Meet the newest member of the Theocrat's family

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

Went into the dealership Saturday, the last day of the month for car dealers. This one just got their Dodge dealership yanked, so they were very eager to make a deal. I gave them a very reasonable offer and, voila' here it is - the 2007 Dodge Caliber.

It replaced our 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. My daughter teared up and cried a little when we were saying goodbye to it - one of those things I'll probably remember when I'm old and sitting in a rocking chair some day.

I dread buying cars, but due to the situation being in my favor there were only a few moments of stress and contention, mostly surrounding the trade-in of the old car. He wanted to give me $500, and I said that was too low. "Well, I can look up the Kelly value right now if you want". Go ahead, I said, and sure enough, the value was double that.

His bluff roll=2, my sense motive roll=19. :D

[shiningbrow]

That looks like a sporty, useful little car. I expect you took it for a test drive and fell in love? I went car shopping two years ago and was really happy with what I ended up getting. It's a real joy to drive and I get satisfaction knowing I have a well engineered car with a good maintenance record. That reminds me, time to get an oil change! Congratulations and happy motoring!

[TiQuinn]

Great timing! If it weren't for our A/C system going kablooey last month, I probably would've been down at our local Chrysler dealer too (who is also going out of business).

[Hatter]

Well played, sir!

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

That looks like a sporty, useful little car. I expect you took it for a test drive and fell in love? I went car shopping two years ago and was really happy with what I ended up getting. It's a real joy to drive and I get satisfaction knowing I have a well engineered car with a good maintenance record. That reminds me, time to get an oil change! Congratulations and happy motoring!

We did like it very much on the test drive. More space than it appears, and the back seats fold down. I drove it to my mom and dad's house. My dad seemed to approve and gave me a few tips on things to say to them that helped.

While I wouldn't call it "love", we actually fell in "like" with it on the internet. We were looking at the local dealers inventory online, and this one caught mine and my wife's attention. Enough to say "let's check it out".

By the way, 30mpg on the highway!


Great timing! If it weren't for our A/C system going kablooey last month, I probably would've been down at our local Chrysler dealer too (who is also going out of business).

This really is a good time to do it. Then again, the situation with the Mitsubishi kind of forced our hand (i.e. it being labeled, unjustly I think, a "deathtrap" by family and friends :) ).

Well played, sir!

:bow:

[nerfherder]

Great stuff! It's always nice to get a good deal from a dealer and, as you say, now is a great time to get a good deal. :)

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

Great stuff! It's always nice to get a good deal from a dealer and, as you say, now is a great time to get a good deal. :)


Thanks, man. :)

It was a pretty good deal, but I'm sure they made money. Something tells me that these guys could sell their cars for half of what they're asking and still somehow make a buck.

I think the key is to make a fair offer, and not be insulting. I'm sure they get dickheads in there all the time asking for...well...half of sticker price. In my opinion that just irritates them and they try to dick you the rest of the time.

FYI, they were asking $13k, I offered them $11k, knowing I'd also get about $1,000 for the trade-in. The blue book suggested retail for one in excellent condition with the mileage it had was about $11,600. So when it was all done I got it for $10k.

I think they were happy because I could have played the old "well, I'll be back" game and dicked around for another $250 or so, but honestly I didn't want to keep doing that. That's part of what makes it so stressful.

It was hilarious seeing them trying to rush us through their system to get me in their books by 4:00pm and get one last sale at the end of the month. At 3:15pm, when they asked about financing, I told there that there was probably no way in hell I was going to finance through them. Their rates are borderline usurious - seriously, 8.9%? What is this, 1982? I told them I could get 4.74% at the credit union we belong to. Sure enough, they magically matched that rate. Who knew - all you have to do is ask.

[tleilaxu]

thanks for buying Murican. my michigander heart is glad.

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

thanks for buying Murican. my michigander heart is glad.

Believe it or not it did factor into my decision a bit. I now own two Dodges (Grand Caravan and now the Caliber).

[tleilaxu]

Believe it or not it did factor into my decision a bit. I now own two Dodges (Grand Caravan and now the Caliber).

there's no reason not to buy american now, they're just as good as their foreign counterparts (which didn't used to be the case).

[shiningbrow]

Thanks, man. :)

It was a pretty good deal, but I'm sure they made money. Something tells me that these guys could sell their cars for half of what they're asking and still somehow make a buck.

I think the key is to make a fair offer, and not be insulting. I'm sure they get dickheads in there all the time asking for...well...half of sticker price. In my opinion that just irritates them and they try to dick you the rest of the time.

FYI, they were asking $13k, I offered them $11k, knowing I'd also get about $1,000 for the trade-in. The blue book suggested retail for one in excellent condition with the mileage it had was about $11,600. So when it was all done I got it for $10k.

I think they were happy because I could have played the old "well, I'll be back" game and dicked around for another $250 or so, but honestly I didn't want to keep doing that. That's part of what makes it so stressful.

It was hilarious seeing them trying to rush us through their system to get me in their books by 4:00pm and get one last sale at the end of the month. At 3:15pm, when they asked about financing, I told there that there was probably no way in hell I was going to finance through them. Their rates are borderline usurious - seriously, 8.9%? What is this, 1982? I told them I could get 4.74% at the credit union we belong to. Sure enough, they magically matched that rate. Who knew - all you have to do is ask.


