New car!!!
The Dirty Slut finally sold. We only got 925$ for it, but considering we were hoping for 1000$ (though we listed it at 1200$), and since we put it for sale we found out the control arms need to be replaced, we're okay with that. We bought it for 1000$ and have driven it for a year with minimal repairs, so for all that she's a cranky-shifting shitbox she owes us nothing.
What I AM cranky about is that Martino didn't clean everything out of it before he sold it. I lost a few cds (I'm pretty sure they were all burns, so not the end of the world), but more importantly he left the garage door opener in it. It's been a week and the buyer hasn't returned it yet. I'm really pissed off about that. Now some total random can get into our garage at any time. We need to see about buying new openers and changing the frequency or something.
The biggest surprise is that we bought a new vehicle already. We were trying to decide between an older, but better one, or a newer, but cheaper one. So we started test driving vehicles from dealerships. We were looking for a crossover or small SUV because we need room for two big dogs, plus cargo and people (or potentially children) in the back seat.
To make a long story short, we drove a few different vehicles, but we both fell in love with a 2010 Jeep Patriot. It was a leaseback with 29,000km on it, so the engine is already broken in and it's cheaper than buying new. As soon as we drove this baby we knew it was the one for us.
Problem is it was a lot more expensive than what we intended to spend. But the value for the vehicle spoke for itself. I have yet to find a negative review on the Patriot - pretty well everyone who has ever bought one from its inception in 2007 seems to love it.
When we picked up the Jeep at the dealership yesterday though, I was left with a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. They promised Martino a full tank of gas when we brought it home, and when I got in it only had a 1/4 tank. I went back in and asked our dealer what gives, and he said that "only new vehicles come with a full tank." He placated me with all the sorries and "I would if I could" bullshit, and I left the dealership pretty damned cranky. And the drive out to the barn only fueled my rage. I thought about our whole purchase experience and was supremely dissatisfied.
They wouldn't negotiate on the price at all (granted, it was a pretty good price and everything I've been able to find online is comparable or more expensive by almost 3,000$, so I'm not overly sore about that), they wouldn't throw in any freebie shit to entice us further. But again, that's fine - we decided that we liked the Jeep enough to go for it anyway.
So the dealer pulls this fucking bait and switch bullshit where he comes back with the price of a brand new, identical 2010 as actually being cheaper payment-wise because of the better itnerest rate they give on new vehicles. We look at the numbers and it's like 80$ a month cheaper. We ask the dealer to give us a minute as we discuss the benefits of buying brand new.
When the dealer comes back we say that okay, we'll buy new. He gives us a pained looked and says "the guy who gave me the numbers made a mistake. He quoted me the price on a base model, not the North edition." The base model has wind up windows and manual door locks. But, the good news is that it's still cheaper to get the North edition, though it's only 14$ a month cheaper than the used one.
I was actually pissed off enough to walk out right then and there. I see the game for what it is, and it pisses me off. I kept asking for proper pricing and not monthly payments - I want to know the overall cost, not the payments. But see, they know that 148$ bi-weekly sounds so much better than 27,000$ plus tax.
We wanted the used one because it has a lifetime engine warranty (new does not. I know, ?!). Plus our credit got us a better interest rate than the 9% their quote showed, so that 17$/month "saving" evaporated under our better interest rate.
Then, THEN Martino gets home after filling out all the paperwork, and oh yeah, there's a clause saying that we have to get our oil changes and maintenance done at their dealership to maintain the lifetime engine warranty. I figured that was total bullshit, so I did a little research. Turns out that in Canada we have something called the Competition Act that prevents sellers from anything forcing buyers to purchase additionals from them only, this is called 'exclusive dealing' or 'tied selling.'
