Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Tea, South Dakota

Tea, SD Car Consumer Discussions

Re: You might be right, cooter... [iluvmysephia1]

by nwng on Mon Nov 17 09:34:02 PST 2008

An ev will definitely be your cup of tea if you live in AZ or areas with similar climate. Here in the northeast, my buddy's prius consistently gets around 52 mpg in mixed used driving (not hypermiling at all) in the mild weather. But when old man winter comes, it drops to about 40 mpg. I'd love to have an ev as my future vehicle, but as it stands right now and the forseeable future, a hybrid is still the way to go in my neck of woods.

no title

by m4d_cow on Sat Nov 15 01:47:20 PST 2008

Sorry to hear about your BMW, dewey. Thats a lemon indeed. I've owned only a few cars, 1997 Civic, 2003 Escape, 2004 330i, and now the 2006 TSX. And the most reliable so far (believe it or not) was the bimmer, while the Civic was the least reliable (surprised? me too). Within the first 6 months I had to visit the dealership 6 times to get things fixed (from non-functioning power windows and radio to faulty gas cap). My local BMW dealer had poor service too, they had to take the hard blow of being outsold by Audi across town to get it (somewhat) right now. Still not happening, better but far below Audi constantly rising service standards. For comparison among premium brands here, top customer services are: 1) Lexus 2) Audi/Porsche/Volvo/Saab/MB (all under the same dealer) 3) Acura 4) Infiniti 5) Jaguar/Land Rover (again, same dealer) 6) Chrysler (surprised? same here) 7) BMW 8) Cadillac/Hummer 9) Lincoln Source from local newspaper report (add Hyundai ABOVE Lincoln if you wish to add them to comparison - Genesis is supposed to be a premium right?). Local Audi dealer here got the most amazing service I can think of. The moment you enter the lot a salesperson greets you, remember how salesman sticks to you like scalp? If you say "We're just looking", the salesperson always says "Sure. Take your time, let me know on desk #(insert number) if you need anything" and leave. The second you step inside you'll be offered a drink (latte, tea, juice or water) and snacks (donuts, cookies or apples). They disclose every official rebates and incentives, almost no secrets there. Another addition is if you buy a car new or used, you'll get free carwash every other week under one condition: it must be the brand the dealer sells (Audi-Porsche-Saab-Volvo-MB). So if you buy a used Lexus there you wont get the free carwash, but a used Saab is fine. I remember visiting w/ a friend who needed a control module replaced in his A4. The car had to stay overnight and they had no loaners left, so the GM lend his personal A6 for the day. How Lexus managed to top that is still a mistery to me, maybe because the cars are more reliable. With the bar set that high I wonder how my local BMW will ever catch up.

Re: WOW [tlong]

by rockylee on Thu Nov 13 06:12:58 PST 2008

They don't have the huge bloated cost structure of GM. They also don't have 8 divisions and they don't rebadge the same CUV under four nameplates! Good points !!! But I think their is more to it than that !!! :) Seriously, good luck! If you can land that job in this economy it is a major accomplishment! I have been doing lots of praying. I had a interview a few days ago for an assistant managers position for a rent a center type place. Not my cup of tea but when you are desperate you take whatever you can get. The entry-level managers job would be doing promotions for various sports teams, resturants, etc....I personally would be training 4-6 months to manage their DirecTv, promotions at places like circuit city, best buy !!! He liked the fact that I have experience doing AT&T U-verse, sales and took charge to resolve customer service issues after the sale to help my clients. So having experience in cable type television was a big plus even though I would be jumping sides to promote Satellite Television, instead of cable !!! ;) I also have a working knowledge of DirecTv, because my family were one of the first people in Michigan, to have it and the fact that GM, use to own them I quickly became very fond of the product !!! ;) So thanks I will need all the luck I can get. Have a 2nd interview from 12-7 and probably will have writers cramp by the end of the day as I was told I'd be taking notes !!! ;) -Rocky

Re: Is it possible to back out of a car purchase? [houdini1]

by jipster on Wed Nov 12 12:35:19 PST 2008

Would you expect them to be treated with the same attitude? I would expect the larger tipper to get a bigger smile, and less wait time on ice tea refills.

