2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 Cheap Sport Utility

Like I said in an earlier posting, sometimes staring at traffic takes all my time. Last time I teased you with some tidbits about a 2004 Volkswagen Touareg I'm going to list on eBay. I said I would post some pictures and that is what this post is for.


I've been driving this VW Touareg for about a week now and I'm quite impressed. Compared to it's cousin, the Porsche Cayenne, the Touareg actually seems more refined. Volkswagen came up with a body design that successfully combines a rugged stance with a classy appearance. This Touareg is one of those rare sport utilities that is equally at home out in the woods or out on the town. Volkswagen's signature blue and red interior lighting really makes a statement on this 2004 Touareg!



Unlike many vehicles on the road today there is no bad angle for this Touareg. It has that "complete" look right out of the box and based on the looks and glances I get driving it around town this is one SUV that will look good long into the future. The 18" split-spoke wheels have a satin like finish look great. Yes, you could put bigger wheels onto the Touareg if that is your desire but the eighteens look good and still allow for that occasional off-road romp.

2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 Cheap Cheater SUV

What? I'm doing what? Yep, I'm pitching a car to you, faithful reader. Not just any old car either. That just wouldn't do you any justice at all. An intelligent person like yourself deserves to drive a car that is squarely above average.

Actually I'm not pitching a car. I'm pitching a genuine SUV. A V8, 4x4, German SUV. Co-developed with that hallmark of performance, Porsche. Powered by possibly one of the best V8's on the market today. Coupled to an honest-to-goodness real, live, capable 4x4 drive-train complete with a locking differential, automatic hill decent, full time four-wheel drive, and approach and departure angles that would make a Hummer H2 look over it's shoulder in open jealousy. Best of all, this SUV comes from a manufacturer that will likely cut short any negative comments from your sure to be growing list of green oriented friends.

That's right, the same folks who married flower power to the automobile way back in the sixties and did it all over again in the late nineties just happen to make one of the best SUV's on the planet. Who ever would have thought Volkswagen had it in them? Not me, that's for sure.

Pardon me a moment while I slip into my favorite polyester three-piece and fake snake-skin boots. You know what they say about clothes making the man. I'm trying to sell y'all an absolutely phenomenal used truck here and in order to do it justice I have to slip into my used car sales guy role and there is just something about those boots ya know.

What I've got for you is an almost pristine 04 Volkswagen Touareg V8. In a little while there'll be some pictures for you to stare longingly at but until then you'll have to trust me that its a metallic soft green/gray color with chrome in all the right places and sporty black trim everywhere else. This beauty has 18" ten-spoke alloys that are basically five-spoke wheels with a hole cut in the middle of each spoke. They look great. Coming down the road everyone else will be forced to glance your direction as they are mesmerized by your bi-xenon self-leveling headlights. Want to get that attractive member of the opposite sex's attention at the traffic light? Make sure those lights are on and hit the windshield cleaner. Just below each light a flush fit powered nozzle will raise upwards and spray a powerful burst of water at the lights. If the temp is right you'll even get a romantic fog effect. Absolutely nobody can resist gawking at this event, I don't care how many times you've seen it before.

Inside your 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 you'll be surrounded in luxury, enjoying the atmosphere accentuated by genuine burled walnut and brushed aluminum trim. The leather seats are some of the most comfortable in the business and the front chairs are of course power adjustable. Volkswagen adds a sporty touch (read BMW) by illuminating your controls in 747 cockpit red and makes a bold statement with indigo blue information screens. There are features a-plenty on this luxury truck and I'll go in depth in the next post.

In my last post I mentioned that this truck is a "cheater." If your not in the business you probably don't know what the heck I'm talking about. No worries, after all this is why I write this blog; to give you Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer all the inside information you want. A cheater is a used car or truck that is particularly nice, probably somewhat scarce, normally originally very expensive, and looks virtually brand new. What is the catch? The catch is that in order to be a cheater the used car or truck in question has to have some miles on her. In this 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8's case, the odometer reads 70K.

Now Kelly Blue Book will tell you that this 04 Touareg is still worth somewhere near the mid-twenties with those kind of miles, especially coming from your friendly local dealer. Which is good because that is the number you're going to quote to your friends and neighbors. (Go ahead, I won't tell them how cheap you are if you won't.) The average 04 Volkswagen Touareg that your co-worker drives probably has under fifty-thousand miles on the odometer and he or she probably paid right near thirty grand for it sometime during the last six months. So you've heard prices being tossed about in the twenty-five to thirty-thousand dollar range now. Not horrible for a truck that had an MSRP knocking on the fifty-thousand dollar door. But I said this VW Touareg is a cheater. That means you can buy it for less than twenty-thousand dollars.

Let me say that one more time. You, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer can call me up and buy this 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 for less than twenty-thousand dollars.

Watch for my next post and for pictures to appear here. I'll update you with an eBay link as soon as the listing goes live also. Don't worry, it won't be an auction. I prefer to offer used cars and trucks like this with the "Best Offer" style listing.

Can't wait for all of that? Call me. Call me now. Leave a message if I don't answer. Come see this 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 for yourself. Come drive it. Bring your mechanic and have him or her drive it too. You can reach me at 330-459-1348. Thanks for stopping and see you next time!

Staring at Traffic Sometimes Takes All My Time

Staring at traffic has apparently taken more of my time than usual as of late. I began this blog roughly in the middle of April with absolutely not a care as to how busy things can become at the car lot at the end and beginning of any given month.

I've set a goal for myself to make posting a regular habit since I have learned over the last week how easy it is to create daily excuses as to why I don't have the time to do a post here. I've also done some thinking on the nature of the blog and I'm going to venture down a somewhat different course in terms of subject matter as well.