So I went back today and asked for a manager. Our dealer wasn't there, unfortunately, but I decided to speak with the manager alone anyway. I gave him the rundown of how unimpressed I was with all of the above as my first-time dealership experience, and how I felt that the refusal to even send us off with a full tank was a complete slap in the face. According to the manager it should have come with a full tank. My theory - this is one of the many ways they try to cut costs, and the manager acting all indigant and "we'll get that filled for you right away, no problem" was just their way of saying "heh, okay, you caught us."
He explained to me how they get around the Competition Act - they offer the lifetime warranty as a free service, therefore it's our choice if we want to keep it (by adhering to their conditions) or not. I'm still a little skeptical about that as there's something in the Act about express warranty, and as this was a prime selling feature of their used cars I believe that it's still covered under the Act. But I didn't press the matter - we can burn that bridge at a later date.
So my final statement to the manager was, since the dealer insisted that we refer other people to them to buy their cars, to give me one good reason why I should refer anyone to their dealership. As far as I could see, it was bare bones service that would be the absolute minimum to expect from any dealership, and to top it of we drop more than 20,000$ on a vehicle and they try to shaft us on a tank of gas? Could he think of any reason why I should recommend them to anyone? Why I shouldn't tell people that they should only go to Crestview if they want to buy a car like they shop at Safeway - the price you see, as is, take it or leave it?
He declined to answer or give me any excuses. I did walk out of there with a full tank of gas, a free oil change (and we got one with the purchase so now we have two) and a load off my chest. And Teresa, you'd be proud of me - I did it without dropping a single F-bomb!
I'm still bitter about it though, and I wouldn't recommend anyone buy from them. Looking online and not finding much in the way of better deals for the Jeep we got did soothe me a little bit and help me feel better about the purchase, but the service sucked and I'm not hopeful about any of our future dealings with them.
But enough about the unpleasantries. I'm excited about the Jeep itself if not how we got it. I have an optimistic outlook on the vehicle - if it can survive its first year without injury! I'm a bit of a black cloud when it comes to vehicular sacrifice. But this is something we plan to keep for a long, long time, so I'm kinda glad we decided to invest in something that isn't going to need repair every few months.
So on to the good stuff! Pictures!
At the dealership.
This is the cleanest it is ever likely to be for the rest of its life.
Out to the dirt roads already!
Glam shot! She's all 4x4, baby!
What I AM cranky about is that Martino didn't clean everything out of it before he sold it. I lost a few cds (I'm pretty sure they were all burns, so not the end of the world), but more importantly he left the garage door opener in it. It's been a week and the buyer hasn't returned it yet. I'm really pissed off about that. Now some total random can get into our garage at any time. We need to see about buying new openers and changing the frequency or something.
The biggest surprise is that we bought a new vehicle already. We were trying to decide between an older, but better one, or a newer, but cheaper one. So we started test driving vehicles from dealerships. We were looking for a crossover or small SUV because we need room for two big dogs, plus cargo and people (or potentially children) in the back seat.
To make a long story short, we drove a few different vehicles, but we both fell in love with a 2010 Jeep Patriot. It was a leaseback with 29,000km on it, so the engine is already broken in and it's cheaper than buying new. As soon as we drove this baby we knew it was the one for us.
Problem is it was a lot more expensive than what we intended to spend. But the value for the vehicle spoke for itself. I have yet to find a negative review on the Patriot - pretty well everyone who has ever bought one from its inception in 2007 seems to love it.
When we picked up the Jeep at the dealership yesterday though, I was left with a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. They promised Martino a full tank of gas when we brought it home, and when I got in it only had a 1/4 tank. I went back in and asked our dealer what gives, and he said that "only new vehicles come with a full tank." He placated me with all the sorries and "I would if I could" bullshit, and I left the dealership pretty damned cranky. And the drive out to the barn only fueled my rage. I thought about our whole purchase experience and was supremely dissatisfied.
They wouldn't negotiate on the price at all (granted, it was a pretty good price and everything I've been able to find online is comparable or more expensive by almost 3,000$, so I'm not overly sore about that), they wouldn't throw in any freebie shit to entice us further. But again, that's fine - we decided that we liked the Jeep enough to go for it anyway.
