Who is shopping for a new truck or car?

[markstanco 12545]

I’m seeing in the metroplex about 4500-5500 off msrp for a Chevy 1500. Particularly a zr2 diesel.

 

Pretty good deal? Y’all seeing anything better in Houston or austin or SA?

[immamac 42713]

Use autotrader. Set radius to unlimited. Factor in 850 for shipping. Find the best deal. 

[Updawg 2262]

Sell.me.a.car

[markstanco 12545]

Use autotrader. Set radius to unlimited. Factor in 850 for shipping. Find the best deal. 

Have the app, about to buy the 15 year old a f150 xlt this weekend. Didn’t even think about it for a new vehicle.

[Muny_Tex 293]

Lotta bait and switch still going on with the "XXX off MSRP!!" offers....Many of those promos are accompanied by mandatory dealer add-ons (tints, floormats, trucoat, etc) that they mark up 15x and add-back $2k or so back onto their price.   Inflated "Dealer doc fee" is another one I encountered recently that ranged anywhere from $250-$1k depending on the outfit.  There's also a TON of "killer deals" on Autotrader for cars that don't actually exist (and/or already sold) that dealers just keep posted to try to drive people to call-in or visit their lot.

Bottom line, there's definitely deals to be had, but it's very difficult to "online shop" given how opaque (and purposefully misleading) the advertised prices are.  If you're a "time is money" guy prepare to be sorely disappointed, as you typically have to talk to a lot of morons and wade through wasted conversations (and outright lies) to finally achieve peak discount value.

What ultimately worked for me was physically calling the assholes and making them send me an itemized, no-shit quote sheet with everything listed.  I then told them they could win the business now by doing X, Y, or Z (to achieve my target price) which they typically would decline and/or send a new offer still short of my desired terms. 

I would then take that "best and final" and shopped it around to competing dealers to see who wanted to match/beat; with the expectation that nothing verbal would fly and they had to send me a signed quote sheet of their own to solidify those terms.

This was a little easier for me to do as a cash buyer since I was able to bypass a whole separate layer of wasted time with the whole "just tell me where you're trying to get on your monthlies" that they usually peddle to poor/over-extended people.  However, once final price was set I did offer to finance (and pay off balance ASAP) if they were willing to provide additional incentive, but they didn't have any lending promos available...but I think that varies quite a bit by manufacturer especially GM.

 

Edited September 18 by Muny_Tex

[Muny_Tex 293]

49 minutes ago, immamac said:

Use autotrader. Set radius to unlimited. Factor in 850 for shipping. Find the best deal. 

I also don't think this is a realistic benchmark.  More like $2K for a timely, reputable service that is going to have the vehicle properly covered/secured at all stages of transport.  I think places like Carvana/CarMax advertises flat-fee somewhere in vicinity of $500-$750 only based on their scale and willingness to absorb some of the cost to generate higher markup on the sale side.

[immamac 42713]

1 minute ago, Muny_Tex said:

I also don't think this is a realistic benchmark.  More like $2K for a timely, reputable service that is going to have the vehicle properly covered/secured at all stages of transport.  I think places like Carvana/CarMax advertises flat-fee somewhere in vicinity of $500-$750 only based on their scale and willingness to absorb some of the cost to generate higher markup on the sale side.

I shipped my car from Minneapolis to Austin for 835 covered and insured. Arrived in perfect condition. It's pretty easy now with these brokers that'll just do it for you. 

[Muny_Tex 293]

^^Nice deal...Best I could find was $1200 uncovered and $2k for covered from ATL-AUS, but this was also in early 2021 when the supply/transpo chains were still all fucked up....so I guess lot more competitive options now.

[DalTxHornFan 3088]

I have a fetish for 2008/2009 MB E350s with 6 cylinders.  That is the last year the stick was in the middle, the way that G-d ordained how cars should be.  AutoTraders is a great site. 

[jimmyjazz 45621]

I bought a VW for my wife a month ago, used the CostCo pricing program, and they fucked up and gave me the dealer discount off the CostCo pricing.  They owned it, I wasn't gonna turn it down.

We did get the full court press for add-ons, etc. when paying, though.  They didn't bitch too much.  It was closing time and they wanted out of there.

Nicer car than I thought it would be.  Wife picked it, I'm smart enough not to argue something like that.  Still not very smart, but smart enough.