You see, as I mention repeatedly, I sell cars for a living. I happen to enjoy selling cars and generally can honestly say I look forward to going to work each day. I'm lucky that way. Upon review I've come to the conclusion that I've made somewhat of a mistake in terms of my subject matter. Odds are, if you're reading my blog you might just be smarter than the average bear. (And good for you!) You probably don't need a step by step break down of a car salesperson's strategy and thought process during the car sales process. Your probably more interested in the results such knowledge might bring you, such as saving money or finding the best used car out there.

So, Mr. and Ms. Car Buyer, I'm no longer (hopefully) going to bore you to death with my oh so studious approach to selling cars. I'm not going to sit here and labor for fifteen minutes over each paragraph attempting to make sure I've phrased things in such a way that will not offend anyone and make my English teachers' collectively proud. Screw all that. If you want a scholarly analysis of the car buying process stop at Border's or your local public library. I'm sure they might be able to help you.

Bottom line, I'm busy and I'll bet your busy too. So forget all the rhetoric and language arts. Lets just talk about cars, selling them, buying them, and loving them. Thats all that really matters in the end anyways, right? After all, if you didn't have some sort of emotional bond to your car you probably wouldn't be searching about cars on the internet. You'd probably be looking at porn or watching music videos or doing some other distraction the internet has to offer.

Later today I'm going to combine selling cars and talking about cars into one post. I won't do this terribly often but I happen to be driving the cleanest 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 I've come across in a good long while. Better than that it's a cheater. Yep, it has 70k on the odometer and boy can you steal this truck! What's a cheater? Why do the miles matter? Check in later and I'll explain that. Hopefully I'll figure out how to load some pictures too. As always thanks for stopping and see you in a little bit!

Do Car Dealerships Make You Comfortable?

It's been a typical Monday today at the car lot. It is the last three days of April now and we are all busy generating as much traffic as we can so we can sell as many cars as we can. I'm sure many of your companies operate in a similar fashion where the end of the month is a big deal. My salespeople have done a good job bringing people into the dealer today which put a spotlight on today's topic.

Are you, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer truly comfortable walking into your local car dealer? Is it true that you would rather go have your car buyer teeth pulled before coming to see me? I spoke with a couple earlier today who quite innocently uncovered why that might be. It is not what you think. It's not me, or even the stereotypical version of me (you know, the used car guy with snake skin boots and polyester suits), it's not even the pressure you believe all car salespeople are trained to put on you to buy a car. Sorry, I should have said BUY A CAR TODAY! (Though maybe the pressure thing is part of it.)

You, Mr. and Ms. Car Buyer, do not enjoy going to car dealers because you don't understand how the car dealership operates. Think about that. Outside of your assumption that we must sell cars to make money, you probably don't know much about how a car dealer works. It's not like I work at Target or Wal-Mart or Best Buy for that matter. With those companies, most buyers or customers know how things work. You don't need a salesperson's assistance to make a purchase and more important you know where items are located inside the store. You know where the check-out counters are, heck you probably could even describe the location of the restrooms at most of your local chain stores. Why is this? Chances are you visit those store once a month or more and by acclimation you have become comfortable with the individual store layout.

Want to know a better reason than those above as to why you look forward to your visits to Best Buy or Target but loathe coming to see me, the friendly used car guy selling cars at the local car dealer? Virtually every retail store operates the same way. Shopping at Best Buy is no different than shopping at Target. Shopping at Wal-Mart is no different than shopping at Best Buy. They are all the same. You go in, you pick out what you want to buy, you pay and you leave. Simple, easy, familiar, and comfortable.

Car dealers don't work like that. Maybe we should, but we don't. Even like-branded car dealers will handle their sales and customer interaction procedures differently. Most dealers will rush greet you the moment you step foot on the lot, some won't. As a potential car buyer you've been conditioned to expect this greeting. I've watched customers leave the car lot angry because we decided to give them time to become comfortable with their surroundings. They were angry because they felt ignored, yet I guarantee you they complained to their neighbors about the car dealers who did rush to greet them for being too pushy.

As Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer you are not inherently comfortable in your role because you don't play it very often and we do not often follow the same procedures at the dealer lots. All you know for sure is you have to deal with a salesperson. If you look here, you will see I have already talked about the meet and greet. The next step at most car dealers is vehicle selection. My next post will cover this in detail. If you can't wait you can always check out this great book here. Thanks for stopping and see you next time!

Saturday Car Dealer Ramblings

Have you ever known someone who told you they were going to "try selling cars"? I would imagine most of you probably do as the car business tends to attract almost every sales oriented person at one time or another.

Somewhat surprisingly I would say only ten to twenty percent of the folks who try selling cars actually choose to stick with it for any meaningful amount of time. Most of the car salespeople I started out with have long since moved on to their version of bigger and better things. I should qualify this post and my opinions about car sales in general by telling you now that other than selling expensive bicycles for a year I've spent my entire adult career doing nothing but selling new and used cars so my viewpoint may be a bit warped here.

I've never understood why so many salespeople only seem to make it two or three months in this business. It is not terribly hard to sell someone a car and virtually everyone you know is a prospect. I've always told my people that to succeed in car sales you have to like one of the following three things:

• Cars
  
• People
• Money

It doesn't particularly matter which of the above you like or which order you may happen to like any of them in, but you need to like at least one and the more the better. The car business is really that simple unless you choose to make it complicated.

A car salesperson shows up to work, calls customers, watches the lot for customers, helps with moving the inventory around, pals around with the other employees, calls salespeople at other car dealers, answers and writes emails, writes letters and mails cards, and stays up on new car product information via manufacturer support. There is training and such to attend to as well as various other duties and responsibilities of course (here in the North we have to scrape the snow off of the cars each time it storms) but absolutely none of it is difficult. The best part is that all of the above only takes up half of your day and what you do with the rest of the day depends on how motivated you are.

