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Buying a New Vehicle in this environment


Royalfan5

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LONG STORY:

I just took a major financial hit due to nasty mechanical failure. My 07 Avalanche died on Wednesday.  I'm pretty sure it's the motor at 258k miles.  This rig is my most important tool for work, and very difficult to replace (my custom 2-story ladder rack system is super legit).  I'm looking at a $9k motor replacement so that I can get it running and sell it, hopefully for $15k+ (new trans, diff, tires, brakes, alternator, starter, battery, driver seat leather, dashboard, seatbelt, arm rest - all in the last year or so).  I love this truck and it's a damn shame to see it go, but it's time.  I guess I should have sold it a month or two ago, but some poor schlub would be beating down my door today over a blown motor if I had sold it privately.  Dealer offered me $1k as-is for trade on a Silverado that I didn't want.  So I went shopping...

After several dead-ends, I wound up at Covert on Jollyville to see a Silverado SRT that seamed close enough to what I wanted in this low-inventory market.  I set an appointment with the sales dude, and his manager even called to confirm.  I headed there ready to pay asking price for a vehicle that I confirmed was on the lot and for sale.  

I arrive with my excited son, and wait an hour for the sales guy (scheduled appointment).  He directs me toward the trucks, and as we walk, he tells me that the truck was sold yesterday, but he has other trucks on the lot.  I halted and called him a liar.  I knew immediately that I could not trust another word from him, and the sale with him and that dealership was spoiled...even if he had a truck that I wanted.  I didn't curse him, but I called him a liar again as I fumed out.

I decided to google Henna Chevrolet's address just to see what's on the lot.  I found the used lot on 35 near Runburg, and it's pretty ghetto.  The lot is thin and ugly, the customers look unhappy, and I don't expect to see much of interest.  As we turn to exit on the frontage road, I spot a gray truck with gray wheels.  Hmmm, let's have a look son.  It didn't take long to realize I found a truck worth buying.

I go talk to the first sales guy I see and ask about the truck.  He thinks that I am a customer that they are expecting that set an appointment to look at that truck.  I tell him no, I'm just a walk-up.  He sees that I pulled up in my Porsche, so he says "first come, first served" and gets me in a test drive as soon as possible.  45 minutes later I'm back and signing the paper work.  The guy that had an appointment was pissed!  He told the sales guys to call him if my deal fell through.  The sales guys just said "you win some, you lose some!"

Anyways, I bought a 21 GMC Sierra 1500 Duramax loaded out today, used with 6k miles and some hail damage to the hood.  I still have to add a bed cover and ladder racks to get it back to the awesomeness and usefullness of my formerly trusty Avelanche.  

So I have to fund the restoration of the Avelanche to get it ready to sell, and I had to buy a new truck with a gun to my head so that I can get back to work and keep making money.

Trying to buy a truck in this market while under durress has been a nightmare, but Dustin at Henna was super cool.

 

Pics to follow.

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  • 2 months later...
54 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

the little guy?  Thought only full size Broncos had the supply issue?

The little guy. The Badlands trim is able to ordered for the first time in about 4 months and 22’s won’t start being built until November. The line is extremely long on the full sized at the moment, as in an order now might get you a 23 

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  • 1 month later...
3 minutes ago, Royalfan5 said:

I'm somewhat optimistic I'll have it by my birthday in February

Here's a tracker where you can check the status of your vehicle at anytime. I don't know if it'll work for the Sport but you can try it.  You need your VIN and the order number that your sales guy can provide.  On the Bronco Sport forum there may be a separate tracker.  This is better than the Ford.com tracker which never updated for many people.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/pages/tracker/

 

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1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

Here's a tracker where you can check the status of your vehicle at anytime. I don't know if it'll work for the Sport but you can try it.  You need your VIN and the order number that your sales guy can provide.  On the Bronco Sport forum there may be a separate tracker.  This is better than the Ford.com tracker which never updated for many people.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/pages/tracker/

 

I've got my vin. I'll check it out on the sport forum. How has the full sized been? I decided I didn't want to mess with the wait on it (for all the good it did me), and figured I'd get a sport now, and roll that over to the wife once stuff calms down and the Big Bronco push has calmed down.

Edited by Royalfan5
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I've got my vin. I'll check it out on the sport forum. How has the full sized been? I decided I didn't want to mess with the wait on it (for all the good it did me), and figured I'd get a sport now, and roll that over to the wife once stuff calms down and the Big Bronco push has calmed down.

Absolutely love it. Only quibbles are minor like no rear AC vents but it blows cold AF so it hasn’t mattered at all.