[Bevo&Pevo 5103]

Imma has the right idea for shipping.  If you go out of your region, use covered shipping.  I had a Buick Reatta shipped from Florida several years ago in an open transport.  To say the least, when it arrived it was filthy, very filthy.   Although, the cost wasn't bad at the time, I think I paid around 650.00.

[Spur08 381]

Use CarEdge.com and sign up for the month membership (should be like $10).  You'll be able to pull historical pricing for a car by searching for its VIN.  I started look this time last year and pulled the trigger between XMas and NY and got a killer, killer deal.  About $10-15K off MSRP and still got to take advantage of their dealer perks (1% APR + sprain in liner + $300 credit for dealer accessories).  Do your research and, if you can be patient, pull the trigger EOY and get a killer deal.

[Gil Bang 25903]

On 9/17/2024 at 7:38 PM, Muny_Tex said:

Lotta bait and switch still going on with the "XXX off MSRP!!" offers....Many of those promos are accompanied by mandatory dealer add-ons (tints, floormats, trucoat, etc) that they mark up 15x and add-back $2k or so back onto their price.   Inflated "Dealer doc fee" is another one I encountered recently that ranged anywhere from $250-$1k depending on the outfit.  There's also a TON of "killer deals" on Autotrader for cars that don't actually exist (and/or already sold) that dealers just keep posted to try to drive people to call-in or visit their lot.

Bottom line, there's definitely deals to be had, but it's very difficult to "online shop" given how opaque (and purposefully misleading) the advertised prices are.  If you're a "time is money" guy prepare to be sorely disappointed, as you typically have to talk to a lot of morons and wade through wasted conversations (and outright lies) to finally achieve peak discount value.

What ultimately worked for me was physically calling the assholes and making them send me an itemized, no-shit quote sheet with everything listed.  I then told them they could win the business now by doing X, Y, or Z (to achieve my target price) which they typically would decline and/or send a new offer still short of my desired terms. 

I would then take that "best and final" and shopped it around to competing dealers to see who wanted to match/beat; with the expectation that nothing verbal would fly and they had to send me a signed quote sheet of their own to solidify those terms.

This was a little easier for me to do as a cash buyer since I was able to bypass a whole separate layer of wasted time with the whole "just tell me where you're trying to get on your monthlies" that they usually peddle to poor/over-extended people.  However, once final price was set I did offer to finance (and pay off balance ASAP) if they were willing to provide additional incentive, but they didn't have any lending promos available...but I think that varies quite a bit by manufacturer especially GM.

 

they put that trucoat on at the factory!

[Gil Bang 25903]

FML, looks like I may be shopping for a new car.  The dash on the Mercedes is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree this morning.  "Inoperable" sounds bad, doesn't it?

[Mother mopar 3308]

FML, looks like I may be shopping for a new car.  The dash on the Mercedes is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree this morning.  "Inoperable" sounds bad, doesn't it?

Can you get the codes read at O'Reilly or autozone?

[thunderlounge 7778]

Or disconnect the battery for a minute, so the codes reset. Then trade it in quickly. 

[Gil Bang 25903]

10 hours ago, Mother mopar said:

10 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

FML, looks like I may be shopping for a new car.  The dash on the Mercedes is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree this morning.  "Inoperable" sounds bad, doesn't it?

Can you get the codes read at O'Reilly or autozone?

It's actually overdue for service by 500 miles, so it was going in this week anyway.   Now it's going in on a flatbed instead of my driving it in. 

[Bevo&Pevo 5103]

21 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

FML, looks like I may be shopping for a new car.  The dash on the Mercedes is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree this morning.  "Inoperable" sounds bad, doesn't it?

Low battery voltage sometimes will trigger that.  If you are near to the SETX area, I'll lend you my reader.

[tx 3 putt 76563]

On 9/17/2024 at 9:09 PM, markstanco said:

Have the app, about to buy the 15 year old a f150 xlt this weekend. Didn’t even think about it for a new vehicle.

 

new to you !

[Gil Bang 25903]

7 hours ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

Low battery voltage sometimes will trigger that.  If you are near to the SETX area, I'll lend you my reader.

Thanks.  I'm in San Diego, and the battery is fine.   

[Sam Lin 3543]

Bet its the battery. Low voltage makes modern cars light every system fault.

[Bevo&Pevo 5103]

On 9/22/2024 at 3:55 PM, Gil Bang said:

Thanks.  I'm in San Diego, and the battery is fine.   