This post is the beginning of a Saturday tradition where I will share stories and events, both past and present, that have happened to me, with me, or around me, as I spend my day staring at traffic and talking to customers. As always thanks for stopping and please come back soon.

Buying a Car Now? Need Help but Can't Wait?

I received an interesting email yesterday that got me thinking. This particular reader tracked me down to ask a few specific questions because he was quite literally in the middle of buying a new used car for himself.

All of the questions this Mr. Car Buyer asked are things that I plan to address here at Staring at Traffic but of course I've only just started this blog so it will be some time before I am able to thoroughly explain all of my dealer tips and such to you. These car buying tips will be posted in between many stories and tales I wish to tell as well so you can see that I probably won't be your "one stop shop" for car buying advice at any point in the near future.

With that thought in mind, your favorite used car salesperson went to Google and nosed around to see where I might be able to refer all of my Mr. and Ms. Car Buyers to for an immediately available and legitimate guide or info site. Surprisingly I didn't find too many such places out there. Well, there are a bunch of folks who claim to offer you such information but not many that appear to be speaking from real experience. Or, if there is real experience involved, the authors have yet to drop the "car lot hype" as I like to call it. Most of the websites and e-book sources I could find spend more time making new and used car dealers and car salespeople out to be criminals than they do actually giving you any good information.

I did find two sources alternate sources of information for you. The first is called Earl Stewart on Cars. He is another dealer blogger like myself except Mr. Stewart happens to own a Toyota franchise. He has been around longer than I have also, both in terms of his blog and in terms of being in the car business. His blog is used as a communication tool with his customers as well as for posting car buying information and in my opinion is an absolute wonderful read.

The other source unfortunately is not free but if you are planning your next car purchase in the very new future you would be hard pressed to find a better way to spend twenty bucks. Jerry Buck sold for many years at car dealerships and has created a very handy e-book basically walks you through the entire car buying process step by step. Jerry even takes the time to explain which method of car buying is probably best for you as well as walking you through exactly how to present what you want to your new or used car dealer of choice. Mr. Buck's website might be a little over-hyped but he delivers the goods and does so right now. I found his FAQ page to be the most informative way to learn about what your getting. If you decide to pick up Mr. Buck's book and have any problems with it feel free to contact me here as I'll be happy to help you. Mr. Buck also says he will offer assistance for the record.

There you have it. Two additional sources of car buying information to make sure you walk away with a car deal you can be satisfied with. Thanks for stopping and see you next time!

Car Dealer Pricing Strategy Tips Part One

eBay Motors apparently gets your attention. Several people contacted me to say they felt cheated and that I held back information on car pricing strategies from here. I did say that I could fill a virtual book with information on used car pricing strategies and I mean that. Alas though, I want no one to feel cheated by me or any other used car salesperson for that matter so I'm going present some various strategies intermittently here, both on how to help you determine the best price and to keep things interesting, some explanations of the "to good to be true"advertising put out by far too many car dealers.

Today I'm going to explain the "push it in, drag it in, we'll give you a ridiculous amount of money for it" ad style that your sure to find on any given Sunday in the local paper. These car ads walk a fine line between truth and lie. Will you, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer really get a ridiculous amount of money for your trade? Well, probably not so much.

First, you are most likely to see these ads primarily for new cars. Occasionally you'll see them in relation to gently used vehicles or "certified" used cars. The car dealer relies on factory incentives to make this ad work. Read the fine print on these ads and you're sure to see that the dealer is retaining all rights to any and all cash rebates or special finance offers. The dealer will usually also state in the fine print that to receive the maximum ridiculous amount of money for your trade you must pay MSRP for the car you are buying.

The dealer eliminates almost all possibility of loss by doing this and also eliminates almost all possibility of any true savings for you in the process. The following example is for a new car ad that states no matter what (except for the fine print, which apparently isn't included in the what) you, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer, will receive $5000.00 for your used car trade. The ad will be targeted to only a few new car models and may be limited to specific option groups as well. This is because the car dealer is making the $5000.00 offer for your trade valid only on the new cars with the highest factory rebates.

Folks I don't care what used car you own or what kind of shape it is in. If you tow it in and you have a clear title your used car is worth a minimum of $200.00 either to a wholesaler or a scrap yard. If you can drive your used car in, it is pretty much worth $300.00 to $500.00 no matter the car's year, make, model, or condtition. Now that your minimum used car value is known let's apply the rest of the math to this deal.

For this example you are buying a 2008 Supermotors SuperCar with the SE package. Currently Supermotors is offering a $3000.00 cash rebate for any customer who buys a SuperCar SE model before April 30th. Your dream SuperCar SE has a MSRP of $23000.00 and an invoice price of $20000.00. Your Supermotors car dealer is offering a minimum trade value of $5000.00 "no matter what it is!" You, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer are the proud owner of a Worstcar Worstmodel with the Ever package. Being a savvy car buyer you have done your homework and you know that your Worstmodel Ever is worth barely $500.00. You, Mr. or Ms. Car Buyer are now looking for your shoes and keys because you can't wait to collect your extra $4500.00.

For those of you keeping score at home, you probably realize that your friendly Supermotors car dealer is actually advertising nothing but a guaranteed profit for himself. The rest of you are now scrambling for a calculator. Settle down. Here's the explanation:

The Supermotors dealer has a profit margin of $3000.00 for his SuperCar SE. The dealer fine print states clearly that to receive your $5000.00 trade allowance you are buying your SuperCar SE for MSRP. Better still the fine print tells you the Supermotors dealer is also keeping the $3000.00 cash rebate currently being offered on the SuperCar SE. Your oh so generous Supermotors dealer is now working with an front-end profit of $6000.00 before your Worstmodel Ever is factored into the deal.

