as always- read your owners manual. follow their instruction on oil changes
in order to keep your warranty in effect. be sure to save all your oil change and service
tickets. i’m sure your mfg.calls for either 10w-30
or 5w-30. make sure the oil has the red a.p.i. seal on the front of the container.
if you dont have one, then get an 800 number for the mfg. and order a manual yourself.
the motor oil they make today is much better than 10 years ago.
today’s oil will last 5,000 miles (HARD DRIVING) no problem. but a change every three months is a lot to ask, of you financially, especially if your only driving 700-1000 miles in a three month period. but remember your warranty guidelines or extended warranty guidelines. this may be a requirement.how many miles a month do you drive on average? i’d love to hear from you.
thanks…
deep plaid
This is the frank referred to.
Hi Deep Plaid, are ya still there? 
I’ve got another question.
I have a 2002 Subaru Outback with 63k miles that I’d like to trade in. There is a small rust spot (about the size of a pencil eraser) on one of the doors, and I’ve heard that paint and body is a big deal when trading in cars. Should I shell out the money to get the rust fixed and the door repainted, or should I trade in the car as is?
yeh-i’m still here!
no if it were mine i would not bother. it should not make a huge difference in the acv
one way or another.
thanks,
deepplaid
yes I am.
Great series, now I?m going to go a step further and one up Mr. Plaid. I work for a manufacturer, actually this is my second one. I am the factory rep, and I know what goes on ?behind closed doors?. I?m the one who usually closes them.
That being said, what amazes me is how hard it is to make money in this business. That?s right how HARD IT IS FOR A DEALER TO MAKE MONEY. This is a charity folks, this is a business, and a very expensive one at that. It costs A LOT of money to keep even the smallest of dealers afloat, and for some reason it seems that people do not feel these folks are entitled to make some money of there investment. Think about it what other industry has there ACTUAL costs plastered all over the net?? I don?t know what ?Best Buy? paid for that TV, nor do I know what ?Wal Mart? paid for that bag of chips, and you know what it does not matter. They need to make money on the sale to keep there doors open, and every one is ok about that. However the ?scum of the earth? car dealer does not get the same respect. Always pissed me off…
That being said, avg gross, on the cars my dealers sell are only about 1800-2200 per copy FRONT AND BACK (that?s on the car and the money made in the F&I Office). Please note I said GROSS, not net. So from that we need to deduct commission, insurance, real estate, salaries, electricity, phones, computers, and floor plan. WHAT IS FLOOR plan?? Well most people don?t realize that dealers don?t own there cars, they have loan out with a bank just like every one else, they pay interest every month on every car on the lot VIA this loan, and with rates being what they are that can EASLY be 25-30K a month… So in other words before a dealer even turns a light on at the beginning of the month they have a 25-30K bill sitting there. That?s a large nut to crack… I will tell you with ABSOLUTE certainty, that in most cases the dealer does not make money on there NEW car departments. Most of the dealers money is made in Fixed ops (service and parts), and used cars.
Another nugget of info, is that in today?s quickly changing market a car/truck that a dealer took in as trade 2 months ago may be worth SIGNIFIGANTLY less then they paid for it. Please keep this in mind as well, the good dealers know when to take a looser deal, and unload a unit. However that all figures into there profit and loss, and a dealer has EVERY RIGHT To make a profit.
Invoice minus any customer cash, should be considered a good deal. If you paid less then invoice, consider your self as having a great deal. Yes the dealer made money, but again he should be allowed. Let me ask you this, if you invested 20K in something, and waited 2-3 months to flip it. Mean while this item cost you money to store, and to keep. Would you be happy making $100 on it?? What about if you sat on it for 6 months???
PS the above is true only of new cars, used cars are a completely different animal.
That?s right how HARD IT IS FOR A DEALER TO MAKE MONEY.
I think EVERYONE in this forum would LOVE to make what even a small dealer makes. Sure it’s tough now with car sales plummeting because of the recession we’re in. But when times are good…even a small dealer will make several hundred thousand per year PROFIT. GEE. $400k+ profit isn’t enough???
