I want to buy a plane by year-end but they're not making it easy.

Jay Honeck wrote:

Well, if a dealer will not give me a price for a straight purchase, he
won't
sell me a vehicle. So far, I've bought only two new vehicles, and I have
never
traded another one in.


This past June Mary and I decided we needed a "knock around" car, mostly
because she was sick of driving "The Mighty Grape" around town. (It's our
ugly purple pickup truck that hauls 55 gallons of gas to the plane, and
only seats two people...I love it!)

Over the course of a few days this idea slowly transformed from "Let's buy a
beater" to "Let's buy a sports car!" (Don't ask me how -- it just did.)

So, Mary, the kids and I were up in Cedar Rapids on our days off, when we
decided to drive around and look at car lots. Driving aimlessly, we
stumbled across a pristine red-orange Mustang Cobra convertible sitting on
the lot of a used car dealership that specializes in selling only cherry
sports cars.

I didn't look twice at it, because the Mustangs we had already test driven
didn't have enough rear seat headroom for the kids. Mary, however,
instantly fell in love with the looks of the thing, so I stopped to take a
look...

It was ten minutes before closing when we walked in looking like something
straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies. I hadn't shaved in two days, and
was wearing a baseball cap and torn up jeans. Mary didn't look much better,
and the kids were cranky and hungry. The salesman took one look at me,
looked at his watch, and reluctantly agreed to let us take the car for a
test drive. He kept exchanging knowing glances with his office manager, and
you could just tell that they were really, REALLY ****ed about being late
for supper.

Well, we test drove the car, and instantly fell for it. Being a
convertible, the back seat headroom (with the top up, natch) was
dramatically better than in the hard-top -- so the kids actually fit back
there comfortably -- and the thing handled like a danged Formula 1 race car.

Jay, I can safely say then that you have never driven a Formula 1 car. :-)

Mustangs don't even handle like BMWs, let alone Formula cars of any genre!

Matt

It's funny - I'm 29 - own my own business...and tend to dress really casual.
I just don't like dressing up.

I understand that if I show up to a car dealership with ripped jeans and
sandals - they won't take me seriously.

I can either choose to "prequalify" myself to the seller (and make him
realize that I'm worth his time) - or I can get dressed up, and let the
illusion carry me through the door.

It's a fact of life...we all make choices - and those choices have
repercussions. Not to say that stereotyping people based on appearance is
right - but it happens, and we have to deal with it.


"C Kingsbury" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"C Kingsbury" wrote in message

A former boss of mine drove a five year old Buick, wore Sears clothes, a
Seiko $150 watch (a gift from his daughter) and when writing during a
meeting once I tesed him because he used a "Brakes Plus" BIC pen. His
wife
had a simple, inexpensive wedding ring. He often wore jeans and cowboy
boots.

He was worth some $15million. And, no, he wasn't miserly at all.


I've been working on starting my own company for quite some time now, and
about a month ago I sold my "nice" car and traded down to a very modest
little 2-door ford coupe to get rid of my monthly payments and extract
some
equity as the car was worth more than I owed on it. When I bought the car
it
had been my sign of arrival, that I finally was doing well enough to not
worry about every little bit. As I watched it drive away, I said, "well,
in
a year or so when the business starts to hum I'll get that Audi
convertible
I really want."

Funny thing is, now that I've been driving my 1998 Escort around for a
month, I'm saying, "geez, this ain't so bad. Maybe I'll get the Chrysler
instead of the Audi and save the money for the plane/boat/condo."

It's sometimes funny how skimping regularly on the little things can in
time
add up to enough to pay for the big ones. Living in a high-cost city does
not make this easy...

-cwk.

Matt Barrow wrote:

I take that a bit further and tell them I'll let them "go talk to my sales
manager" only ONCE after which I'll walk out the front door.

Actually I let them go as many times as they want...but I usually have an
idea of what a fair price is for the both of us and won't deal with their
counter offers. Usually after the second trip they agree to my price.

And I never trade anything in anyhow. I have the propensity to drive the
cars into the ground so they aren't worth bothering with (one day I pointed
to by beater 20 year old car when they asked about trades, they would have
been better off if they didn't have to have it towed off their lot).

Joe Herman wrote:

It's funny - I'm 29 - own my own business...and tend to dress really casual.
I just don't like dressing up.

I understand that if I show up to a car dealership with ripped jeans and
sandals - they won't take me seriously.

I can either choose to "prequalify" myself to the seller (and make him
realize that I'm worth his time) - or I can get dressed up, and let the
illusion carry me through the door.

Interesting. I've never had problems at a car dealer and I've never
dressed up to enter one in 25+ years. You all must deal with some
really incompetent car dealerships.


Matt

Ron Natalie wrote:

Matt Barrow wrote:

I take that a bit further and tell them I'll let them "go talk to my
sales
manager" only ONCE after which I'll walk out the front door.

Actually I let them go as many times as they want...but I usually have an
idea of what a fair price is for the both of us and won't deal with their
counter offers. Usually after the second trip they agree to my price.

Yes, same here. I figure time is on my side, not theirs. The more time
we all take, the better it comes out for me. I once spent 5 WEEKS
negotiating for a car. I got it for my price in the end and even got a
call from the owner of the dealership to finalize the deal.


And I never trade anything in anyhow. I have the propensity to drive the
cars into the ground so they aren't worth bothering with (one day I pointed
to by beater 20 year old car when they asked about trades, they would have
been better off if they didn't have to have it towed off their lot).

Yes, another good strategy if saving money is your goal.


Matt

Andrew,

Well, they're the best selling piston single engine aircraft line. So
just what do you base that statement on?

That I don't have one yet?


You done broke the code, Lt.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Jay,

I don't think the words "sports car" and "Mustang" belong in the same
sentence or context. The latter isn't the former. Never was, never will
be.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
...

And I never trade anything in anyhow. I have the propensity to drive the
cars into the ground so they aren't worth bothering with (one day I
pointed
to by beater 20 year old car when they asked about trades, they would have
been better off if they didn't have to have it towed off their lot).

One of my next-door neighbors was buying a new car and made a deal to trade
in a real bomber for a $500 credit. They had everything signed but the
dealer needed a day to condition the car, so he told my neighbor to keep his
car and drive back the next day. On the way in, the thing died. He called
from his cell phone and told the dealer to send their tow truck out. The
salesman who made the deal apparently took quite a ribbing as the tow truck
pulled his trade-in onto the lot.

-cwk.

Colin W Kingsbury wrote:


One of my next-door neighbors was buying a new car and made a deal to trade
in a real bomber for a $500 credit. They had everything signed but the
dealer needed a day to condition the car, so he told my neighbor to keep his
car and drive back the next day. On the way in, the thing died. He called
from his cell phone and told the dealer to send their tow truck out. The
salesman who made the deal apparently took quite a ribbing as the tow truck
pulled his trade-in onto the lot.

I actually towed my 1967 Ford LTD into the lot when I picked up my 1980
Datsun 200SX. I had initially shopped for the car with my roommate giving
me a lift since the LTD was already running intermittently. I told them
of it's condition but they were keen to make the deal. If they were smart
the salesman would have paid the tow truck driver to haul it to the dump rather
than accepting it...I don't know...I was long gone in my new car before the
tow truck got the trade in off the hook.

Mustangs don't even handle like BMWs, let alone Formula cars of any genre!

Is it safe to say that you haven't driven a Mustang with the Cobra
suspension?

It's quite different from a stock Mustang.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"