The Worstmodel Ever is valued at $500.00 for this deal, remember? The Supermotors dealer has a profit margin of $6000.00 but gives you, his valued customer, $5000.00 for your car. So the Supermotors dealer now has made a healthy $1500.00 profit on your new Supermodel SE purchase. This of course is arrived at by adding the true value of your trade ($500.00) to the difference of the front-end profit minus your trade allowance. ($6000-$5000=$1000) Who is really getting the good deal now?

I simplified the above example as much as possible to make sure everyone understands the methodology behind the advertisement. I intentionally did not go into various things like sales tax, hold-back, dealer rebates, and the potential profit of the trade to keep things simple. I also did not touch the financing of the deal which opens up an entire additional channel of profit to the Supermotors dealer in this example.

For those who felt cheated, hopefully you feel a bit better now. I'll be sure to post more pricing strategy information for your next new or used car purchase as time goes on. My next post will have nothing to do with pricing though, so consider yourself warned. As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I can't wait to see you next time!

eBay Used Car Buying Tips Part Two

What is the biggest advantage of buying a car on eBay? Price of course. Yes, I understand for some folks the biggest advantage of buying a used car on eBay might just be not having to spend the better part of their day with someone like myself, but in the interest of keeping my ego intact I'm voting for price. (Besides, the "price" topic will take much less time to type than the "why one wouldn't want to spend their day with a used car salesperson" topic would.)

So we've established price is the most compelling reason to buy a car on eBay. That's great and all, but what does it mean? Do dealers recognize eBay Motors is all about value and price their inventory accordingly? Do you, the used car buyer, just click on the buy-it-now button, secure in your knowledge that eBay Motors is about value therefore it must be the best price? Better still, do you just merrily bid away on your desired car's auction, again secure in the knowledge that eBay is about value and surely the market would never allow you to overpay? Probably not so much.

How does one get the best price on eBay Motors? Simple, you ask for it! I know, I know, I'm patronizing you just a little bit. Seriously though, paying the best price possible for your next car on eBay Motors is just as simple as asking for it. What's the catch? The catch is you have to know what the best price is to ask for it! Actually, you need to know how to determine a fair price for your next used car.

How do you determine a fair price? eBay Motors' new design provides you with a great starting point. In the top right corner of the vehicle listing pages eBay conveniently provides both a Kelly Blue Book price range as well as a range that the vehicle in question has sold for recently on eBay. I know my fellow dealers will wish to kill me for saying this but folks, unless you've found the "print check" button on the Kelly Blue Book website you should not pay too much attention to those numbers. They are generally just not based in reality. It is really a shame too, because I would dearly love to sell all of you a used car for Kelly Blue Book's suggested retail. eBay's numbers however are very relevant but you must keep in mind that those prices represent a large disparity in terms of the overall quality and condition of the used cars being sold on the Motors website.

I like to have three sources of information to fall back on when determining price. In addition to eBay Motor's numbers I would also suggest you look up your desired used car at the N.A.D.A. consumer website as well as on Cars.com or AutoTrader.com. Pay attention to the miles and equipment listed on the cars your viewing as they will most certainly vary. Make sure your comparing apples to apples to the best of your ability.

Once you've written down the varying price ranges you've found during your quick research you have two choices on how to proceed. You can average the numbers out to arrive at a fair offering price or you can approach the eBay dealer or seller with the lowest number and allow yourself to be moved upwards a bit. Seeing as selling used cars is my profession I enjoy negotiating so I tend to come in low and work from there. If, like most used car buyers, your not comfortable with negotiating, then I would suggest the average route. Call, don't email, your eBay dealer or seller and present him or her your offer. At this point the dealer will know you are a committed buyer because you've already paid someone money to have his or her car inspected. If both you and the dealer are realistic you should quickly come to an agreement.

Does that sound overly simplistic to you? It is. I've given you a good foundation of knowledge from which to get started but a blog is just not a realistic venue to provide you with a detailed step-by-step analysis on how to obtain the best price for your next car from eBay Motors. For instance, I don't have the room to conveniently show you the reasoning and methods behind what I am telling you here. I could fill an entire book on pricing strategy alone so I've kept this as simple and relevant as possible.

If you chose to apply my advice while purchasing your next used car from eBay Motors please be aware that negotiating a sale outside of eBay is strictly against eBay rules. Most, but not all, eBay used car dealers and sellers will close the sale outside of the auction forum. As a buyer, you are giving up all protections offered by eBay Motors if you do not complete the sale on eBay Motors. Please make sure you have done your due diligence. If your reading my blog, I'm confident you have. Thanks for stopping and see you next time!

eBay Used Car Buying Tips Part One

I'm not sure what the folks in San Jose have been doing lately but whatever it is they should keep it up. I've had more people approach me during last month with questions about picking up a car from eBay than I've had during the last year.

Buying and selling cars on eBay has been both a hobby and profession of mine since 2003. Much has changed over five years but for you, the customer, car buying basics still rule the day. In the past "experts" always trumpeted their opinion that eBay was only viable for "savvy" buyers, those with more than average car buying knowledge. I emphatically disagree with this. If eBay is the chosen venue for your next car purchase you should approach your buying adventure the same way you would off-line which means anyone can buy a car from eBay.

Find a reputable seller or dealer. One of the many things car dealers train their salespeople on is just this. For most of you out there your dealer or seller will play a far more critical role in your overall satisfaction than whatever car you buy ever will. Think about this. You can buy the best used car ever to grace eBay's website but if the seller or dealer is a complete jerk or just flat out unprofessional will you truly be happy with the transaction? Will you ever really feel comfortable with your new car if you can't shake the uneasy feeling you got from the dealer? Probably not. On the other hand you could buy the worst used car ever listed on eBay and still end up satisfied if the seller or dealer is truly professional, understanding, and helpful.