So the dealer pulls this fucking bait and switch bullshit where he comes back with the price of a brand new, identical 2010 as actually being cheaper payment-wise because of the better itnerest rate they give on new vehicles. We look at the numbers and it's like 80$ a month cheaper. We ask the dealer to give us a minute as we discuss the benefits of buying brand new.
When the dealer comes back we say that okay, we'll buy new. He gives us a pained looked and says "the guy who gave me the numbers made a mistake. He quoted me the price on a base model, not the North edition." The base model has wind up windows and manual door locks. But, the good news is that it's still cheaper to get the North edition, though it's only 14$ a month cheaper than the used one.
I was actually pissed off enough to walk out right then and there. I see the game for what it is, and it pisses me off. I kept asking for proper pricing and not monthly payments - I want to know the overall cost, not the payments. But see, they know that 148$ bi-weekly sounds so much better than 27,000$ plus tax.
We wanted the used one because it has a lifetime engine warranty (new does not. I know, ?!). Plus our credit got us a better interest rate than the 9% their quote showed, so that 17$/month "saving" evaporated under our better interest rate.
Then, THEN Martino gets home after filling out all the paperwork, and oh yeah, there's a clause saying that we have to get our oil changes and maintenance done at their dealership to maintain the lifetime engine warranty. I figured that was total bullshit, so I did a little research. Turns out that in Canada we have something called the Competition Act that prevents sellers from anything forcing buyers to purchase additionals from them only, this is called 'exclusive dealing' or 'tied selling.'
So I went back today and asked for a manager. Our dealer wasn't there, unfortunately, but I decided to speak with the manager alone anyway. I gave him the rundown of how unimpressed I was with all of the above as my first-time dealership experience, and how I felt that the refusal to even send us off with a full tank was a complete slap in the face. According to the manager it should have come with a full tank. My theory - this is one of the many ways they try to cut costs, and the manager acting all indigant and "we'll get that filled for you right away, no problem" was just their way of saying "heh, okay, you caught us."
He explained to me how they get around the Competition Act - they offer the lifetime warranty as a free service, therefore it's our choice if we want to keep it (by adhering to their conditions) or not. I'm still a little skeptical about that as there's something in the Act about express warranty, and as this was a prime selling feature of their used cars I believe that it's still covered under the Act. But I didn't press the matter - we can burn that bridge at a later date.
So my final statement to the manager was, since the dealer insisted that we refer other people to them to buy their cars, to give me one good reason why I should refer anyone to their dealership. As far as I could see, it was bare bones service that would be the absolute minimum to expect from any dealership, and to top it of we drop more than 20,000$ on a vehicle and they try to shaft us on a tank of gas? Could he think of any reason why I should recommend them to anyone? Why I shouldn't tell people that they should only go to Crestview if they want to buy a car like they shop at Safeway - the price you see, as is, take it or leave it?
He declined to answer or give me any excuses. I did walk out of there with a full tank of gas, a free oil change (and we got one with the purchase so now we have two) and a load off my chest. And Teresa, you'd be proud of me - I did it without dropping a single F-bomb!
I'm still bitter about it though, and I wouldn't recommend anyone buy from them. Looking online and not finding much in the way of better deals for the Jeep we got did soothe me a little bit and help me feel better about the purchase, but the service sucked and I'm not hopeful about any of our future dealings with them.
But enough about the unpleasantries. I'm excited about the Jeep itself if not how we got it. I have an optimistic outlook on the vehicle - if it can survive its first year without injury! I'm a bit of a black cloud when it comes to vehicular sacrifice. But this is something we plan to keep for a long, long time, so I'm kinda glad we decided to invest in something that isn't going to need repair every few months.
So on to the good stuff! Pictures!
At the dealership.
This is the cleanest it is ever likely to be for the rest of its life.
Out to the dirt roads already!
Glam shot! She's all 4x4, baby!