Age of battery?  Did you have a load check done the batt?

[Bevo 13534]

 

I have a slow voltage leak in my Mercedes so if it isn't started every 2wks, it needs charging.

[Mother mopar 3308]

30 minutes ago, Bevo said:

 

I have a slow voltage leak in my Mercedes so if it isn't started every 2wks, it needs charging.

Parasitic draw somewhere, time for a fluke and to start pulling fuses. Any aftermarket crap put on the vehicle? That will usually do it, especially if a "friend" installed it. 

[Bevo 13534]

18 minutes ago, Mother mopar said:

Parasitic draw somewhere, time for a fluke and to start pulling fuses. Any aftermarket crap put on the vehicle? That will usually do it, especially if a "friend" installed it. 

time for a fluke?

 

All original SL55 AMG. Electrical issues suck in a Mercedes. Lots of redundancies (like 2 sending units) because the German engineers thought it gave more accurate fuel numbers, fuses in weird locations - and I just had to get a new siren because I couldn't use the FOB for locking and unlocking the doors. As for the FOB issue, I looked it up on YouTube and it pointed to Anti Theft Alarm Horn Siren 1718205326. I told the repair place and they couldn't find out what the issue was and tried replacing the FOB. After they gave up, I took it to a Mercedes place off Chavez and they told me that it was the siren. I had my repair place install it and said the FOB still didn't work. After a few weeks they replaced a few blown fuses that the first place identified but didn't replace and charged me a shitload of money. Bottom line, Mercedes really require specialized repair guys. Their electrical issues are hard to diagnose. And I think the easy solution for me is to use it weekly. Oh, and as it relates to Gil, it wouldn't surprise me if he had a weird electrical problem also.

[TwiceHorn 31349]

4 minutes ago, Bevo said:

time for a fluke?

 

All original SL55 AMG. Electrical issues suck in a Mercedes. Lots of redundancies (like 2 sending units) because the German engineers thought it gave more accurate fuel numbers, fuses in weird locations - and I just had to get a new siren because I couldn't use the FOB for locking and unlocking the doors. As for the FOB issue, I looked it up on YouTube and it pointed to Anti Theft Alarm Horn Siren 1718205326. I told the repair place and they couldn't find out what the issue was and tried replacing the FOB. After they gave up, I took it to a Mercedes place off Chavez and they told me that it was the siren. I had my repair place install it and said the FOB still didn't work. After a few weeks they replaced a few blown fuses that the first place identified but didn't replace and charged me a shitload of money. Bottom line, Mercedes really require specialized repair guys. Their electrical issues are hard to diagnose. And I think the easy solution for me is to use it weekly. Oh, and as it relates to Gil, it wouldn't surprise me if he had a weird electrical problem also.

Fluke multimeter.

And, as Archie Bunker said in reference to Watergate, everyone knows you don't hire the Krauts (Haldeman, Ehrlichman) to do the electronics.  You want the Japs for that.

 

[Mother mopar 3308]

time for a fluke?
 
All original SL55 AMG. Electrical issues suck in a Mercedes. Lots of redundancies (like 2 sending units) because the German engineers thought it gave more accurate fuel numbers, fuses in weird locations - and I just had to get a new siren because I couldn't use the FOB for locking and unlocking the doors. As for the FOB issue, I looked it up on YouTube and it pointed to Anti Theft Alarm Horn Siren 1718205326. I told the repair place and they couldn't find out what the issue was and tried replacing the FOB. After they gave up, I took it to a Mercedes place off Chavez and they told me that it was the siren. I had my repair place install it and said the FOB still didn't work. After a few weeks they replaced a few blown fuses that the first place identified but didn't replace and charged me a shitload of money. Bottom line, Mercedes really require specialized repair guys. Their electrical issues are hard to diagnose. And I think the easy solution for me is to use it weekly. Oh, and as it relates to Gil, it wouldn't surprise me if he had a weird electrical problem also.

Craigslist

[Gil Bang 25903]

15 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

Bet its the battery. Low voltage makes modern cars light every system fault.

 

10 hours ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

Age of battery?  Did you have a load check done the batt?

weird, I thought I had responded.

It was a fucking mouse or something.  Chewed through a couple of wires.  

[Bevo&Pevo 5103]

^^ that would do it.  Stick trap with a bit of peanut butter.  Glad the problem has been resolved.  WTG!