Once you have found your ideal vehicle listed with a dealer or seller that you are comfortable with, pay to have the vehicle inspected. Most dealers do check out the cars listed on eBay but nobody is perfect 100% of the time. Pay to have a trusted third-party repair shop or inspection service go over the vehicle, especially if the car is located too far from you to justify doing it yourself. Do not expect the dealer or seller to repair everything discovered during the inspection process unless you are willing to a pay a premium for such work. Remember, we are talking about buying a used car and while common sense may dictate that a used car will not be a new car, reality indicates many car buyers leave their common sense at home when shopping for a used car.

Now you have found the car you want from the dealer or seller you're comfortable with and the car checked out during inspection. You've invested considerable time and possibly a little bit of money in the vehicle at this point, right? eBay may not be happy with this next part so don't tell them please. Why on earth are you now going to sit there for the remaining time the auction has left and basically allow your opportunity to buy the car ride on chance? How do you know you're going to be the winning bidder? You don't and therein lies the rub with buying a car on eBay.

The good news is most actual car dealers will be more than happy to assist you in completing your purchase as quickly as possible. Dealers have no more desire than you to wait to complete a sale. However, the truly professional dealers that are making decent money from their eBay listings will never ask you to buy the car now. Why not? They can't. eBay rules forbid it. It is easy to see where eBay is coming from in regards to this as some dealers would decide to end every auction early to avoid paying fees. But you don't care about fees at this point. You just want to secure your vehicle.

To recap we now have walked through the following:

• Selecting a seller or dealer you are comfortable with that has the vehicle you want.
  
• Arranging and paying to have a third party repair center or inspection service thoroughly go over the car in question.
• Approaching the dealer or seller with the prospect of buying the car immediately.

Does this sound incredibly time consuming to you? It is really not. All of the above should take you no more than an afternoon or evening to complete. (The inspection may take an extra day due to scheduling constraints.) What is the advantage so far? You have yet to walk into a car dealership and you have yet to sit face to face with a car salesperson. Because you are operating "by remote" you have effectively eliminated the majority of the rhetoric and hype that comes with the car buying process.

Best of all I haven't touched on your biggest advantage the whole eBay buying process presents. That of course, is price. Over the next day or two I will explain in detail how to best determine a fair price for the car you want and how to obtain that price with little or no haggling from the dealer. Sound to good to be true? It's not. Thanks for stopping by and check back soon for tips on getting the best price on eBay!

Buy the Car NOW This Year, Don't Wait!

Yes, yes, I know. I sound just like every other overbearing, pushy used car guy you've come across. I also know that my stated purpose for this blog is to educate and entertain as opposed to sell, sell, sell!

Trust me (you love it when a used car salesman says that, I know you do) I'm only trying to help. Being a student of my chosen industry I read virtually every trade publication I can get my hands on and for the past eight weeks articles concerning the big banks have become more and more common. These articles are not about rousing profits and great first quarters either.

It seems that the "credit crisis" has finally started to hit the automotive world. Each week it seems another bank is busy raising lending standards. I'm not talking about your local small town operations either, I'm talking about the heavy hitters, like AmeriCredit for instance. They raised their minimum acceptable credit score by ten points last month. GMAC, General Motors' old captive finance arm tightened their standards no less than three times in 2007 and will likely do so again this year.

What does this mean for you? Simply put, until we start to see some economic relief (of which there is none currently on the horizon) it will become more and more difficult for you to obtain financing for your next car purchase. Even those of you with great credit need to be very aware of your debt load right now. Debt-to-income ratios are coming under more scrutiny than I've ever seen in the past. Not so long ago if your credit score was over 720 I could easily obtain financing for your car purchase regardless of existing outstanding debt. Today the first question often asked by bank representatives is in regards to your debt load. Are you still able to be financed if you've paid your bills on time? Generally yes, but perhaps not at the rate you might feel you deserve.

Do you have credit that is less than perfect? Now is most assuredly the time to be shopping for your car if you have already planned to purchase one this year. Odds are it will only become more difficult as the months roll on for you to obtain automobile financing if your credit has blemishes. You will either have to come up with a significant down payment to show a true commitment on your part or you will be told that a co-signer will be the only way to obtain financing. Some of you may be finding this out now.

I believe we have some ways to go yet before hitting "bottom" in terms of more stringent approval guidelines. If a new or used car purchase is on your to-do list for 2008 you will only be potentially costing yourself money by holding off on your purchase. Now is the time to buy your car. Will things get better? Most assuredly. The question is when and I do not see a relaxing of credit standards until at least 2009, if not beyond.

Hopefully I've proven myself to have better motives than just pushing you into a car today. You will only be helping yourself by moving up your car buying agenda. (Well, yes I suppose it won't hurt me either, but this is a true win-win situation!) Thanks for reading and please stop by again!

Winding Road too happy about Pontiac G8?

I love Pontiac. I've always had a special place in my heart for Pontiacs. My father owned a 1986 Fiero V6 with a 4 speed(!) and to my eleven year old eyes, it was the ultimate vehicle. I'm pretty sure at the time Ferrari and Fiero were one and the same for me. I drove a 1980 Trans-Am Indy Pace Car my senior year of high school (and for several years after) and I did the typical kid thing and yanked out the lousy turbo V8 and put in a proper 350 that was bored, stroked, and mildly cammed. Just what every eighteen year old needs, right?

I told you all of that to explain this post. Very rarely will I venture into the "car critic" or "car review" world with this blog. Occasionally though I simply cannot remain quiet. This is one of those times.

