After much tire kicking and looking, we've decided that the PT was the way to go. We've been shopping for quite a while and we were all prepared - even paying for the thing outright, cash - ready to put pen to paper today.
Knowing full-well that they were to be scarce, and completely prepared to order and wait for one, we headed out to a local Chrysler dealership this afternoon. They just happened to have two in stock - both black. Of no real concern really as we were there to place an order for a Patriot Blue Cruiser.
Anyhow, we take one them for a spin, check it out a bit...it's stickering for $20,950. Not bad at all. A Limited Edition and it's loaded. We sit down to order ours and finally get around to pricing. As I suspected, there's a premium - right now, it's an additional $4,500 for the two on the lot. That's about a 25% markup.
Again, of no real concern as we're ordering ours. Right? So we thought...
The waiting list, according to a salesperson who was obviously a little too eager to sell me one of the black Cruisers on the lot, is about 8 months right now. I can accept that - even if she was stretching a bit to her benefit. Do I expect to wait that long? No...but it's no big deal if we do though. With Chrysler building as many of them as they can, and with as many orders being placed as there are, a Blue Limited has a relatively good chance of showing up with an owner changing his/her mind beforehand. Again, we're in no hurry either. My wife's driver is still fairly new and we're both very patient. Besides, as I learned with the SS, waiting and anticipation can be half the fun of this process and now she gets to custom order her car just how she wants it.
So here comes the real kicker - after about 15 minutes of the "let me chat with my manager" bit, she comes back with "the best they can do" - they want to charge me an additional *minimum* of $2,000 just to order the thing. This amount can and will change too, at will, before the car even arrives. In other words, give us your deposit, we'll order it and decide on a final premium when the time comes.
Literaly slipping my checkbook back into my coat pocket I explained that, in my opinion, you pay a premium to get your hands on an available rare vehicle right then and there - something they actually have while dealer X down the street does not. It's a premium because you can't FIND it anyplace else and you absolutely have to have it right now.
With the way I order my cars, as I assume is the case with most of you, dealers have very little work to do...not to mention the fact that I won't let them wash or detail upon arrival. For example, my SS was on the dealer's lot for less than 30 minutes. They had to do very little for their green.
I ask for a copy of the bid so I can shop around and she actually snatches it away from me. "Forget it." They can't do it. Company policy. I ask "If I write you a deposit check right now though, I can take a copy of this for receipt?"...and of course, I can. She interjects "I wish you would just buy the Black one back there" for the third time in less than 30 minutes.
I state my intentions to shop around - to see if all local dealers are charging premiums. If they are, and we decide that we still want to order one, then I'll be back to give them my business (at this point however, my wife and share the "there's no way we're paying any premium for THIS car - in three years the streets will be saturated with them).
They begin bully tactics - implying that if I order from anyone else, I may not even RECEIVE the car. That nobody else can even order the thing. And that I should buy the Black one, damnit. Please. Right now. Nevermind that it doesn't even have the options we want let alone the right COLOR.
After again describing how rape-like charging a potential customer a premium for simply ordering the damn thing was (and wonderful as the PT may be...as fresh and as endearing as it is right now, it's an econobox and a relatively cheap one at that. I felt as if I were haggling over a 550 Maranello) and hearing more of her BS, we walked out.
It was pretty sad. They would have made a little money off of me today. Without a premium, I would have settled at around $19,500 - $20,500. As a customer ordering right there, knowing full well what I was buying, they would have made money when the car arrived for no more than a few minutes of work.
We'll be test-driving an Audi A4 on Monday.
------------------ o 2001 M6 SS Onyx/Ebony (#1225) o Every GM Option (Deleted = T-Tops & ASR) o Every Y2Y Option including 1LE/g-Force TA KDs/Dual-Dual/Auburn/ZR1 5 spokes/grille) o !CAGS / Hotchkis STB / MTI Lid+K&N / SLP ATM / Ripper / 80-series Flow /
[This message has been edited by Art Schroeder (edited 03 December 2000).]
Posts: 114 | From: Plano, Texas | Registered: Aug 2000
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That's really a sad situation, when a salesperson has to do that to a new customer. 'Give the customer what they want' should have been the battle cry, not 'give them what what we got, whether they want it or not and mark it up 'cause my sales are laggin and gee I don't have a clue'. Good luck in your quest
Posts: 1446 | From: Germantown, MD USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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Get in touch with the Chrysler Corp offices and share this with them. Might not get you that PT any faster but if they get enough complaints they might pass it on to the dealers...
As you know exactly what you want, have you looked into buying online?
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Posts: 4 | From: San Jose, CA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Haven't checked out buying online yet...not a bad idea.