Keep an eye out for any full size Broncos that the reservation holder doesn’t pick up. At least Leif Johnson has said they will not mark up Broncos above MSRP. A few days before I picked up mine the LJ Truck City location had a full size Badlands Bronco for sale that the reservation holder passed on.
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We have 3 kids and a Chrysler Pacifica minivan. It has surprisingly good cargo space, even with all the seats up. We added a trailer hitch for carrying bikes but could put a cargo carrier basket or more if we thought we needed more. images.jpeg.b4f904df165ebff2e5d31d4a274a2fe2.jpeg

Sliding side doors are so awesome. I know lots of SUV drivers who would be better served with a minivan.


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On 11/25/2021 at 6:47 PM, TexPx said:


Sliding side doors are so awesome. I know lots of SUV drivers who would be better served with a minivan.


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most "suvs" are just butched up minivans.  most of the rest are just taller station wagons. 

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Looking at new Denali XL. Any recommendations on where I can get one now?  Sewell in Dallas would allow me to order at nothing over MSRP, but it wouldn’t be here for 7-8 months. Wondering if I should reach out to my Covert sales guy. 

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3 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Any first hand opinions on Toyota Tundras?  Reviews from the car websites are consistently mediocre but also ding Toyota for shitty gas mileage and absence of features like Appleplay that are low or non-existent on my needs list.

 

You talking new or used?  2022 Tundra is all new.

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7 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Any first hand opinions on Toyota Tundras?  Reviews from the car websites are consistently mediocre but also ding Toyota for shitty gas mileage and absence of features like Appleplay that are low or non-existent on my needs list.

 

If you want something that will rarely ever need a repair or be in the shop, never blow an engine or transmission, do it’s intended function, and not have annoying things like fit and finish fall apart over time the Tundra is great. 

If there are certain advanced features like an advanced display that are important, there are better options, if you don’t mind reliability issues.   

 

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15 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

You talking new or used?  2022 Tundra is all new.

Used if I stick with Toyota (part of the appeal with the brand is that you don’t need it to be new to expect reliability).  
 

I’ve driven both a Chevy truck and a Jeep from 100k to 150k on the odometer and the needed to put them in the shop for something probably every two or three months and it’s always bad timing.  

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13 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Used if I stick with Toyota (part of the appeal with the brand is that you don’t need it to be new to expect reliability).  
 

I’ve driven both a Chevy truck and a Jeep from 100k to 150k on the odometer and the needed to put them in the shop for something probably every two or three months and it’s always bad timing.  

The Tundra will be dead ass reliable as long as you get one that has been maintained properly.  Bad fuel economy, though, if that bothers you.

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5 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

The Tundra will be dead ass reliable as long as you get one that has been maintained properly.  Bad fuel economy, though, if that bothers you.

I drive an 8 cylinder 4 runner so I’m accustomed to 15 mpg.  Hard to get much worse on that front and I’m not sure that any of the other “heavy” trucks are materially better, i.e., touting “best in class” because you can squeeze out 18 mpg isn’t really saving me a lot of $$.

 

I just don’t understand why the editors at motor trend , edmunds, or car and driver don’t use the same logic and it makes me think I’m missing something a smart shopper should be catching. 

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37 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I drive an 8 cylinder 4 runner so I’m accustomed to 15 mpg.  Hard to get much worse on that front and I’m not sure that any of the other “heavy” trucks are materially better, i.e., touting “best in class” because you can squeeze out 18 mpg isn’t really saving me a lot of $$.

 

I just don’t understand why the editors at motor trend , edmunds, or car and driver don’t use the same logic and it makes me think I’m missing something a smart shopper should be catching. 

2021 and older Tundras are based on an old platform.  Old engine tech (hence the bad mpg), older tech inside the truck.  Car rags have never cared about reliability, they care about numbers and what's new and flashy because that's what sells magazines.  Until 2022, the Tundra was old news.

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On 9/23/2021 at 10:56 AM, Royalfan5 said:

My build date is listed at 11-8 right now, so I'm now somewhat optimistic that'll have it by Christmas

Curious what your order date was?  I have a Badlands on order with an order date of 1/21/21 and I haven't received a VIN yet, nor any update on completion.  I had to re-order a 22 model because I refused to switch to a soft top, but I was assured that I wouldn't "lose my place in line."

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On 12/9/2021 at 8:54 AM, Porterhouse said:

Looking at new Denali XL. Any recommendations on where I can get one now?  Sewell in Dallas would allow me to order at nothing over MSRP, but it wouldn’t be here for 7-8 months. Wondering if I should reach out to my Covert sales guy. 

I'm looking at these for my wife.  I spec'ed one out on GMC's website and it pointed me to a page where you could find already built ones that are close to what you want.  I made several call to dealers all over the state that the website showed to have them in stock.  Like a broken record it was always "Oh that's the owner's wife's vehicle and not for sale, but it has to stay on the website because it's technically still in our inventory" and a lot of similar comments.  The local dealer I talked to said he has 30 people on his waitlist for one and he's getting one in every 3 weeks or so ... by that math I'm looking at early 2023 before it's my turn.  I'd be curious if you find one, I'd be interested to know how you went about it.