That's a great deal, makes me regret having had to buy two years ago. I got a decent price, but not that sweet! My car was on its last legs, so I really had no choice, but I do envy you the wide variety of choice and the great deals you have if you are car shopping now!

[Black Angel]

Since they're going out of business, or losing the dealership, what happens if you have a problem with the car under warranty? Just curious...

Otherwise, it looks like a nice car.

[nerfherder]

Thanks, man. :)

It was a pretty good deal, but I'm sure they made money. Something tells me that these guys could sell their cars for half of what they're asking and still somehow make a buck.

I think the key is to make a fair offer, and not be insulting. I'm sure they get dickheads in there all the time asking for...well...half of sticker price. In my opinion that just irritates them and they try to dick you the rest of the time.

FYI, they were asking $13k, I offered them $11k, knowing I'd also get about $1,000 for the trade-in. The blue book suggested retail for one in excellent condition with the mileage it had was about $11,600. So when it was all done I got it for $10k.

I think they were happy because I could have played the old "well, I'll be back" game and dicked around for another $250 or so, but honestly I didn't want to keep doing that. That's part of what makes it so stressful.

It was hilarious seeing them trying to rush us through their system to get me in their books by 4:00pm and get one last sale at the end of the month. At 3:15pm, when they asked about financing, I told there that there was probably no way in hell I was going to finance through them. Their rates are borderline usurious - seriously, 8.9%? What is this, 1982? I told them I could get 4.74% at the credit union we belong to. Sure enough, they magically matched that rate. Who knew - all you have to do is ask.
They were probably either just about to meet their monthly target, or they'd met it and would be getting good bonuses on each subsequent car they sold. Sounds like you picked the perfect time and they realised you were a serious buyer, since you weren't making ridiculous offers.

I had a similar but different situation when I bought my last car. It was actually a private sale, but the seller needed to sell quickly to finance a business opportunity. The advert sounded almost too good to be true and I had to move quickly - taking the train to see it, since I'd sold my car. Everything seemed to check out with the car's history and condition, and I got a good feeling from the seller. I knew the car would go very quickly at that price. The one blemish was that it was due it's annual vehicle safety/emissions test in a month's time. I asked the owner to put it through the test early, and he did (and it passed ok). It had just been serviced 2 months before, and all the invoices were present and the service stamps were all the correct mileage, age and type.

I took the decision to offer him asking price, and I think that if I hadn't I would have lost it. I spoke to him after I'd bought it and asked him about other potential buyers, out of curiosity. He told me that he'd had dealers ringing him up offering just $750 less than his advertised price and he turned them down. In fact, after I'd arranged to come down and look at it, he increased the price on the advert, in case I changed my mind and decided not to buy. I think he realised that almost everyone tries to knock off about 10% through haggling, and he'd priced it at the absolute lowest he could accept.

So, I got it at the lowest amount that used car prices have ever been in the UK (they're now going up because of lack of supply - mine appreciated $1500!) and the cheapest time of year (February) for convertibles. :D

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

Since they're going out of business, or losing the dealership, what happens if you have a problem with the car under warranty? Just curious...

Otherwise, it looks like a nice car.

There is still the balance of the Chrysler warranty for a few thousand miles. There is another dealership in the area I would take it to on the chance that something goes wrong.



I took the decision to offer him asking price, and I think that if I hadn't I would have lost it. I spoke to him after I'd bought it and asked him about other potential buyers, out of curiosity. He told me that he'd had dealers ringing him up offering just $750 less than his advertised price and he turned them down. In fact, after I'd arranged to come down and look at it, he increased the price on the advert, in case I changed my mind and decided not to buy. I think he realised that almost everyone tries to knock off about 10% through haggling, and he'd priced it at the absolute lowest he could accept.

So, I got it at the lowest amount that used car prices have ever been in the UK (they're now going up because of lack of supply - mine appreciated $1500!) and the cheapest time of year (February) for convertibles. :D

Good for you, man. :) There is definitely a time lowball in negotiating, but you need to read the situation first. You did and it paid off big time.

I guess I always put myself in the other guys shoes and try to imagine how I'd feel if someone gave me an insulting offer. Well, I'd be pretty pissed, actually. :)

[nerfherder]

Good for you, man. :) There is definitely a time lowball in negotiating, but you need to read the situation first. You did and it paid off big time.

I guess I always put myself in the other guys shoes and try to imagine how I'd feel if someone gave me an insulting offer. Well, I'd be pretty pissed, actually. :)
Exactly - I'd just gone through the process of selling my own car, so knew what it was like on the other side.

In general, though, I'm not a natural at negotiating. For the car before this one, I did a lot of research online before I went into the dealership, and when it came to negotiating price I placed a print-out on his desk and said I wanted that deal - it was from a forum specifically for that model, and there was a thread where people said what deals they'd managed to get. I picked the best deal that my local dealer had given in the last 3 months and stuck to that. The dealer agreed to it :)

One thing I've found useful when negotiating a deal is that rather than just asking for cash off, ask for options to be thrown in (that you wanted already - no point asking for a tow bar to be fitted if you don't need one) and/or a couple of free services. The dealer knows that it is just costing him the cost price, whereas you are getting the benefit of the retail price.

Anyway, tell me more about your new P&J. Post pics and tell us the spec/options. You do see the occasional Chrysler over here, but I know nothing about the Caliber. :)