Winding Road recently published their take on the new Pontiac G8 sedans. They, like virtually every other car magazine, gave the sedan an overwhelmingly positive review. I mean this too, you'll be hard pressed to find a major car magazine that isn't pleased with Pontiac's G8. I only singled out Winding Road in the title because I absolutely love their online magazine.

I know what your thinking. If every magazine is agreeing on how good this car is, it must be good, right? Maybe. I say maybe because I believe the Pontiac G8 to be a fine automobile. Nobody will tear apart a low quality vehicle quicker than an auto enthusiast publication and nary a one had major complaints. Winding Road, among others, came away pleased with the G8's driving dynamics, sold road feel, and well, pretty much everything else too. So we know the G8 must be a pretty darn nice car.

Why the title of my post then? The Pontiac G8 looks flat out boring at best. I know the product engineers were on a short time line, but I was really hoping for a better looking car. The front looks much too like the current Grand Prix and the back reminds these eyes of the old Grand Am. Sandwiched in between this is what can only be described as Pontiac's attempt to crib the best green house outlines from Audi and BMW. And why oh why do they insist on those "ram-air" intakes on the hood? I can safely tell you my neighbor's Infiniti doesn't have raised air intakes marring its body work, nor does my friend's Chrysler 300c. I know that Pontiac is supposed to be the "excitement division" and all, but isn't 361HP enough excitement already? How about some menacing class instead of boy-racer add-ons?

I mention this only because I want to see Pontiac succeed. I want my son to lust after the next Trans-Am just as I used to do. I wouldn't mind parking a Pontiac in my driveway again, but it won't be the G8. It's a shame too. The car sounds great but I wouldn't notice it on the street unless I hit it head on. Winding Road seems to think that production of only 30,000 cars a year may be to little. I think it will be too much. After all, who really wants to plunk down $30K on a go-fast super sedan that even the owners are going to have problems finding in the mall's parking lot?

If Pontiac gets the body right the next time around, I'll one of the first in line. Until then I'll go on hoping and wishing for the re-birth of my favorite American brand. Thanks for stopping and see you next time.

Buying a car? Buy the Demo!

"Demo" is the term we use to describe the demonstrator vehicles that managers and some salespeople are allowed to drive home. If you take this advice you'll find that many dealers no longer allow their salespeople to have demos but most still give their managers a vehicle to drive.

If your shopping for a brand new car you can often pay less than MSRP and sometimes even less than invoice for a demo. The disadvantage for new car shoppers of course is that you are limiting yourself to the equipment found on the particular demo you are looking at. New car shoppers should check the mileage on the demo they are considering as well. Most states require car dealers to title a vehicle as "used" or "pre-owned" once the odometer shows five to six thousand miles. The closer to this mileage limit the demo your looking at is, the more you'll likely be able to save.

Purchasing a used car demo doesn't necessarily offer any price advantage over any other car on the dealer's lot, however the used car demo can offer greater peace of mind. Why? One of the perks of my position is the privilege of a demo and I can safely tell you that I only pick and choose the best driving and best equipped vehicles currently in inventory. No need to drive a mid level Ford Taurus when a Chevrolet Suburban LT is sitting right next to it!

How can you determine which vehicles are demos on a dealer's lot? Look for the dealer license plate bolted on the back. Most states issue dealer specific license plates and demos are generally the cars with the plates bolted on as opposed to magnetically attached or tossed in the back window. In states that issues their dealer tags in a numerical series I also suggest looking for the lower number plates. Every society has some version of a class system and in the dealer sales world the lower the number that appears on your plate, the higher up the food chain you are. The lower number plates will typically be bolted to the nicest vehicles on the dealer's lot.

Shopping for a used demo car can be extremely effective in the under $10,000 price range. Independent car dealers are most likely to allow their staff to drive vehicles home and I can recommend no better way for you to pick out the higher quality cars currently in the inventory. If you're a buy-here pay-here customer, this is even more accurate. Buy-here pay-here dealers tend to keep cars valued at under $5,000 even though they may charge far more and you can be sure that only the most reliable cars are being driven home or used on a daily basis.

Remember, look for a demo the next time your in the market for a new or used automobile. Demos will certainly offer you greater peace of mind and usually save you money too!

As always, thank you for stopping by!

The Meet and Greet

The meet and greet. For you consumers out there the meet and greet is what happens when you are first spoken to upon arrival at your local car dealer. Each dealer is likely to handle this crucial part of the sales process in their own way but the underlying reasoning behind each style is universal.

If the meet and greet is done even mildly well you would never realize how much time and effort has been poured into what amounts to a handshake and exchanging of names. Your salesperson has probably endured more training focused on these first few minutes of interaction with you, the customer, than most people receive in five years for their entire job. I have personally spent multiple hours in both one on one and group training sessions concentrating on nothing but my handshake and eye contact. This type of training is generally a good thing and does help the average person like myself make a better impression on you, the customer.

The keyword above would be generally. I've worked for several stores where the focus on the meet and greet is so strong the rest of the process is forgotten or neglected. You've probably experienced the negative side of this yourself. You stop by your local dealer and a salesperson approaches. He or she has a big smile and their arm is already partially extended before they even get within ten feet of you. Being the savvy automobile consumer you are, you nod and turn your back and almost immediately hear something like "Hi, welcome to such and such motors, my name is _____ and what's your name?"

At this time the salesperson has probably managed to at least get in front of you so you have to acknowledge him or her. If you opt to not give your name during your response your poor salesperson will be forced to ask for it again. You see, he or she has been trained so well that the option of moving forward in the conversation without getting your name right away won't occur to them. Most of you will give your name when asked a second time. If you want to have some fun politely decline from giving your name again. Nine out of ten times your would-be salesperson will excuse themselves and make a bee-line for the manager's office who will then send out a different salesperson to see if they have better luck. This scenario plays out all too often at dealers across the country and all of this fuss occurs before anyone has even bothered to find out what it is you're looking for.

