everyone but me thinks is severe!   

If I ever lose him and have to going back to dealing with used car guys, here's what finally worked for me:
- Find the thing on the internet, look up NADA/BlueBook price.
- Go test drive the thing, taking it to my trusted mechanic who looks it over and nods.
- Then I leave.  Hopefully without talking to anyone.
- Eventually, they will call me.  (Because I gave them my phone number in order to take the test drive.)
- I offer them a price based on NADA/BlueBook, plus tax and license.  I don't give a flying wet crap what they say or how they say it.  They can either take the offer or leave it.  I don't care about their cost structure.  I don't care about their counteroffer.  I don't care about their stupid number games.  I don't care if he is personally hurt by my offensive and unreasonable attitude.   $x.  Plus tax and license.  The only thing I care about is a yes or a no.  No, I won't sign anything else other than a sales contract.
- I will say things like "I understand if you have stuff happening that means you can't accept my offer.  Thanks for your time."    And, "So what I understand from everything you just said, is you are declining to accept my offer of $x, plus tax and license.  Is that correct?"
- After 5-6 minutes of letting them try their soulless evil tactics on me, I will say something like "Ok, so, I do not hear you accepting my offer.  I am going to end this call, thank you for your time."  And I'll hang up, even if the guy is still talking.
- 10-15 minutes later, I'll get a call back, and if they accept my offer, I'll come in and look at the paperwork.  
- The paperwork must show a number of $x, a number for tax, one for license, and a total with those three added together and nothing else.  If the total is one dollar more, I am getting up and walking out.  I don't care why it's there.  I don't care what law they have to follow.  I don't care how I'm being unreasonable or stupid.  I am offering $x, plus tax and license, and they need to stop wasting everyone's time if that offer doesn't work for them.  Their hoops are not my problem.
- If they do new paperwork with $x+t+l = total, then I sign and pay.  Anything else, including "Just give me 5 minutes to clear this with my boss", and I walk out permanently, block their number, and report any other contact to the BBB, and give negative yelp and google reviews. 

This has worked for me the one time I tried it.  I was exhausted at the end of the ordeal, but happy through the life of that car.  I hope I can keep my ministering buddy.

Edited by NeuroTypical
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I have the world's best ministering brother.  He owns a used car dealership.  He let me browse the big auction site in Denver where he gets all his cars,

Since you're in Denver, I'll tell you how I got "The Hulk" (my giant green Ford E-350 maxi van).  We contacted a guy (who works the Denver area) who goes and finds cars that you're looking for.  He works for a project fee rather than a percentage or commission.  So, he gets you the best deal he can for that car that you're looking for.

He got us a former airport shuttle services that have luxury seats and an audio jack with CD player at each passenger seat, an VHS player with screen for the rear (yes, it was still VHS at the time of manufacture).  It was in good working order but had one minor dent in the rear fender.  And it had enough seats for my plus sized family.  All for about $1500 less than the budget I had given him.

At the beginning he had told us that the one quality that would make the search difficult would be the passenger capacity.  So, he warned us that it might take longer to find such a vehicle.  He can usually find something in a month or so.  But if it takes longer than three months, he has to charge the fee for another 90 days of searching.  For that reason, we agreed to that term.  His fee was $500 and he ended up getting us the vehicle for $1500 below budget.  So, I was happy.

At about 4-1/2 months, we finally saw it and were very happy.  If you're interested, I could look him up again and set you up.  But you've already got a guy.  Who knows?  It may be the same guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I have the world's best ministering brother.  He owns a used car dealership.  He let me browse the big auction site in Denver where he gets all his cars, then took me up with him when I found my top three.   He came back with like six cars for his lot, and I got the sweetest deal ever on a dream car.   Love that mild hail damage that everyone but me thinks is severe!   

If I ever lose him and have to going back to dealing with used car guys, here's what finally worked for me:
- Find the thing on the internet, look up NADA/BlueBook price.
- Go test drive the thing, taking it to my trusted mechanic who looks it over and nods.
- Then I leave.  Hopefully without talking to anyone.
- Eventually, they will call me.  (Because I gave them my phone number in order to take the test drive.)
- I offer them a price based on NADA/BlueBook, plus tax and license.  I don't give a flying wet crap what they say or how they say it.  They can either take the offer or leave it.  I don't care about their cost structure.  I don't care about their counteroffer.  I don't care about their stupid number games.  I don't care if he is personally hurt by my offensive and unreasonable attitude.   $x.  Plus tax and license.  The only thing I care about is a yes or a no.  No, I won't sign anything else other than a sales contract.
- I will say things like "I understand if you have stuff happening that means you can't accept my offer.  Thanks for your time."    And, "So what I understand from everything you just said, is you are declining to accept my offer of $x, plus tax and license.  Is that correct?"
- After 5-6 minutes of letting them try their soulless evil tactics on me, I will say something like "Ok, so, I do not hear you accepting my offer.  I am going to end this call, thank you for your time."  And I'll hang up, even if the guy is still talking.
- 10-15 minutes later, I'll get a call back, and if they accept my offer, I'll come in and look at the paperwork.  
- The paperwork must show a number of $x, a number for tax, one for license, and a total with those three added together and nothing else.  If the total is one dollar more, I am getting up and walking out.  I don't care why it's there.  I don't care what law they have to follow.  I don't care how I'm being unreasonable or stupid.  I am offering $x, plus tax and license, and they need to stop wasting everyone's time if that offer doesn't work for them.  Their hoops are not my problem.
- If they do new paperwork with $x+t+l = total, then I sign and pay.  Anything else, including "Just give me 5 minutes to clear this with my boss", and I walk out permanently, block their number, and report any other contact to the BBB, and give negative yelp and google reviews. 

