No 56k: Random Dealership Visits

Spectre

The Deported
Joined
Feb 1, 2007
Messages
36,832
Location
Dallas, Texas
Car(s)
00 4Runner | 02 919 | 87 XJ6 | 86 CB700SC
One of the nice things about being a gearhead in Dallas is that there are an enormous number of used car dealers - and many have interesting things on their lots. It's not uncommon for us to pull over and go look at something unusual in a lot. Most dealers don't put in pedestrian fencing on their lots and leave them lit from dusk to dawn just so people can look over cars on their lots after hours.

Tonight, Der Stig and I were checking out one cluster of third-tier dealers that specialize in interesting older cars and spotted rickhamilton's future Camaro sitting in the used lot of a local Chevrolet dealer. We decided to stop and take a closer look. (All pictures clickable for larger resolution versions.)



Yes, it's BEIGE. Turned out to be a 84-86 base V6 Camaro that had the $49 F41 sport suspension option. It was owned by someone who took shockingly good care of it for an F-Body - only one cigarette burn on the driver's seat and only one small splotch of tape covering a gap in the dash. All joking about these mulletmobiles aside, the interiors on these disintegrated ridiculously fast so seeing one that's this intact is rare. It even seems to have all the original interior components, like the cargo cover and T-top covers that always seems to go missing about 20 minutes after the car was sold - you *never* see those, yet this car had them.









Both Der Stig and I play the "Guess The Driver/Owner" game when we see cars like this; we both agreed that it was most likely that the car had belonged to a woman, probably a secretary, who'd kept it most of its life.

Since we'd already wandered onto the property, we decided to check out other things on the smallish lot. There were three Pontiac G8s including two G8 GTs, both with laughable prices.



There were some more interesting things on the lot, too. There was the only factory version of the Pontiac Solstice even vaguely worth considering, the GXP:





One of the better things on the yard, this Mustang GT/CS:



This somewhat rare Accord Wagon was thoroughly trashed, but we figured someone had just traded this in and it would likely go straight to auction.



Off in a corner was this 2007 Pontiac GTO; black on black with the manual transmission.





No price marked, 45K on the clock, looked like it'd been sitting there a while - and they'd left it unlocked.



The interior was mostly in excellent shape except for the typical leather splitting at the top of the back seatrest. This car made me mad at GM dealers all over again - this was essentially the car I tried to buy back in the 2000s that I couldn't get Pontiac dealers to sell to me. Both Der Stig and I will be enquiring about this car in the morning. :D

It seems that someone just bought this:



And had been dissatisfied with their purchase:



There also was this monument to just how completely Mercedes Benz failed to comprehend the mainstream market segments in the North American market:



We decided that these two were probably the best values on the lot - this 2007 G35:



And this 2011 Mercedes E350 with 75K on the clock, loaded with pretty much every option, and selling for $21K with a warranty. You could have done a lot worse on that lot for $21K.





 
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Now the question is - what is included in that warranty?
 
Now the question is - what is included in that warranty?

If I were interested in that Benz, I'd thank the salesperson at the Chevy dealership and then go out and buy the best 'aftermarket' warranty I could find. Those are very nice cars, but they are EXPENSIVE to repair.

Case in point: My buddy John J. bought one of Mercedes' small SUVs new a few years ago. On a trip to the Carolinas, the oil filter 'came loose' (???) at 70+ MPH. The negotiations with MBNA were some of the most painful I've ever witnessed. Mercedes (not the dealer) flatly refused to replace the engine, insisting that the dealer rebuild it. After 3 tries that all ended in more problems, they finally got it drive back to John's house without any leaks. He took it directly to the local GMC dealer (who we've both known for years) and, after explaining the problems, traded it even for a new Terrain. It went to the auction the following week. We figure that the GMC dealer made a few thousand, but John's been more than happy with the Terrain.

Edit: Reflecting on the second part of this post, it really doesn't illustrate my point about the cost of repairs; but, I would suspect that if an aftermarket warranty company had been involved, they would have specified a rebuilt engine and then let their attorneys fight it out with the dealership and MBNA over who was responsible for what. (It was a Mercedes-spec filter and the dealership had done the oil change...)
 
