OT: Buying a new car

     I've shared with you the bad news when my wife totalled her car when she was sideswiped by a train.  She wasn't hurt.  Then we began shopping for a replacement.        I love reading auto mags and researching the various models.  However, I hate buying a car.  You know I have a nervous condition and I fall to pieces easily.  Luckily, my wife's brother, Mark who is a car salesman said he'd come down on his day off and go to the dealer with him.  I'm so glad he did.  He's worked for several dealers in Central and North Jersey, so he could get info on mark-ups on any model from friends of his.      I chose a Suzuki SX4 with auto and we went to the dealer on Fri with Mark.  We had already got a preliminary price from the dealer and we were pre-approved for the loan from my wife's credit union.  We also had our FICO scores which Mark said dealers call triple-platinum.  We were apprehensive about the deal, but Mark assured us we were dealing with an honest dealer ( is that an oxymoron?) and that he couldn't improve the deal.  Still, I was shaking while signing many forms and being a little concerned about the Gap ins.  Mark told me not to worry about it ( we got the Gap from the credit union on Fri but the loan isn't going in until Mon so we can get a lower rate).  Yeah, tell me not to worry about something.  I told him I don't want to be that way, but that's who I am.     By, the way, I want to apologize to you guys because my comments over the last couple weeks weren't as well thought out as I usually am.  I still believe what I posted, but I could have said it in a nicer way.

 

 

"We were apprehensive about the deal, but Mark assured us we were dealing with an honest dealer ( is that an oxymoron?) " Me thinks it is indeed an oxymoron  We just bought my 16 year old daugther her first call and let me tell you, car salesmen are a different breed to say the least. Best of luck, SJ

If you guys want this economy to improve, you should bye american.  Keep buying these susukis and toyotas and nissons, and you'll soon find yourself unemployed.

     Back in the '70's, I thought the autoworkers were being paid exhorbitantly for simply doing factory work.  I consider it honorable work, but their jobs did not justify their pay.  I think they can now pin the demise of the American auto industry on their own unions.  I am sorry if I offend you since I see that you live in MI.      I have bought mostly Japanese cars because the quality was so much better.  We generally buy our cars based on ratings in Consumer Reports.  And, since we are lower middle income, we have to buy the best quality for the money.  We buy cars and keep them until they drop.  With Japanese cars with auto trans, that's usually between 170,000 and 200,000 miles.  The last car that I bought for myself was a very nice used 1993 Ford Taurus wagon.  I loved that car, but the trans started to go at a mere 100,000 miles.  I'm currently driving a 1991 Toyota Camry with 85,000 miles on it that my Dad gave me when he could no longer drive due to poor vision.

As to my wife's new Suzuki, it is the only car available under $20,000 that has AWD.  I started looking for a car to replace her Mazda about a year ago.  I was primarily looking for a small car with auto that I could enter and exit easily.  When I started my WLS journey, I weighed 571 lbs and I now weigh 365.  So, it is difficult for me to get into and out of most cars.  This is exaxerbated by a grossly swollen right thigh (due to lymphodema).  I can Easily get into and out of the Suzuki SX4 Crossover.  It's a subcompact with more interior room than most compacts.

     When it comes to the American economy, you have to realize that we live in a global economy.  You can blame that on our own major companies who decided to ship manufacturing jobs oversees when they only cared about their own profits.  Blame them for the unemployment.  You can buy stocks in their companies, the Japanese companies, or any other stock sold on the world market.

   MY employment never was dependent on the success or failure of the American auto industry.  I've always worked for the govt since I graduated college in '72.  I started out working on the county level dealing with welfare recipients in nursing homes (like so many of our relatives).  I was grandfathered into the Social Security Admin in 1974 to work with SSI.  I left there in 1980 to work for the Railroad Retirement Board and retired on disability in 1992.  I've been receiving a federal disability pension since then.  My wife has worked for several different employers and she now works for GE.

 

You are terribly missinformed about the wages of the auto companies.  I am skilled trades, which puts me at the upper end of the pay scale, and I make 65 k a year.  The media blows many things out of proportion.  You being a government employee, your benefits are better then ours, and we have to bear the burdon of it for you. A nother thing is the economy rests on the working man, and the economy will fail if the working man doesnt have a job, which are created by home based products whether they are automotive or whatever. And lastly, if you read consumer reports, the American made autos have HIGHER quality results and consumer satisfaction than our foriegn based competitors.

Well, since this can of worms was already opened up....   What is "American-made" anymore?  GM, Ford and Chrysler (sort-of) may be traditional American nameplates, but that doesn't say ANYTHING about their source components.  I work for a US automotive parts supplier, and I guarantee we are in competition everyday from the world.  The same leaders of the Big 3 who want us to 'Buy American', have no hesitation whatsoever about buying their PARTS from foreign suppliers if it seems a better deal.  And those Toyota Camrys you see all over?  Quite likely, they were built in Georgetown, Kentucky, with American labor. That said, I have real empathy for those who are constantly in danger of having their livelihood outsourced, because I am one of those people. It is very easy for a company to outsource jobs - IMHO, TOO easy.  Personally, I blame government policy for that, and things like NAFTA.      

I agree with you on most points, except even though some of those vehicles you mentioned are assembled in the USA, the profits go back to those respective countries.  And lets go a little further.  The USA under the free trade agreement allows these and othe manufactures to build and sell their product in the USA without tarrifs, while these same countries DO NOT permit Us based companies to build and/or sell in their countries without huge tarriffs.  Where is the fairness in that?

... "Where is the fairness in that?" Exactly, Kevin! It's a heckuva way to run an economy!  ... Or is it 'ruin' an economy?

Sad thing is, with declining sales of 'American' cars,  they are outsourcing more and more trying to find that magic profit margin.  We read all the time that they're looking to Mexico and Canada to build stuff cheaper. However, at the same time, Toyota and Honda are building here, and their sales are thru the roof.  I too prefer to buy American, but now, it seems the formerly 'foreign' cars provide more jobs in the US that domestic auto manufacturers. Before my back injury, one of my jobs was as an Expedite truck driver fleased to FedExCC, and I carried a LOT of Honda parts for cars assembled here.   So, which is better, buying a car where the purchase price goes back to our country, or the car which provided JOBS to our country. I'm not sure any more. Dale

This is my last comment on this whole thing.  I first posted to explain my anxiety in buying a new car.  Then I responded to a couple people *****sponded to my post (something I usually don't do).  I'll modify my first response to Keving that we can blame big unions, big business, and our own government for the mess we're in.  We feel powerless because our Congress continues to sell themselves out to powerful special interest groups.  We feel like serfs of old.  We have the power to vote ( and less than half of eligible voters do so) but whoever we put in office soon forgets about the little guy.  They say they need the money from the lobbyists to stay in Congress.  Maybe they should only be in for one term--just maybe.  And, King George has assumed too much power--and I actually voted for him both times because of his anti-abortion stance.  I decided to sacrifice my own financial well- being for my basic beliefs.  Please don't slam me for that decision.  I get to discuss all of this thoroughly every week with a very intelligent friend who grew up in the Mid-West.  We agree on some things and disagree on others.  As a vet, his views on the war on terror are different than mine.  I'm sure I've said too much in this response.  I apologize to any of you who I may have offended.  Bob