Well most people don?t realize that dealers don?t own there cars.
That is their own fault. And why to they do that…because they want to maximize profit in the fewest years. To NOT take out loans you’ll have to make LESS profit and slowly build the business. I know of dealerships that don’t take out any loans for their cars. One in NH…the other in NY. The dealer in NY is pretty big (Pontiac, GMC and Nissan dealer). Profit for this dealer is well over $5m/yr. The owner is a personal friend of mine who’ve I’ve known for 40 years.
I have NO sympathy for a car dealer what-so-ever. A very high percentage will try to squeeze every single dime they can out of every customer that walks through the door. Sorry…no sympathy here.
A dealer can make all they money they want…GREAT for them. But don’t come here saying that we should feel sorry for them because it may take them 10 years to become millionaires instead of 5.
You have ABSOLUTLY NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT… 1st of all EVERY dealer has a floor plan, there is no WAY to carry any kind of inventory and pay cash. Infact most manufacturers would not allow it any way. Think about the AVG cost of a new car to a dealer is around $20,000… Most mid sized dealers carry at least 100 cars in stock (just new not used), that?s 2 million dollars. a bigger dealer would have a whole lot more (one of my dealers is currently carrying a 500 car inventory due to a big sale he is about to have). That?s 10 million dollars of inventory my friend, do you really think he has that kind of money laying around??
I don?t know where you are getting your numbers from but most of my dealers are lucky not to loose money every month, and the ones who make a profit are making way under 500,000 a year. Now don?t get me wrong there are plenty of dishonest dealers who take advantage of a customer. I am not talking about those guys, I?m talking about the hard working dealer principals who are trying to keep there business open, who FAR out number the bad dealers.
Im not saying feel sorry for them, what I am saying is that they are business men and deserve to make a proffit… Other wise why not just sell the land and let some one put up a strip mall, where you will be more then happy to fork over your hard earned money.
1st of all EVERY dealer has a floor plan, there is no WAY to carry any kind of inventory and pay cash
Sure you can. First off you don’t every single car on the lot…MOST are ordered. In fact that’s the way it was ALWAYS done 30 years ago. Second…you slowly build inventory over the years.
a bigger dealer would have a whole lot more (one of my dealers is currently carrying a 500 car inventory due to a big sale he is about to have).
My friends dealership in upstate NY is quite large. Well over 1000 cars in inventory. Yes it costs him a LOT of money to buy those cars. It’s NOT something you can start out doing. The business was started by his dad as a Rambler dealer back in the 50’s. It takes YEARS to build up to this. But you do it slowly and don’t RUSH to become a millionaire…and it can be done.
I don?t know where you are getting your numbers from but most of my dealers are lucky not to loose money every month
BULL…What are they Chryco dealers in Tokyo??? Show me the poor dealer!!!..one just one!!. It’s a lucrative business.
so basically you’re saying that someone is going to start/buy a business that costs MILLIONS of dollars to run…work 70 hrs/week and not make any more then a GM factory worker…YUP…makes perfect sense to me.
Its almost funny how un-informed you are, ask your “friend”. If he is indeed a NEW car dealer I guarantee he has floor plan. NO WAY AROUND IT. While some dealers are making money right now today, many are not. I know of many dealers whose business is down 50% year over year, but whose expenses are up.
This is not the “Good old days” any more, and those guys who built the multi million $$$ coliseums are in a whole load of you know what now. Many dealers are getting out of the business, because they are not making money.
All I am saying is they have the right to make a profit. Im sorry if you don?t agree, but one day when your boss cant pay you we will see how you feel.
If he is indeed a NEW car dealer I guarantee he has floor plan. NO WAY AROUND IT. While some dealers are making money right now today, many are not.