This has worked for me the one time I tried it.  I was exhausted at the end of the ordeal, but happy through the life of that car.  I hope I can keep my ministering buddy.

So, I am old but I've only had a few cars in my lifetime.  This is how I bought them:

1.) I worked my bum off to save up $2K.  Found a $2K car on the newspaper, so I went to check it out.  Owner handed me the keys and jumped into the passenger seat, I got in, closed the door, turned on the engine and the car TALKED in this cute guy voice, "Please fasten your seatbelts".  I handed the guy my $2K, he signed the Title and I went home with my talking car that I named Guile.

2.)  After 2 years, Guile developed an oil leak... there's a hole in one piston and I wanted to drive the 1500 miles to Florida, so I drove Guile to the Ford delearship and I told the salesman - here's my car, and I can only afford $200/month, I need a car that can take me to Florida.  The guy gave me a brand new Ford peanut wagon for exactly $200/month payments and my old car.  I haven't even made my first payment - and I haven't even left for Florida - when I got on a head-on collision.  The insurance totaled the car but what I owe for the car was more than what they'd give me for the totaled car so I took the car to the mechanic and had them repair it for the what the insurance wants to total it for.  9 months later, in Florida, I drove the car into a retention pond.  There's no saving that car then.  I still owed a lot of money on the stupid car.

3.) So, I was upside down on a car - still had my car payments with no car -- so I walked into a dealership and told them, I have no car, I am upside down on my car payments, I want a car with a sunroof.  I got my used Mazda for an obscene amount of money.  I drove the car for 10 years, 5 years of which was car payment free before the A/C finally broke.  I had kids by then so instead of getting the A/C fixed, I went into the same delearship I got the car from 10 years ago - same salesman too - and told the salesman I want a van.  Blue.  With sunroof and 2 sliding doors.  He gave me a car.  My husband got upset because he said I paid too much for the car.  I don't care.  I like the car and I can come up with the monthly car payment working 1 day a month.  We had that car for 8 years.

4.)  After 8 years, the van's car engine light turned on and the delearship said there's nothing wrong with it, so they reset the thing only for it to turn back on.  After months of staring at that car engine light and the dealership saying they don't know what's wrong with it I told the delearship to keep the car and give me money.  Which they did.  They tried to sell me one of their cars but the Cadillac dealership was next door and my dad has this running sarcastic remark ever since I was little... "when you own a cadillac"... (e.g. "Why do I have to go to school?"  "You can quit school when you own a cadillac"... or, "I'm an adult, I can do what I want!" "You don't have to follow my rules when you own a cadillac.")... anyway, so I bought a Cadillac.  My husband got upset again because, not only did I pay too much for the car, I also got too little for my old car.  Whatever.  I love that car and I can work 2 days instead of 1 to make the monthly payments.  Big deal.

Anyway, there's a reason my husband took the money management responsibilities for the family.  We just have very different ideas of what something is worth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I wasn't that nice.

I told them exactly what I wanted.  He gave me a bunch of numbers that were higher than what I was asking for.  I informed him that was not what I was asking for.

He re-did the numbers but took out certain conditions.  I informed him the conditions stayed.

He re-did it and gave me what I was asking for.  I agreed.  But he said he had to get permission from his manager.

The manager cane.  I listened to his stalling tactics and said,"So, you're saying we don't have a deal?"

He got the general manager.  I listened to his points.  I conceded one point and offered an alternative.  I continued to listen until I asked,"So, do we have a deal or not?

He continued to argue and stall.  I got up and said,"It's time to leave."  He began to protest and ask me to stay.  I just ignored him and walked out.

I worked in the car industry for five years. It made me sick hearing managers and salesmen talk about selling a bad car to a sucker. I was so careful when buying my cars. My husband and I went to look at getting a van. The salesmen ignored me and would only talk to my husband.  I asked a question and he snapped at me and told me to go look at the car and find out myself.  I went and looked at the van.  I found the original car label. The msrp  was 8,000 less than they were trying sell it used with 35,000 miles. I walked up and handed my husband his phone with Bob on it. The can was listed for 13,000 on there. He showed the salesmen and the salesman ran to get the manager. I walked out laughing. They were so pathetic. Trying to rip us off. 

My bil helped us get our van. His best friend owns a small dealership. We got our van for $500 over cost. It was awesome. I have a huge Seattle Seahawks sticker across the back window. I want an Oregon Ducks O with wings and a infant loss ribbon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share