It occurs as a direct result of the extra baggage most meet and greet training comes with. We are taught that only one in four of you will purchase a vehicle from us on average. (Watch for another post about this one!) As a result of this sobering statistic we are taught that your name and contact information are vital information, without which we will likely fail to accomplish anything. You see, if only one in four of you are going to buy from me, I need to get the names of you three non-buyers so I may call you each day to make sure you haven't changed your mind. Perhaps most importantly we are taught that if we speak with a customer and do not get said contact information and inform the manager as to what that information is we will likely be let go from our positions.

You read that correctly. Salespeople at most modern dealers are even now threatened with their jobs on a regular basis. This isn't a complaint on my part, after all I choose to occupy a performance based position and if I can't perform I shouldn't keep my position. It is however a major stress point for most newer salespeople which is why they stumble all over themselves when you Mr. or Ms. Customer decide to not provide them with your information. So the next time your browsing at your local dealers' lots keep this in mind as your salesperson approaches. Relax and smile, after all you now know that approaching salesperson is not thinking at all about selling you a car. They just want your name and phone number.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Are you a Credit Challenged Person? Here's What Not To Do!

If your human and you speak English you've undoubtedly hear the term "sub-prime" at some time over the last twelve months. For those of you still in doubt "sub-prime" basically lumps all those folks who have blemishes on their credit reports into one large, sprawling category of people. According to the experts, supposedly less than half of us fall into this category. I'm not one to argue with the experts but I will tell you that far more than half of potential car buyers fall into the sub-prime sector of the credit world.

This isn't always a big deal. Like I said before this is one large category. Those in the upper echelon of the sub-prime world usually won't have much of struggle finding financing for their new vehicle purchase as long as they have stable employment, a down payment, and decent residence history. You might be this person if your worst sin is paying late on a couple of credit cards now and then. Unfortunately for me, even this customer is becoming more and more difficult to find.

More and more of us seem to be having difficulty meeting our obligations lately. Which isn't necessarily the end of the world. If your local dealer is any good at all he or she will have multiple financing options available to provide loans for the majority of folks that come on the lot. What most customers don't understand however is that these programs are very expensive for both them and the dealer. These programs also sometimes seem to require more information and documentation than a Top-Secret clearance from the U.S. Government. Unlike horse-shoes and hand grenades almost isn't going to cut it either. Which is why often times an otherwise qualified buyer gets turned away.

It is how you respond to this rejection Mr. or Ms. Customer that will ultimately decide your fate. If you graciously accept the bad news and go home to start compiling the necessary information and politely keep your salesperson in the loop during this process, your dealer is likely to go to the ends of the earth to obtain financing for your desired vehicle. I can say this with some authority because I have personally gone to great lengths to get folks approved who really had no business getting a loan other than the simple fact they worked just as hard if not harder than I did to enable me to help them.

Upon hearing the word "no" most folks transform into what I like to call Mr. and Mrs. Entitled. They become indignant, they shout, they accuse me of wasting their time, and they demand an approval as if we can just arbitrarily change the bank's decision. Keep in mind, these folks are typically people who have never paid anyone for anything ever. Life, however, has dealt them a bad hand and because of whatever situation they find themselves in (usually one of their own creation) they feel they deserve a car because they need one. It is completely beyond this type of person's comprehension that the stock holders of the lending institutions they applied to couldn't care less about what their needs or wants are. You have to remember folks when you apply for a car loan you are asking someone for their own hard-won, cold, hard cash. Sure, they might get to hold the car as collateral but your vehicle isn't going to cover their payroll or pay their stockholders' dividends if you don't make your payments. If you've never written a good check in your life there is very little reason for someone to take a chance on you. If you couple this with the mentality of a five year old in a toy store, most of us normal folks will slam the door in your face and won't lose a moment's sleep about it either.

If your credit challenged you now know how important it is to have a good attitude when visiting your local car lot. You also need to be realistic. If you know you've rarely gotten the urge to pay a bill you should know that you are not going to be allowed to purchase your dream car either. Most automobile loans are based on a car's book value, or percentage of said book value. I'll be the first to tell you that most cars older than ten years don't have much of a value, no matter what your dealer may tell you otherwise. Most cars with more than 7o or 80 thousand miles on the odometer also don't hold much of a book value. So your dreams of that ten year old Mustang or Camaro or Corvette are not going to be coming true if your credit isn't the best. On the flip side of that coin, if you make $1600.00 a month, you are not going to be qualifying anytime soon for a thirty or forty thousand dollar car. You'll have a hard enough time getting approved for a twenty thousand dollar car.

I know this probably sounds like a typical line from a salesperson but in these situations we probably are better qualified than you are to determine what vehicles will give you the best chance of winning an approval. If your credit challenged, tell your salesperson this up front. We're going to probably figure it out on our own but it will save everyone time if you come clean at hello. Nothing shouts "get me financed" like a customer who is all to willing to pay full sticker for the first car they test drive. If your really unlucky you may actually get financed and end up like the customer in my Shopping... post. Be honest with your salesperson. He or she wants to help you. Chances are, he or she won't be getting paid unless they are able to successfully help you. Couple this financial motivator with a good attitude and honesty from you and your likely to find yourself driving sooner than you think.

