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Archive for January, 2008
Sports car fanatics all over the world have been waiting for what could possibly be the best Nissan sports car ever - the 2009 Nissan GT-R.
The (right) decision was finally made to offer, what was once known as the Skyline GT, the new version on a worldwide basis. One look at the specs and you’ll think the Nissan designers got into some HGH.
- 3.8-liter twin turbo V6
- 473 hp & 434 pound-feet of torque
- 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. I’ll repeat that: 0-60 in 3.3 seconds.
- Electronic launch control
- Quarter-Mile time of 11.6 seconds; over 120 mph
- 15-inch rotors; Brembo calipers & Bridgestone Potenza tires
Let’s put these performance numbers in perspective. Sick numbers like these make this car faster than:
- Porsche 911 Turbo Tiptronic [3.4 seconds to 60]
- Dodge Viper [3.7 seconds to 60]
- Corvette Zo6 [4.1 seconds to 60]
Don’t even bother getting in line - the US bound GT-R’s have all been spoken for with hefty deposits. Keep yourself occupied with another sports car until this becomes one of the best used cars available. It may only take some of the first owners 12-18 months to grow tired of their new play toy. By that time, you may save a ton off the surprisingly low initial MSRP of $70,000.
The final list of 2007 models, representing the best value deals, was just released by Intellichoice.com. A slew of surprises on the best deals list include the Audi A4, the BMW 3-Series, the Toyota Tundra and the Hummer H3. Look for more hybrids and green vehicles to move up the value list - and not just the stereotypical compact hybrids. New models of sedans, mid-size SUV’s and even large SUV’s should also grab a lot of attention as consumers turn to hybrid versions of the Chevy Malibu and Cadillac Escalade.
These are some of the best used cars out there today: [Data provided by Intellichoice.com]
Subcompact car — Mini Cooper Hatchback
Compact car more than $16,000 — Honda Civic Hybrid
Compact car less than $16,000 — Honda Civic Sedan
Midsize car more than $21,000 — Toyota Prius
Midsize car less than $21,000 — Toyota Prius
Convertible — Mini Cooper Convertible
Luxury convertible — Audi A4 Convertible
Near luxury car — BMW 3 Series Sedan
Luxury car — Lexus ES
Large car — Toyota Avalon
Base sport car — Honda Civic Si Coupe
Sports car — Chevrolet Corvette
Sports sedan/wagon more than $38,000 — Lexus GS Hybrid
Sport sedan wagon less than $38,000 — Mazda3 Mazdaspeed
Compact utility/crossover — Ford Escape Hybrid
Midsize crossover — Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Luxury crossover — Lexus RX 400h
Small wagon — Toyota Matrix
Midsize/large wagon — Subaru Outback Wagon
Intermediate utility — Hummer H3
Full-size utility — GMC Yukon
Luxury Utility — Lexus GX
Compact pickup truck (2WD) — Toyota Tacoma Regular Cab 2WD
Compact pickup (4WD) — Toyota Tacoma Regular Cab 4WD
Full-size pickup truck 2WD (half-ton) — Toyota Tundra Regular Cab 2WD
Full-size pickup truck 2WD (3/4 ton) — Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab 2WD
Full-size pickup truck 2WD (one ton) — Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD Crew Cab 2WD
Full-size pickup truck 4WD (half-ton) — Toyota Tundra Regular Cab 4 WD
Full-size pickup truck 4WD (3/4 ton) — Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab 4WD
Full-size pickup truck 4WD (one ton) — Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD Crew Cab 4WD
Minivan — Honda Odyssey
Full-Size Van — Chevrolet Express 1500
Cargo Van — Chevrolet Uplander
Dealers are looking for places to put their ‘08 inventory and would like nothing more than to move their old vehicles now. Make the smartest decision and start your research with the vehicles that retain their value. Your next move is knowing the appropriate prices for these vehicles and their history. Look up vehicle pricing at KBB.com and get a vehicle history from CARFAX. (Dealers often have free reports in their used cars listings)
People tend to avoid painful things: Root canals…Tax audits…Birthday parties with clowns.
