Went car looking on Saturday.
Was surprised how few dealerships were open. The fourth of July used to be a huge day for car sales. Guess it is a changing of the times.
Our first stop was the Mazda dealer to look at the Tribute. Once again we had the bad luck of getting a salesman that didn’t usually sell the type of car we were looking at. He mainly sells sports cars and not SUVs, but he was still nice. Even if goodlittlegirl thought we was a little too salesmanshipy ( yes, I know that isn’t a word). Overall the Tribute wasn’t bad, and drove well. You sat high in the car, which I liked, but still didn’t feel like you were about to hit your head on the roof. The cargo area was a little small, but then again I’m used to the back of my empty van. The rear seats had to transform in order to lie down; and even then they still were not flat.
The next stop was the Jeep dealer around the corner (literally). There was music blaring and the sign says they were open, but they weren’t. So we wandered around the lot looking at cars. Stopped at one of the Compass only to find it unlocked. We opened up the doors to look inside. Only to find a key for a Liberty inside. When we pressed the remote unlock, the car next to us unlocked; so we looked around that car. ( not very encouraged by a place that leaves cars unlocked and keys lying around.). Also went and saw the Patriot, but it wasn’t unlocked and the tinted windows made it hard to see inside.
Our last scheduled stop was the Mercury dealer; they too weren’t open. So we looked around the lot for Mariners; which we found. Only to discover they are clones of the Mazda Tribute. While we couldn’t get inside as the car was locked. The dashboard was identical in its layout to the Tribute. I knew from the Mazda salesman that Mazda and Ford worked together, but I didn’t think they were clones.
Thanks to our Garmin we found another Jeep dealer in Lexington that was open, for a little longer. So we went there to look at the Patriot. The one they showed us was in burnt Orange color, that to our surprise we liked. The cargo area looked larger, plus the back seats did lay completely flat. The front passenger seat could also fold down. The car was lower, and to me felt tighter than the Mazda. Our initial salesman was nice, but then his boss came in to try and get us to deal that day. Saying that if we waited until the CARS program to by a car, we would lose out on dealer incentives. While the final details of the program are still being worked out. From my understanding all CARS does is set a specific value for your trade in. So if a dealer says I have to choose between CARS or their incentives; I will choose option 3 and go to another dealer.
I’m not sure why I’m so interested in a Jeep. I have never owned one; and while they might have been great cars in the past, today they seems to suck. goodlittlegirl who has far more LJ friends and communities that I do, spammed most of them asking for opinions. Only one response was positive for a Jeep; the rest were negative or extremely negative.
Our first stop was the Mazda dealer to look at the Tribute. Once again we had the bad luck of getting a salesman that didn’t usually sell the type of car we were looking at. He mainly sells sports cars and not SUVs, but he was still nice. Even if goodlittlegirl thought we was a little too salesmanshipy ( yes, I know that isn’t a word). Overall the Tribute wasn’t bad, and drove well. You sat high in the car, which I liked, but still didn’t feel like you were about to hit your head on the roof. The cargo area was a little small, but then again I’m used to the back of my empty van. The rear seats had to transform in order to lie down; and even then they still were not flat.
The next stop was the Jeep dealer around the corner (literally). There was music blaring and the sign says they were open, but they weren’t. So we wandered around the lot looking at cars. Stopped at one of the Compass only to find it unlocked. We opened up the doors to look inside. Only to find a key for a Liberty inside. When we pressed the remote unlock, the car next to us unlocked; so we looked around that car. ( not very encouraged by a place that leaves cars unlocked and keys lying around.). Also went and saw the Patriot, but it wasn’t unlocked and the tinted windows made it hard to see inside.
Our last scheduled stop was the Mercury dealer; they too weren’t open. So we looked around the lot for Mariners; which we found. Only to discover they are clones of the Mazda Tribute. While we couldn’t get inside as the car was locked. The dashboard was identical in its layout to the Tribute. I knew from the Mazda salesman that Mazda and Ford worked together, but I didn’t think they were clones.
Thanks to our Garmin we found another Jeep dealer in Lexington that was open, for a little longer. So we went there to look at the Patriot. The one they showed us was in burnt Orange color, that to our surprise we liked. The cargo area looked larger, plus the back seats did lay completely flat. The front passenger seat could also fold down. The car was lower, and to me felt tighter than the Mazda. Our initial salesman was nice, but then his boss came in to try and get us to deal that day. Saying that if we waited until the CARS program to by a car, we would lose out on dealer incentives. While the final details of the program are still being worked out. From my understanding all CARS does is set a specific value for your trade in. So if a dealer says I have to choose between CARS or their incentives; I will choose option 3 and go to another dealer.
I’m not sure why I’m so interested in a Jeep. I have never owned one; and while they might have been great cars in the past, today they seems to suck. goodlittlegirl who has far more LJ friends and communities that I do, spammed most of them asking for opinions. Only one response was positive for a Jeep; the rest were negative or extremely negative.