This post was inspired by a young lady who attempted to purchase a vehicle at my store today. She was informed she would be better qualified with a co-buyer and politely sent on her way. After speaking with her salesperson via phone no less than six times in the first hour after she left she finally got to me. Her first words to me were "Aren't you going to help me get a car?" After replying that I could only do that if she found a qualified co-buyer she responded with "Aren't you supposed to call my family to ask them for me?" I of course informed her that I could not and would not be doing any such thing and she proceeded to spend the next two minutes colorfully telling me that I didn't deserve her business anyways before hanging up.

She was right. I don't deserve her type of business. No one does.

Welcome to My First Decade of Car Sales!

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Chad Pifer and I am the guy that allows attorneys to feel good about themselves. That's right, I sell used cars. I've been doing this for quite some time now and believe it or not I love what I do. I've been working for car dealers since 1995 and I've been selling cars since 1998.

I'm sure you've probably visited a car dealer at some point in your life. Odds are you've purchased at least one car from a dealer probably not so long ago. Ever wonder about what goes on at the car lot when your not there? Ever talk to a friend and listen to the same old story about how their salesperson kept getting up to go talk to the manager while negotiating for their best price? Ever drive by the local dealers and see rows of salespeople hanging around on the lots, probably laughing, usually animated, and maybe even smoking cigarettes? Ever scratch you head when you stop by six months after the sale to get your vehicle serviced and your salesperson "is no longer with us?"

If your anything like me, these thoughts probably have tickled your brain at some point or other. I used to wonder these things when I was old enough to accompany dad down to the dealer to pick up mom's next car. Car dealers have always seemed fascinating to me, and that fascination has never left even though I earn my living in them now.

Ten years of being on the sales floor at several different dealers have left me with enough stories to fill several books and I'll share some of them with you here. I'll also be giving you a frequent glimpse into the daily life of my industry as time goes on, highlighting not only the good, but the bad, the ugly, and the just plain unbelievable.

Some of my tales may make you laugh, some may make you cry. (Probably not really, after all its just retail.) Some might just tick you off. I only make one promise. I'll always be entertained and you might be too!

Thanks for stopping by and check back soon!

Shopping at your local car dealer. Why?

Yes, I asked the forbidden question. Why do you actually go shopping at your local dealers? Maybe you don't but the amount of people who do would amaze you. You all know the drill. This is supposed to be the second largest investment purchase of your life. Yet so many people show up at car lots with barely a clue as to why they are there.

I'm not speaking of the proverbial tire kickers either. I used to be a proud member of that group and while I visited dealers often, I rarely had any intention of buying. I just like cars and I just like to be around them, especially the ones that I'm in no danger of buying in the immediate future. So I once was the guy my fellow salespeople absolutely despise. I tried not to take up anyone's time but when your a salesperson you rarely can afford the chance to take someone at their word and the "I'm just looking" phrase has had entire books written about it by sales trainers that teach us "I'm just looking" really means "I'm just looking unless you actually can sell me something right now." Of course I didn't know any of that when I was a mere civilian so I religiously used the "I'm just looking" excuse every time someone greeted me at the dealer.

Back to the task at hand; I'm addressing those of you who apparently wake up on any given day and just randomly decide that day is as good as any to go sign up for twenty or thirty grand of debt. You arrive at the dealer and allow yourselves to be led around the lot, truly not knowing what your looking for (even though your salesperson thinks your just being a tough customer) until eventually your salesperson convinces you to at least drive something. Usually at this point you finally exhibit qualities that assures the salesperson you are not the walking dead and you begin to do one of two things. If it's the salesperson's lucky day, you decide the vehicle your driving is acceptable and within an hour or so you'll be driving it home. Rare is the salesperson's lucky day however.

No, typically in the above situation you suddenly morph into the world's wisest automotive critic and you proceed to prove to all those in earshot that it is possible to have just enough information to be dangerous. Keep in mind when your shopping for your vehicle that even the greenest of salespeople have more experience at this than you do. If the average guy talks to ten people a week and five of them test drive and three of them buy, in two weeks he's completed six transactions which is something your not likely to do over the course of ten years. Unless you read this blog you don't know this so you proceed to talk and say things that you must think make salesperson believe you know what your about. At this point, most salespeople will intelligently sit back and let you talk. Then they will repeat whatever you just spewed out back to you and just like that you two have bonded. Better than that, you now believe your salesperson thinks you are an intelligent human being and you feel complimented by him or her.

Because of this bonding and of course because you have exhibited that you are an automotive expert who knows what you want, your salesperson will agree with your rejection of the first vehicle you drove and move up to the next best thing. This process will continue until you express your satisfaction. Once satisfied you will begin to negotiate your price and terms and assuming all is well you will purchase a car. Unfortunately, perhaps as early as the next morning and no later than the time you leave work, you will more than likely be kicking yourself for doing so. I'm not sure why this happens, but almost immediately after buying, you will do all of the research you should have done before shopping. And you will invariably come to the conclusion that you got ripped off and that your salesperson is really some sort of criminal mastermind disguised as a legitimate human being. You will also attempt to get out of your deal and your success in this will be largely determined by how you handle things on your end. At the end of the day, for no other reason than your lack of preparation, you will join the ranks of those people who would rather have a root canal than visit a car dealer.

Folks, you owe it to yourselves to at least do a little research before venturing out into the big, bad world of dealers. You'll come away much more satisfied with your experience and your salesperson will respect you a whole lot more too. Not one of us ever wants to get the "morning after" call from the irate customer who really is only mad at themselves for not doing their homework first. As salespeople, our lives are much simpler and it is much easier to build our client base if our customers are satisfied. I strive for this every day but satisfaction is one of those subjective things that starts with you. If your determined to brazenly visit one dealer without so much as even reading the ads in the Sunday paper you are almost assuring yourself of walking away unhappy. You'll be the poor tortured soul who finds the same car the very next day that appears nicer, has less mileage, and is cheaper than the one you bought today.