Driven to Despair

Forbes ^ | 4/19/2009 | Joann Muller,

[MHGinTN]

Well I love my Entourage minivan!

[Unknowing]

They didn’t need intelligence. They had unions. Notice the past tense.

[Graybeard58]

When I think of my experience with Chevrolet and Jeep dealers, I wouldn't mind seeing them all go. It is truly shocking and infuriating to deal with the degree of callousness and incompetence that I put up with from those thieves.

You mean like the G.M. dealer service department that told my wife to turn up the radio, when she complained about excessive wind noise in her new Trail Blazer?

[bruinbirdman]

"They didn’t need intelligence. They had unions. Notice the past tense."

Killing Oldsmobile in 2004 cost GM $1 billion to buy back unsold inventory and compensate dealers when their franchises were terminated.

That's one reason the Obama administration seems to be guiding GM toward bankruptcy court, where a judge could break those franchise agreements. "Bankruptcy is one of the most powerful courts in the U.S. because you can do stuff that you normally can't do, like kill contracts," says David Lerner, a bankruptcy attorney in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

For that reason, Chevy dealer Bruce McConnell of Healdsburg, Calif. thinks a GM bankruptcy is inevitable. "The franchise laws are just too strong. That's the only way they can take a wide swath through the dealer body,"

yitbos

[catnipman]

Honda dealerships can be amazing. I put out bids from Colorado via the Internet for a Honda CRV for my father in Charlotte, NC. Hendrick Honda won the bid. They ended up with an interest rate lower than what they originally said would be the case, and they never tired to add on any dealer ripoff fees. A couple of emails and phone calls later, I had my father go to the dealership and sign his name in 3 places and he drove off the lot, no money down. The total of the contract was to the penny what they said it would be and his monthly payment was to the penny what they said it would be. Everyone I dealt with was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

That's Honda for you!

[tiki]

LOL, not long after my FIL died my MIL wanted a new car so we took her to get one. We worked out a deal with a supposed 1K off the price, then we told him she had a trade-in and he re-figured it and, lo and behold, it was the same price as w/o a trade-in. The thing that floored me is that he denied that it was the same end deal.

I’ve only bought 2 new cars and I hated dealing with car salesmen, I only buy used and I love it. I know a guy who tells me exactly the lowest price he’ll take and there is no dickering.

[roadcat]

Ford is selling an optional micro-refrigerator that fits between the back seats and can cool a couple of cans of soda and a sandwich or two. The cost? $780!!

Crazy! People are so spoiled today. I keep several water bottles behind the seat of my truck. Don't need it cold; warm water quenches thirst. $780? Crazy.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Funny - I do the same. Always grab a case of water at the best sale price to keep in my Expedition and drink it hot or cold. My kids always count on having that water there when they want it and it teaches them they don’t need soda, too. On a hot summer day, the water does get pretty warm though!

You also have to ask “what recession?” when they offer an $800 cooler for sandwiches and soda, huh?

[wendy1946]

I have friends in the auto wholesale business who tell me that the Saturns are all but totally immune to problems, and never break.