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College Grove, TN Car Consumer Discussions

Re: $55 oil equals less than $2 gas [lemmer]

by andre1969 on Wed Nov 12 08:05:19 PST 2008

Based on that, I don't know how some people figure this is the worst recession since the Great Depression. Well personally, this time around has hit me harder than the recession in late 2001/early 2002 did. I probably saw my retirement/investments take a hit of about 1/3. Yet the value of my condo went up. I was also in no danger of losing my job. The one factor that probably hurt me the most financially was that on Columbus Day 2001, I officially decided that I would never, EVER deliver another pizza, for as long as I live! I didn't pick the best time to go down to one job, but I managed to survive. This time around? Well, at one point, October 17 I think it was, my retirement portfolio had lost almost half, compared to its peak barely a year before. I wouldn't be surprised if the value of my house has dropped by at least 25% off its peak. My house would probably also be a hard sell these days, because most of its value is in the land. A developer could buy it, raze the buildings, and divide it up, but developers are having a hard time doing that these days. I have no intention of selling anytime soon, and I still have plenty of equity in the place, but it still wouldn't be easy to unload if I had to. I'm still in no danger of losing my job, so I'm okay there. Also, groceries and gasoline are a lot more expensive than they were, say, 7 years ago. I remember gas prices getting back down to about $1.00 per gallon around this time in 2001. So even with today's relatively cheap gas, it's double what it was 7 years ago. I dunno how much groceries have gone up on average, but I remember milk being $2.25-2.50 per gallon not that long ago (probably longer ago than I think though), where nowadays I usually pay $4-4.50. Another thing that's roughly doubled in that time is electricity, at least around here. So far this year, I've been averaging about 16.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. Back then, it was around 9 cents. Now the recession before that, back in the early 90's, I was still in college, so relatively insulated from that one. And house prices did drop around here during that one. I paid $84K for my condo in 1994. In 1990 it would have easily fetched $100K. It wouldn't be until around 2001 that it would be back up to $100K. And I know some areas got hit hard that time around, especially California. I had a friend who lived in Garden Grove, who paid around $100K for a condo when prices were still high. Once he finally mailed the keys to the mortgage company, and was laid off, I think it was worth around $10K! :surprise: The crisis before that, 1979-83, I was just a little kid, so I was too young to know what was going on. I do remember Mom griping about paying $1.10 per gallon for gas though, and finally getting fed up and trading her '75 LeMans with its 350 V-8 for a relatively efficient 1980 Malibu with a 229-V-6. That recession was sort of funny though (not in a ha-ha sort of way). By the spring of 1982, Chevy was actually selling V-8 Caprices at sticker price, sometimes even with ADMU stickers. Meanwhile they were having to throw incentives at some of their more fuel-efficient cars, like the 4-cyl Celebrity, to get anyone to pay attention to it. Also, in that recession, house prices were still creeping upward. And in those days, more people had pensions, rather than relying on 401k's and personal savings and such. So I think there was a little more overall stability than there is today. So the reason that people are comparing this to the Great Depression is because it's more similar to that in the way that people are getting wiped out financially. In past recessions you might get laid off, and as a result have to burn through your savings, and then start missing mortgage payments so you'd lose your house. But this time around, many people are losing their savings, home, AND job, all at once. The GDP may not be hurting too much (yet), but many people certainly are!

Re: [fandiguy]

by snakeweasel on Sat Oct 04 09:14:36 PDT 2008

about a half hour west of chicago Depending on what you mean by Chicago that could put you anywhere from Maywood to Aurora. My best guess puts you somewhere in the area of Downers Grove. Do any of you expert economist actually live in the midwest? Yeah, Bachelors in Economics from Elmhurst College class of 91 and still live nearby. As I said most of the Midwest has been hit by economic hard times and has been for some time. But for you you are in the Chicago Metro area which has the great benefit of being a huge metro are with multiple industries which make it weather out economic bad times better than most areas. Even with that the Chicago area is hitting the skids economically. Go to Rockford, Peoria or the Quad cities and things are not as rosie. Get into the rural areas in between and it gets worse.

Norther CA Fit under Sticker...

by tlasko on Thu Jun 21 17:22:55 PDT 2007

I placed a deposit on a storm silver Sport 5MT at Elk Grove Honda on May 28th. It was the exact car I wanted and it had a 5/27 "build date". I got confirmation in witting that my deposit was fully refundable. They weren't really willing to negotiate at the time of deposit, but the deal was MSRP + rear bumper applique ($88) and floor mats ($152). I did get them to drop the floor mats. This gave me a few weeks to find a better deal. I did not like the pricing at: Auburn, Roseville, Shingle Springs, and Vacaville They were all over MSRP or required nearly $1000 in dealer options. (Buy the desired options your self from college honda for 1/2 what the dealer wants to add them.) I did go through Costco and they recommended Carmichael and they quoted $100 under MSRP, but they were unable to find a car. I used this price to get Elk Grove to drop $100 under MSRP when my car arrived. I picked it up last night and I love it. Good luck...