[Gil Bang 25903]

21 minutes ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

^^ that would do it.  Stick trap with a bit of peanut butter.  Glad the problem has been resolved.  WTG!

It didn't happen at home.  We checked into a hotel Friday night at the beach.  The car was fine when I parked it, and fucked when I started it Saturday morning.  The wires were chewed completely through, so Mr. mouse/rat whatever got me in the parking lot. 

[Bevo 13534]

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

It didn't happen at home.  We checked into a hotel Friday night at the beach.  The car was fine when I parked it, and fucked when I started it Saturday morning.  The wires were chewed completely through, so Mr. mouse/rat whatever got me in the parking lot. 

Motherfucker, you should have led with that. I'll look for the pics in secret squirrel.

[Bevo 13534]

1 hour ago, Mother mopar said:

Oh, and as it relates to Gil, it wouldn't surprise me if he had a weird electrical problem also.

 

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

 

weird, I thought I had responded.

It was a fucking mouse or something.  Chewed through a couple of wires.  

 

Sounds like I was right, but Gil had better mechanics.

[Sam Lin 3543]

5 hours ago, Bevo said:

time for a fluke?

 

All original SL55 AMG. Electrical issues suck in a Mercedes. Lots of redundancies (like 2 sending units) because the German engineers thought it gave more accurate fuel numbers, fuses in weird locations - and I just had to get a new siren because I couldn't use the FOB for locking and unlocking the doors. As for the FOB issue, I looked it up on YouTube and it pointed to Anti Theft Alarm Horn Siren 1718205326. I told the repair place and they couldn't find out what the issue was and tried replacing the FOB. After they gave up, I took it to a Mercedes place off Chavez and they told me that it was the siren. I had my repair place install it and said the FOB still didn't work. After a few weeks they replaced a few blown fuses that the first place identified but didn't replace and charged me a shitload of money. Bottom line, Mercedes really require specialized repair guys. Their electrical issues are hard to diagnose. And I think the easy solution for me is to use it weekly. Oh, and as it relates to Gil, it wouldn't surprise me if he had a weird electrical problem also.

No, time for a real code reader that gets the Mercedes specific codes. Autel is one, I use Launch for Benz and Rover, (Protool for BMW), but be aware most of them need some sort of subscription for updates. Launch also only sends reports via upload to China so they invade all your privacy. But for 100-200 to see all the car systems faults, its the same price as paying a dealer just to pull the codes once.

[Gil Bang 25903]

And BTW, this fucking Mercedes eats batteries.  I've been replacing them every two years or so, although the AUX battery lasted several years before I knew it even existed. 

I'm getting twice the life (easily) from my truck battery as I do from the MB battery.  And, I'm not some asshole that wants to carry jumper cables, so, if the battery is even a little bit weak, I replace it. 

My old BMW had the battery under the rear seat.  That seems so much smarter to me.  Protected from the heat of the engine compartment. 

[Mother mopar 3308]

And BTW, this fucking Mercedes eats batteries.  I've been replacing them every two years or so, although the AUX battery lasted several years before I knew it even existed. 
I'm getting twice the life (easily) from my truck battery as I do from the MB battery.  And, I'm not some asshole that wants to carry jumper cables, so, if the battery is even a little bit weak, I replace it. 
My old BMW had the battery under the rear seat.  That seems so much smarter to me.  Protected from the heat of the engine compartment. 

You're an ashole for carrying jumper cables...LOL. Either get a reliable car, pay up for a legit one, or you better be a good mechanic.

However, I see that's not you, as it gets worse than jumper cables as a mechanic. Buy a jumper pack, and ditch the cables. I have a NOCO GBX155, and it was well worth it.

[Gil Bang 25903]

I maintain my vehicles, because I don't want to carry jumper cables, a battery pack, or any of that bulllshit.  If somebody else has a dead battery, I can't help them. Call the auto club.

 

And have you heard the joke: what's the slowest thing in the world?

I'm sure @Brisketexan knows it 

it's: 

Spoiler

a Mexican funeral procession with only 1 set of jumper cables

 

Edited September 26 by Gil Bang

[royiv 9177]

22 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

It didn't happen at home.  We checked into a hotel Friday night at the beach.  The car was fine when I parked it, and fucked when I started it Saturday morning.  The wires were chewed completely through, so Mr. mouse/rat whatever got me in the parking lot.