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Probably not much and/or not for long. This is the used car lot of a GM car stealership, after all. :mrgreen:

I was just wondering if it's a bumper to bumper? warranty - though I guess not. :lol:

Different states have different requirements for used car warranties. Not sure about Texas, but in MA, they have a specific list of items that must be covered - http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/consumer-...tos/lemon-laws/used-vehicle-warranty-law.html

If I were interested in that Benz, I'd thank the salesperson at the Chevy dealership and then go out and buy the best 'aftermarket' warranty I could find. Those are very nice cars, but they are EXPENSIVE to repair.

Case in point: My buddy John J. bought one of Mercedes' small SUVs new a few years ago. On a trip to the Carolinas, the oil filter 'came loose' (???) at 70+ MPH. The negotiations with MBNA were some of the most painful I've ever witnessed. Mercedes (not the dealer) flatly refused to replace the engine, insisting that the dealer rebuild it. After 3 tries that all ended in more problems, they finally got it drive back to John's house without any leaks. He took it directly to the local GMC dealer (who we've both known for years) and, after explaining the problems, traded it even for a new Terrain. It went to the auction the following week. We figure that the GMC dealer made a few thousand, but John's been more than happy with the Terrain.

Edit: Reflecting on the second part of this post, it really doesn't illustrate my point about the cost of repairs; but, I would suspect that if an aftermarket warranty company had been involved, they would have specified a rebuilt engine and then let their attorneys fight it out with the dealership and MBNA over who was responsible for what. (It was a Mercedes-spec filter and the dealership had done the oil change...)

Thanks for the infos - always cool to know!
 
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Thanks!
 
One of the nice things about being a gearhead in Dallas is that there are an enormous number of used car dealers - and many have interesting things on their lots. It's not uncommon for us to pull over and go look at something unusual in a lot. Most dealers don't put in pedestrian fencing on their lots and leave them lit from dusk to dawn just so people can look over cars on their lots after hours.

Tonight, Der Stig and I were checking out one cluster of third-tier dealers that specialize in interesting older cars and spotted rickhamilton's future Camaro sitting in the used lot of a local Chevrolet dealer. We decided to stop and take a closer look. (All pictures clickable for larger resolution versions.)

The Camaro is hilarious. Surely that's not a factory color.

I'd also buy the Caliber (somehow SRT guise makes it look less ugly) if it came with the post refresh interior as well as the E350, because warranty.
 
The Camaro is hilarious. Surely that's not a factory color.

I'd also buy the Caliber (somehow SRT guise makes it look less ugly) if it came with the post refresh interior as well as the E350, because warranty.

It was a factory color, offered and in fact found on many, many 70s and 80s GMs. Usually base models and usually bought by fleets then scrapped as the cars were cheap and nobody wanted them when their fleet service was up.

The Calieeeee-butt has a warranty, but it's quite insulting.

"All of our vehicles at Reliable Chevrolet come with a 3 day/300 mile money back guarantee! If you don't like it - then we'll take it back! Vehicle must be returned to the dealer within 3 days or 300 miles in the same/original mechanical working condition. See dealer for complete details."

That's the warranty on that horrible misbegotten pile of garbage.
 
Random Dealership Visits

You could even get the Corvette in that horrible beige color:

rr34-600.jpg


IIRC, they called that 'frost beige' and it was color code 7084.
 
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I like that color on that style Vette. I even think it is okayish on the Camaro.

The best version of the Solstice is the coupe. I wish they made a Sky like that.


Pontiac-Solstice-GXP-Coupe_3.jpg
 
Well, it would cure him of liking anything beige or four cylinder... or kill him.

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The best version of the Solstice is the coupe. I wish they made a Sky like that.

Yeah, but it's the GXP motor that at least partially makes up for the fail that is the rest of the Solstice's design. Doesn't matter if it's the coupe or convertible, not as much as the motor does.
 
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