Add the traditional car dealer’s Four-Square worksheet to your personal list of things to avoid.
What’s the Four-Square? This is the car dealership’s mind-control tool. Car salesman are “encouraged” to use the Four-Square worksheet to completely scramble your cognitive reasoning and negotiating abilities. If you have ever been subjected to the Four-Square, you already know it’s crippling power.
Here’s the deal…before you begin price negotiations, your salesperson will fumble through an unorganized mess and produce an innocent looking piece of paper. On it, a simple T-grid, creating “Four Squares.” Easy enough? Hardly.
The salesman adds the vehicle info to the sheet: year, make, model & vague customer info. His handwriting puts your Doctor’s to shame.
Next, he makes a simply absurd request: “Please initial here - this indicates that you’ll buy today if we can see eye to eye on the final price.” [Huh?]
Just about everyone complies and add their initials. You get the same feeling when you buy a scratch-off lottery ticket. You hope to get lucky, but deep down you know the effort will be wasted.
By getting your initials, the salesperson now has permission to enter the office reserved only for managers. They perk up knowing someone is in the cross-hairs. Managers determine the price you’ll pay; the salesperson is merely a paper courier.
After a few minutes your salesperson returns with a few numbers, words and symbols strategically arraigned on the grid. Looks like a math test that you didn’t prepare for in college. Don’t try to grasp its complexities. Google’s sophisticated search algorithm is still stumped by the Four Square.
Then, you’ll get a quick breakdown. It begins with how much they’ll give you for your trade. And no, you probably won’t be pleased with the number.
Oblivious to your visible agitation, the salesperson shoots to the top right square and tells you the price of the car. Suddenly, you’re distracted enough to forget about the fact you were getting heated over the price of your trade. You may try to do simple math - subtracting your trade from the price quoted - but confusion sets in and your math skills are sub-par at best.
Suddenly, the next square’s value is thrown at you. This is your down payment. It’ll probably be somewhere between how much you paid for your first car and the federal deficit. You try to maintain composure. Before the impact of that number sets in, the last square caps it all off. Your monthly payment. This is also the exact moment when blood begins to boil.
Every once in a (great) while, the salesperson gets an easy layup and the customer agrees.
This is where the shell game begins. You’ll tell him you don’t like what you see in either the down payment or your trade-in value. They may try to convince you why your used car is worth less than a rickshaw or try to diffuse the down payment objection.
Next question: What down payment are you more comfortable with? He’ll cross out the original number and replace it with your new down payment. For good measure, he might sympathize with you and tell you something like how his managers always pad the numbers to boost their bonus and they can afford to come down a bit. Now he’s on your side.
But, he warns how a lower down payment could increase the monthly payment. Crap, didn’t see that coming. He may have a solution though. Maybe he can persuade his manager to give you more for your trade. Yes, there is hope. (No, there isn’t)
Amid the confusion, he may ask you for the down payment check. You’re told this shows the managers your commitment and helps them make a better deal. He’ll also ask you to initial the work sheet agreeing to the deal. More control tactics.
TIP: Stayed focused on the price of the car. That’s all that matters.
They will tell you the down payment is good. But, the monthly payment is an issue. If the trade-in value is still a deal breaker, quickly drawn X’s, smiley-faces and dark, thick ink will mask the extra changes made to the purchase price, down payment and/or the monthly payment.
TIP: Stay alert for the simple questions they lob out - they want to get as many YES answers out of you as possible.
The negotiations continue until they either break you down into agreement or you walk out in frustration.
How do you avoid the Four Square? Remove one or more of the elements used to confuse you; tell them you don’t have a trade-in or tell them you don’t need financing. Tell them you are only interested in the vehicle’s final price. You may not avoid all of the negotiations but you might be lucky enough to avoid the wrath of the Four Square worksheet.
The best solution? A used cars dealership offering low/discount fixed pricing with no haggling required to get the best deal possible.
Have you ever experienced the Four Square? Share your story…