 

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1 hour ago, BTW said:

Curious what your order date was?  I have a Badlands on order with an order date of 1/21/21 and I haven't received a VIN yet, nor any update on completion.  I had to re-order a 22 model because I refused to switch to a soft top, but I was assured that I wouldn't "lose my place in line."

I ordered a baby Bronco on 9-29, (after they wouldn't take the order in June), I didn't even try to mess with ordering a big one for now for the reasons you illustrated. I figured I'll just turn it over to the wife when the supply of the big ones catches up. 

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1 hour ago, BTW said:

Curious what your order date was?  I have a Badlands on order with an order date of 1/21/21 and I haven't received a VIN yet, nor any update on completion.  I had to re-order a 22 model because I refused to switch to a soft top, but I was assured that I wouldn't "lose my place in line."

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/

In the forum, there's a thread for each week's build group. You can look there and see what and when others ordered. If you see a similarly equipped Badlands with a reservation date that's similar to yours, then you're probably within less than 4 weeks away from getting a VIN and scheduled for production. The model, package, equipment, and location for delivery all have an impact on the production date.

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  • 3 weeks later...

^^^I’m curious as to what you Bronco dudes paid in relation to MSRP.

I test drove a Sport (Big Bend) today that was priced “firm” at exactly $5k above full sticker.

Dealer also told me that a $2.5k premium would be charged to initiate a new order from Ford (was told to expect 4-6 mo’s best case).

Seemed outrageous on both fronts, but I guess there is still adequate demand to support that bullshit.


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^^^I’m curious as to what you Bronco dudes paid in relation to MSRP.

I test drove a Sport (Big Bend) today that was priced “firm” at exactly $5k above full sticker.

Dealer also told me that a $2.5k premium would be charged to initiate a new order from Ford (was told to expect 4-6 mo’s best case).

Seemed outrageous on both fronts, but I guess there is still adequate demand to support that bullshit.


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I paid MSRP at Leif Johnson. The sales guy said they wouldn’t mark up any Broncos but Raptors all get a $20K+ markup since they get less than a dozen per year.
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14 hours ago, Royalfan5 said:

Got the notification to expect my vehicle next week today 

Got bumped back a month already. As of now my deal is at sticker but I started this process awhile ago. We will see if they try to pull anything late in the game but the dealer is know for not pulling those kinds of stunts. 

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The current market is crazy!

I bought this Civic Turbo Coupe from Round Rock Honda new in Sept. 2019 for $22,500 and have put 6,700 miles on it in the past 27 months.
Now the dealer is sending me emails  saying it is worth $25,200 as a trade in.

Trade in on what? They have almost no new inventory, and I don’t want an overpriced SUV.... new or used. 
In fact I don’t want another car anytime soon. This little 4-banger suits me just fine and gets me to CVS & the Senior Citizen Activity Center PDQ with its 6.9 second 0-60 acceleration.

 

03651B18-ECFE-4D97-8C0B-04FC4069875B.jpeg

Edited by Armybrat
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On 6/26/2021 at 11:54 PM, Elvis said:

LONG STORY:

I just took a major financial hit due to nasty mechanical failure. My 07 Avalanche died on Wednesday.  I'm pretty sure it's the motor at 258k miles.  This rig is my most important tool for work, and very difficult to replace (my custom 2-story ladder rack system is super legit).  I'm looking at a $9k motor replacement so that I can get it running and sell it, hopefully for $15k+ (new trans, diff, tires, brakes, alternator, starter, battery, driver seat leather, dashboard, seatbelt, arm rest - all in the last year or so).  I love this truck and it's a damn shame to see it go, but it's time.  I guess I should have sold it a month or two ago, but some poor schlub would be beating down my door today over a blown motor if I had sold it privately.  Dealer offered me $1k as-is for trade on a Silverado that I didn't want.  So I went shopping...

After several dead-ends, I wound up at Covert on Jollyville to see a Silverado SRT that seamed close enough to what I wanted in this low-inventory market.  I set an appointment with the sales dude, and his manager even called to confirm.  I headed there ready to pay asking price for a vehicle that I confirmed was on the lot and for sale.  

I arrive with my excited son, and wait an hour for the sales guy (scheduled appointment).  He directs me toward the trucks, and as we walk, he tells me that the truck was sold yesterday, but he has other trucks on the lot.  I halted and called him a liar.  I knew immediately that I could not trust another word from him, and the sale with him and that dealership was spoiled...even if he had a truck that I wanted.  I didn't curse him, but I called him a liar again as I fumed out.