Re: Going to Buy an Xterra SE... what did you pay? [wyoforester]

by george99 on Sun Jun 10 08:38:29 PDT 2007

I found the post of amandagsr of June 6 2007 very useful. I did exactly what was recommended. To echo: I used Edmunds website to locate dealers within 50 miles of where I live (Coconut Grove/Miami, Florida), and looked at every dealer’s website to see their inventory. Once I found a car that seemed appropriate, I copied the VIN # and I called internet sales to get details. I did this for two dealers and found there to be a $2000 difference between two cars (primarily because of added features). I called Maroone Nissan of Kendall who was selling a 07 Xterra SE for $25,852(MSRP = $28,524.94); this included a DVD dockable $1300 Two package $450, floor mats $110, microfilter $60. Other charges were going to be Tax 6%, New tags $235, Dealer fee (=profit) $599, Battery fee $8.50. Rebates of $1500 was included (could have also gotten the $500 rebate if we financed). Note: This dealer used MSRP charges for added features. Esserman Nissan had a 07 Xterra SE for $24,600(MSRP=28,245); this included cargo cover $70, floor mats $80, auto dimming mirror $ 180, tow package $360. Other charges were tax 6%, new tags $250, Dealer fee (=profit) $599, Electronic filing $16, Tire fee $5, Battery fee $1.50. $1500 rebate was included. Couldn't get the extra $500 rebate, as we were not financing. (Note there is also a $500 rebated for college grads...check on the Edmunds site for 'rebates and incentives') I called the internet sales department and generally spoke to a salesperson that was not empowered to negotiate price any further. Both referred me to their sales managers. The manager from Marrone (car with DVD) would not reduce the price any further. He refused to remove or reduce the dealer fee ($599). His 'out the door' price was $28,426. The manager from Esserman removed the dealer fee ($599). His 'out the door' price was $26,500. I then told him I was coming to pick up the car. There was no further haggling at the dealership, merely paying and preparation of the paperwork and the car, which took about one hour. I did all of this from my computer/desk, while drinking my morning coffee. I was intent on teaching my 19 year old son how to buy his car; admittedly I learned something thru this experience. Thanks to amandagsr’s post.

Re: . [fintail]

by euphonium on Fri Apr 14 10:45:40 PDT 2006

The Northwest includes the best Mustang shows in the world. Bellevue Community College is the location of the largest Mustang Roundup on the West coast. It is a four day affair starting this year 13 July. The Concours d'Elegance in Forest Grove, OR is also an excellent and well received display of very rare motor cars. Also in July. Vancouver, BC, Spanish Banks = another great Mustang show. Antique English shows abound in "BC" ie. Victoria. Just because fintail is uninformed does not mean many quality shows in the great NW don't exist. ;)

Re: I think comparing the Mustang and the RX8 is apples to oranges.... [lhess]

by trispec on Thu Oct 13 18:01:12 PDT 2005

Them's fight'n words yall knows, birthed as I was down south '58. Went to high school in China Grove, N.C. where half the school worked in the local mills after school to pay for their "Red Neck" hot rods. Only twenty percent of my class even tried College. I drove a school bus at the age 17 packed with 75 elementary school kids, large groups of which I personally dropped off at large trailer parks all over Rowan County NC. I know everything "Red Neck" that there is to know. Stock Car racing, the largest participation sport in the South, dwarfing all other professional sports combined, drives huge portions of the automobile industry. Year after year American sports car sells track to whatever car recieved the most pace car laps at the thousands of NASCAR races each year. Ford, Chrysler, and GM dealerships down south to this day need only count the laps of the various pace cars to know what sports cars to stock on their lots. Agree with you I do that foreign sports cars are different oranges, but it's not so much "Red Necks" making an actually decision about any particular car, as it's the car dealerships respond to stock car racing's massive cultural marketing engine which continues to be unstoppable through out the South. Imagine everyone you go to church with, you go to school with and you go to work with, also goes to the local NASCAR race track. Do you think you COULD by a foreign car? Come on, your whole life would break. BTW, I know a retired Maine Lawyor, Ex-Marine, RNA member, former tobacca addict, who owns a nice chunk of backwoods Maine, who wouldn't be caught dead in any American Sports cars. He's owned early Mazda Rotaries, Mazda Miatas, and Mazda trucks.