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Big Arm, MT Car Consumer Discussions

Re: weird factoid [Mr_Shiftright]

by graphicguy on Mon Oct 06 04:48:15 PDT 2008

Taking a trip down memory lane, I remember my late Father taking me for a ride by the dealerships when the new models were rolling out. This is probably somewhere around the mid-late '60s (when I was a little gg.....and not a big GG). Dealerships would either have their windows covered in black paint. Or, they'd have newspaper covering the windows, so people couldn't see the new models until a specified date. The dealerships would rip down the newspaper from the windows, or clean the black paint off, sometime during the night, to reveal the new/improved models. I really don't remember the year, but we went past a Pontiac dealership. People were actually lined up to get in, after the "big reveal" happened the day of the rollouts. I specifically remember my Father touching the new iron. Don't see much of that anymore. One of my first memories, still in my Father's arms, he said I pointed towards a Firebird. Guess that was a harbinger of things to come for me. Consequently, never had a Firebird, nor a Camaro in the GG stable. That could very well change next year, however.

Re: waiting [nwng]

by tns1 on Fri Oct 03 13:28:10 PDT 2008

I looked at Home equity loans, but that is a catch-22 thing. If the prime goes up, so does it. Of course if prime goes down so does it. Its a gamble. I would rather be locked into one rate the whole life of the loan. That is what got some of these people defaulting on loans, is that they went for the ARMs and it burned them big time. My motto is, get the best rate you can and lock it in.

Seat size

by ateixeira on Tue Sep 23 09:02:15 PDT 2008

At 6'2" and 260 pounds, the main issue here may just be the front seat, and how well you'd fit in those. I think a car show would be a good idea. You can "test fit" several vehicles, even from different segments, and narrow it down to a short list where you were truly comfortable. Being that tall may even limit your options (no moonroof, perhaps). I know an Expy is good for a large guy, as is a Tahoe. Big, wide seats and good arm rests help a lot. You might be cramped in a compact anything. Money no object, a hybrid Tahoe would do everything you want and still gets 20mpg even in the city. They're $50 grand, though.

Gagrice: Your judgement on Palin.......

by rockylee on Sun Sep 21 15:02:13 PDT 2008

Your love for Sarah Palin, makes me wonder which head you are thinking with ??? :surprise: My gawd, you act as this women has no flaws and obviously ignore all of her lies. You call Obama, a empty teleprompter suit democrat, yet the public has seen just how "bright" Palin, really is. A gifted speaker ??? Yes, as long as she has the speech read to her. You are crazy believing Obama, is going to lose a debate to McCain. The man looks like he has one foot, and one arm in the grave. McCain, will look old, weak, and out of touch !!! I'm looking forward to the debates. Biden, will eat Palin's lunch on the issues. Her true "experience" will show up if the tough questions are asked. I wished Keith Olbermann, could be the person designated to ask the questions !!! ;) As mayor she left her city in debt but that is the typical republican economic philosphy. Huge tax breaks to the rich and we'll pay for it by passing the debt on to another generation. That is exactly what is happening now and these same neocons of no big brother, well came knocking at his door with their hands out !!! No Offence, but I'm upset I have to bail out imidazol97's, gagrice, marsha7, houdini1, and their rich buddies !!!! :P :P :P "The Rock"

Re: Volvo xc90 Lease [floridamom1]

by marinite on Fri Sep 19 02:47:30 PDT 2008

Good deal, I personally think! I was just curious about the $2000 which sounded high but not when I see what it covers. I think the only difference between the Honda Odyssey cost/fee is the dealer fee - any idea how much that charge was? Not that the van compares AT ALL to the Volvo! The van is not.cool.whatsoever. ...but we have twins and it's super easy for loading them. Yes, let me know if you still can't stand the seats - they are something to get used to. I have a Volvo sedan now myself. I find that putting the seat bottom flat and getting lots of lumbar support is key - also I put the steering wheel close to my leg so my arms aren't reaching too high. Also helps so you don't notice the headrests which are huge if you really look at them. Part of the big safety package. Hope any of these ideas help. Marinite ps - I'm in NoCal but hey, could meet you in Texas ;) if you really, really need an assumption and I haven't used some of your numbers to score an amazing lease deal, too!