I decided to google Henna Chevrolet's address just to see what's on the lot.  I found the used lot on 35 near Runburg, and it's pretty ghetto.  The lot is thin and ugly, the customers look unhappy, and I don't expect to see much of interest.  As we turn to exit on the frontage road, I spot a gray truck with gray wheels.  Hmmm, let's have a look son.  It didn't take long to realize I found a truck worth buying.

I go talk to the first sales guy I see and ask about the truck.  He thinks that I am a customer that they are expecting that set an appointment to look at that truck.  I tell him no, I'm just a walk-up.  He sees that I pulled up in my Porsche, so he says "first come, first served" and gets me in a test drive as soon as possible.  45 minutes later I'm back and signing the paper work.  The guy that had an appointment was pissed!  He told the sales guys to call him if my deal fell through.  The sales guys just said "you win some, you lose some!"

Anyways, I bought a 21 GMC Sierra 1500 Duramax loaded out today, used with 6k miles and some hail damage to the hood.  I still have to add a bed cover and ladder racks to get it back to the awesomeness and usefullness of my formerly trusty Avelanche.  

So I have to fund the restoration of the Avelanche to get it ready to sell, and I had to buy a new truck with a gun to my head so that I can get back to work and keep making money.

Trying to buy a truck in this market while under durress has been a nightmare, but Dustin at Henna was super cool.

 

Pics to follow.

That tru-cote...they put that on at the factory

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I bought my 2021 4runner in August. I had to driver to Nederland to get what I wanted as it was hard to find in Houston and for the price. In this market I was happy to get it around $1k under MSRP. This is my 3rd Toyota, love them. Bulletproof. I don’t care about a ton of features, but this one has a decent screen and apple CarPlay (not wireless though).

My older brother just got a Tahoe for his wife. I think he paid MSRP.

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^^^I’m curious as to what you Bronco dudes paid in relation to MSRP.

I test drove a Sport (Big Bend) today that was priced “firm” at exactly $5k above full sticker.

Dealer also told me that a $2.5k premium would be charged to initiate a new order from Ford (was told to expect 4-6 mo’s best case).

Seemed outrageous on both fronts, but I guess there is still adequate demand to support that bullshit.


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Update….That Sport sold yesterday (on the lot less than 72 hrs) so evidently those hefty markups are still finding takers here in CenTex.


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Update….That Sport sold yesterday (on the lot less than 72 hrs) so evidently those hefty markups are still finding takers here in CenTex.


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Shit, people are flying in from california to Texas to buy 4runner and Tacoma TRD Pro’s for $15k+ over sticker.

Also, Bronco Sport is terrible. The real Bronco is what you want.
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1 hour ago, Tony Two K said:

Bought a 22 Honda Accord for my son yesterday, paid MSRP. Luckily wife had them email us an out the door quote the day before, which they honored. When we arrived they had added $4,000 to the MSRP to both of the Accords on the lot, and $5,000 to the handful of Civics they had. 

I think I posted in the other new car thread but I bought my kid a 22 Hyundai Elantra last week (got lucky that when I saw they had one in transit to the dealer a few weeks ago and called and reserved it for $500).  I paid sticker (plus $900 for tint and clear coat or some shit like that).  Had no choice with the $900 extra as the dealer adds that to all their cars.  Sadly, I was happy with this deal as other Hyundai dealers are marking that car up $4K plus if they even have the car which most don't.  

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On 12/29/2021 at 10:56 AM, Armybrat said:

The current market is crazy!

I bought this Civic Turbo Coupe from Round Rock Honda new in Sept. 2019 for $22,500 and have put 6,700 miles on it in the past 27 months.
Now the dealer is sending me emails  saying it is worth $25,200 as a trade in.

Trade in on what? They have almost no new inventory, and I don’t want an overpriced SUV.... new or used. 
In fact I don’t want another car anytime soon. This little 4-banger suits me just fine and gets me to CVS & the Senior Citizen Activity Center PDQ with its 6.9 second 0-60 acceleration.

 

03651B18-ECFE-4D97-8C0B-04FC4069875B.jpeg

You need to mow your lawn.

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12 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

That's the joke.

Actually the joke is on me.

My HOA nazis sent me a sternly worded letter in late November that I had to submit an application to do landscaping changes like we did.

So I submitted an application a week later stating the work had been done in July of 2015. Three weeks ago I received an email that the “landscaping committee” had rejected my application to do that change. 
Of course they said I had a month to file an appeal, but will have to remove enough of the gravel and resod it with water guzzling grass to have 75% of the front yard (which includes side yards and the ivy covered beds) in greenery.

They didn’t complain when I made the change from dead St. Augustine 6 years ago to the water-conserving xeriscape. 
When we built the house 26 years ago I was aware that changes to the house structure had to be approved by the HOA “architectural committee”, but didn’t notice any fine print about landscaping changes - just to maintain a neat yard.

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