And that’s because the car business has so low profit??? Try again…It’s because these dealers haven’t a clue how to run their business. ALL BUSINESSES have high times and low times. I’ll admit that today there are probably dealers that may not be making a profit. But 5 years ago when car sales were at an all time high…they were making MILLIONS. A small Ford dealer in NH donated $2million to his daughters private high-school. I’m a fairly well paid engineer and I’ll NEVER make enough money to ever be able to donate $2m to ANYONE.
Many dealers are getting out of the business, because they are not making money.
No they already made their MILLIONS. If they wanted to stay in business and ride out this recession/depression they’ll be back to HIGH profits in 3-4 years. This happens to ALL companies.
All I am saying is they have the right to make a profit.
Argue against something I said…NOT against something you made up in your head…Show me where I ever said they don’t have a right to make a profit…SHOW ME THE ONE PLACE I EVER SAID THAT. What you want…is everyone to feel sorry for the poor dealer who was too stupid to put some of those MILLIONS he made 5 years ago into a secured investment so he’d be able to ride out the bad times. Yea I feel REAL BAD for them. “Oh look I spent all that $2million I made 3 years ago and now I’m not making any money this year…Oh what should I do…please feel sorry for me because I may not make a profit this year…” You want us to forget that if you average out his profit over a 20 year period it’s 10-20 times what most people make…Feel sorry…I think not.
but one day when your boss cant pay you we will see how you feel.
Been-there-done-that…Happened to me 3 times in my career working for software startups. This included driving to work one day to find the doors of the company locked shut and them owing me 3 weeks pay and 4 weeks vacation.
I had a large dealership tell me that their prices are set and that there was no negotiating room. He claimed that their dealership had changed their pricing strategies so that there was no more haggling. Is this really true or was that just another line?
depends on the car you’re looking for. If you’re looking for an F250 or F350 with the V10, then you’ve got some wiggle room in the price. If you’re looking for a Yaris or Prius, then you’re not gonna get ANY room on the price, and will likely wind up paying MORE than sticker price for one.
a factory rep…huh
but have you ever taken an “up” have you even ever sold a car?
have you ever worked a 50 hour+ week on just straight commissions?
let us all know-ok? i’m sure interested. i’ll be watching and reading.
i’m very eager to hear about your histroy as a salesman.
thanks
Deep Plaid
I’ve had mostly good experiences with car salesmen. I just come right put and say what I want and how much I’ll pay. If they agree, they’ve sold a car in only 5 minutes. If not, I just walk away.
All business is competitive,all business has professinials, and those who don’t act that way.The individual makes the dissision of their on code of ethics, not the Dealership. I’ve been in the business for 35 years,worked my way from sales through all management to franchise dealer, and now am a dealership consultant and never once has a dealer or manufactor, engouraged anything but good customer satisfaction. There’s a reason deep plaid is where he’s at… In another comment from one more responder, the stament was made that, there’s no need for escrow because it wasn’t a real estate deal. I guess he’s never bought a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or a Rolls-Royce,for $250,000. to $1,500,000. but then some houses are $20,000. and they still require escrow dont they? You guys enjoy, I’m too busy for much more of this…
sorry mikeinnh,
but gs rag top is correct.
deepplaid
hello dealership consultant:
please clarify:
what did you mean when you said:
"there’s a reason deep plaid is where he’s at"
thanks
deepplaid
Bill Heard Chevrolet (19 STORES in Texas alone)
announced last week, that they
had closed or would close, nearly all of their Chevy dealerships nationwide.
Heard Chevrolet was G.M.'S highest volume selling and delivering dealer. After today’s vote, in the senate and the house, coupled with the more recent events on wall steet and the recent “bailout” program,
all of these events have caused or will cause
all automakers worldwide to re-structure & re-think the way all automobiles are marketed, financed, bought and sold. Their will
be major changes to come on the horizon,
in the auto business world wide.
deepplaid-Texas
i was in auto sales for 25 years and alays wore shirt and tie and dress slacks no sans. always sharp… the other descriptions sound like used car guys.