Car and Driver

by nippononly on Wed Nov 05 08:58:25 PST 2008

has a new article on the iQ this month, and what they are saying is very interesting if it turns out to be true. Specifically: - Toyota IS now planning to bring this to the U.S. in 2010, as a competitor to the ForTwo and the Mini - As such, it will sell as a premium small car, with prices possibly approaching $20K for fully loaded models - It will use the 1.3L engine Toyota already uses in other parts of the world. This engine produces 100 hp (the car weighs only 1900 pounds, so it will be VERY spry with so much power), yet should achieve at least 40 mpg combined in the new EPA test (for comparison, the ForTwo achieves 38 mpg combined on the same test). As for the Yaris reference in one of the posts above, they expect that they may start selling a base trim Yaris with the 1.3 also, to bring the base price down to compete with Nissan's new base model Versa. I love this news, because premium small cars are my cup of tea and so few and far between in the U.S. Indeed, I am most surprised that Toyota is hatching such a plan, as I would have expected them to strip the car to the bare metal, offer no options whatsoever, give it zero handling and power, and sell it for $9995. Instead, it may actually sell for a higher average price than the Yaris if this vision is fully realized. And as to seating, this thing is sort of a "3+1" - the front passenger seat is mounted further forward to allow room for a (small) adult in the rear seat on that side. On the driver's side, there is a seat big enough to mount a child car seat, and not much else. So you could potentially carry two kids and an adult quite easily in this thing. I agree that one of Insight's downfalls was its lack of any seating at all beyond two people. That is also probably a limiting factor on ForTwo's sales now, although it is selling better than expected even so. Oh yeah, and 9 airbags will be standard, including a curtain airbag over the rear hatch for back seat passengers.... If this thing turns out to have any kind of decent handling, it will be in the running for my next car. Running against it will be Honda's new CRX (called CRZ currently) and Toyota's own jointly developed RWD sport coupe that Subaru is helping to design, also for 2010.

Re: 1st Gen Genesis vs 1st Gen LS400 [sanjaysdca]

by allmet33 on Thu Oct 23 08:21:07 PDT 2008

Exactly my point... The dealer ship has to make money. That is the primary purpose of any business... TO MAKE MONEY FOR ITS OWNERS/SHAREHOLDERS So to offset the cost of: 1) Loaner 2) Nicely decorated waiting area's with 2 to three news papers and non-rag magazine 3) Donuts & Coffee..and sometimes sandwiches for the people who wait 4) Free secure internet connection if you want to work while you wait 5) Nice pay for people who are courtious, have good at what they do, and KNOWLEDGEABLE...and will make customer feel comfertable You have to charge them. As I said earlier that its easier to charge $50.00 for oil change from a person buying 40K then from person who buys $10K car Actually...you missed the point. If they are into making money, then the loaner would be a liability to them. My point was...they amount of money they make with the service department offsets the loss they may take on the loaners. Anyway...go to Alexandria Hyundai and you'll find a big screen tv with Direct TV hooked up to it, customer use computer with internet access, a coffee/tea/hot chocolate machine and plenty of periodicals/magazine (all non-rag) and newspapers for waiting customers to read. The waiting area could be nicer, but I believe they are actually in the process of remodeling...so the jury is out. With the amount that luxury dealers charge for their services...they should be providing the extras. However, you said an oil change for you is $50, which...if they're using conventional oil...you're getting ripped and you should be diving in to all the donuts, sandwhiches and coffee they have to offer. If it's synthetic oil, then you're getting a bargain. As far as nice pay for the techs and such...well, they continue to work there and I'm sure they're qualified to work elsewhere, so the pay must be good. Knowledgeable...depends on what dealership you go to and that has nothing to do with pay, that has everything to do with someone taking pride in their work. If you act like you don't know squat, you get paid squat. When you show yourself to be knowledgeable...you get the extra money, bonuses and awards. Again...it all starts with attitude, change the attitudes and everything else falls into line.