Re: is this a good price, any pros/cons? [weverhat]

by weverhat on Mon Sep 15 21:42:53 PDT 2008

Getting back to my pending Forester purchase, you'll recall that I had chosen to go through with dealer #1. I gave dealer #1 a deposit, and he obtained the car from another dealer. When dealer #1 ran my credit he informed me that he pulled my credit report from 2 bureaus, and that my two scores were 645 and 603. He said that Subaru takes your highest score (in my case 645), which qualified me for Subaru Motor Finance's tier IV, 6.9% for 64-72 months. I asked dealer #1 if he was going to check my third score to see if it was better. He told me no, because the ones he checked were usually the highest. At this point I had not yet found out my Auto-enhanced scores, so I was wondering why the scores dealer #1 was telling me were much lower than what I had gotten from Myfico.com. I decided to contact dealer #2 and have them run my credit (dealer #2, you'll recall, was $400 higher than dealer #1, but dealer #2 had the car I wanted in stock). I calculated that if dealer #2 could get me the 4.9% rate, it would more than make up for the $400 difference in price. I tell dealer #2 of the experience I had when dealer #1 checked my FICO scores - that dealer #1 said my highest score was 645, which I thought was too low. Dealer #2 says that some dealers have bad reputations and have been known to try to make money on the spread, by telling buyers that they qualify for a worse rate than they actually do. Dealer #2 asks me who dealer #1 was. I tell dealer #2 the name of dealer #1. Dealer #2 says that dealer #1 is kind of in the middle - not a bad reputation but not a great one either. Now here's an interesting twist - I had previously asked dealer #1 about dealer #2 (since dealer #2 was one of three dealerships who had the car I wanted who dealer #1 could possible be getting the car from). Dealer #1 had told me that he had a pretty good relationship with dealer #2. Getting back to dealer #2, dealer #2 says that they'll check my credit to see if what dealer #1 told me was accurate. About 10 minutes pass and dealer #2 calls me back. Dealer #2 says that they ran my credit, and tells me that dealer #1 was not lying to me, my highest score was indeed 645. I thanked dealer #2 for checking, and that was that. I still was not satisfied. Why were my scores so low? Was dealer #2 telling me the truth, or were they backing up dealer #1? Was it really due to these mysterious "auto enhanced" FICO scores? Did all dealers use these "auto enhanced" scores, or did some use the "classic" scores? I decided to visit the dealerships of several different manufacturers and have then run my credit to see if I could find out the answers to these questions. I know that inquiries into your credit can lower your score. I also remembered reading that several inquiries in a short time span were treated as one, so it wouldn't really have that big an effect on my credit. Plus at this point I really wanted to know so I didn't really care if it cost me a few points on my credit. First stop was a Jeep/Chrysler dealer. I feigned interest in a car and then asked them to run my credit. They do and come back and show me my scores - 712/680/675. All within a few points of the scores I obtained from Myfico.com! At this point I am feeling pretty skeptical about the trustworthiness of both the Subaru dealers I had contacted (dealer #1 and dealer #2). Next stop was a Nissan dealership. I again say I'm interested in a car and ask them to run my credit. They return and show me the scores/reports - 672/645/603. The names on the reports were the names of the specialized auto-enhanced FICO scores described in my previous post - Equifax BEACON 5.0 Auto Industry Option, Experian Auto Loan Model 2, TransUnion Classic Auto 4. In addition, the 645 and 603 agreed with what Subaru dealer #1 had told me. However, the third score, which dealer #1 said he did not run, turned out to be higher than the other two, and would have placed me in Subaru's tier III - 6.25% for 64-72 months. Last stop, a Honda dealership. Same routine. They run my credit, and return with one score. They say they only use Experian. My score is 603, which matches the Auto-enhanced Experian score from both the Nissan dealership and Dealer #1. Bottom line, of the 4 manufacturers I checked with, three used the "Auto enhanced" FICO scores - Subaru, Nissan, and Honda. One used the "classic" FICO scores - Jeep/Chrysler. Still, there was unfinished business with the Subaru dealers. Why did dealer #1 check only two of my scores? Why did dealer #2 confirm that my highest score was 645? One interesting thing I discover from my credit report is that Dealer #2 never checked my credit! It showed that dealer #1 checked my credit. It also showed that the Jeep/Chrysler dealer, the Nissan dealer, and the Honda dealers checked my credit. But it did not show any record of dealer #2 checking my credit! Remember, I told dealer #2 that dealer #1 had told me that my highest score was 645. I also told dealer #2 the name of dealer #1. Also remember that dealer #1 had told me before that he had a good relationship with dealer #2. Draw your own conclusions. Armed with all this information I send dealer #1 an email. I tell dealer #1 that I obtained a copy of my "auto enhanced" credit scores, and that two of my scores matched what he told me - 645 and 603. I also tell him that the score he said he didn't check because it was usually the lowest was actually the highest at 672, and that since he said that Subaru takes the highest of your three scores, that would have qualified me for tier III (6.25% for 64-72 months) instead of tier IV (6.9% for 64-72 months). The following day I get a response from him with good news, he was able to get me the 6.25% interest rate!