Kevin - I know what you mean. The salesperson and dealer can make a world of difference when you're shopping...suddenly our other car options looked very nice indeed (Maxima, A4, Jetta). If you know exactly what you have to have, as we all here did with our SSs and TAs, then it's a bit different.
June 2001!? Wow! I guess we may really be looking into something else. I wouldn't mind playing the waiting game until the PT phenomenon settles down (ie: the new Beetle) before making a move. But my wife has been waiting patiently for quite a while for her new car now and that's the real impetus.
Posts: 114 | From: Plano, Texas | Registered: Aug 2000
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Nexuss, I went through the exact same thing you did this summer: they kept trying to sell me Cruisers that were coming in or on the lot for 5K over MSRP. They would have ordered one for me, at the MSRP, but according to them the wait was around 4-6 months. And I needed a new beater car right then so that I wouldn't be putting the miles on my SS. I ended up buying the V6 Saturn LS2. I'll use that for a couple of years, then probably get the Cruiser with the turbo 4 in it. By then, they'll be a dime a dozen, so we'll be able to negotiate the price.
------------------ Jim Mac '98 Silver SS #108
Posts: 1907 | From: I hope I'm not repeating myself. Again. And Again. Stop picking on me! Waaahhh!! | Registered: Feb 2000
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The LS2 (the V6 of the LS Series) is a really nice car. I've had trouble liking it, because I really wanted a PT Cruiser. (I run a DJ Service as a sideline and usually rent a van to move my equipment. Getting a PT Cruiser would have eliminated that need. Damn! ) But it runs very nicely, has good pickup (182 HP), decent gas mileage (22-26), some very handy features (such as split fold-down back seats, valet locks for the trunk area, etc.) and fits the bill for a commuter car. We drove it up to Vermont recently and it really was a comfortable ride up there. Tax, title, license, lock, stock and barrel we paid about 23K for it.
------------------ Jim Mac '98 Silver SS #108
Posts: 1907 | From: I hope I'm not repeating myself. Again. And Again. Stop picking on me! Waaahhh!! | Registered: Feb 2000
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Nex.. Just a warning to you... One of the employees here (The computer section of the network) owned a PT Cruiser Limited Edition, Silver. It was a beautiful car and we didn't hesitate to rip the plastic off of the car (Bumpers) and throw on nice ground effects. The car is beautiful... BUT!... He has had the car in 4 times for a TPS Sensor and it is still not working. The car is so underpowered (I mean this car compared to a working one), it isn't even funny. Chrysler has made no indication that the lemon law process will be esay, so he has decided to just trade the car in and get an import. I tried to get him into the F-Body line, but his line of credit isn't the best (Because he pays cash for mostly everything and doesn't have credit cards, but isn't in debt) and he can't get any decent financing. So a local Mitsibushi dealer quoted him around 4.9% for 36 months on a nice Galant which he will probably take...
Just a warning, I'm not saying they are all lemons... But it is built upon the Neon chassis and is definitely no where near a speedy car... Plus don't get silver, it's just too common =)
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I hear you on the lack of power. I too would like to wait for the Turbo four, but that may be a while off yet.
The PT would be for my wife and in any event, she isn't like me and doesn't need excessive power - considering I drive her car perhaps once in a blue moon, it won't bother me that often either. If anything, it would act as a nice contrast to the SS that would make jumping back in her all the more fun!
But the Maxima was a blast to drive - 222HP in that ride made for a fairly decent performer.
Posts: 114 | From: Plano, Texas | Registered: Aug 2000
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Nexus, Belive it or not, I got a similar line when ordering my 2000 SS from the Chevy dealer closest to home. I told then the dealer 20 miles away would order an SS for $800 over invoice and they told me "Good luck on delivery."
I ordered in July of '99, took delivery in October. Out the door, including tax, license, and LoJack was $31K.
quote:Originally posted by TT Performance: Nex.....Plus don't get silver, it's just too common =)
Ahhhhh.....but my SS is silver, and one of the reasons I got that color is that it can go a long time without a wash and still look clean! After trying to keep my black '87 Monte Carlo SS clean, all I can say is that I'll never buy another dark colored car again unless I don't give a damn about it's appearance. My Silver SS has gone months between washings (at times) and still looked damn good. (Of course, it's a garage queen, so the only thing it'll get on it is dust! )
------------------ Jim Mac '98 Silver SS #108
Posts: 1907 | From: I hope I'm not repeating myself. Again. And Again. Stop picking on me! Waaahhh!! | Registered: Feb 2000
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We had a similar experience here. The PT's were being marked up 10K over MSRP. The dealers are buying them from Canada for 5K over and marking them up another 5K. That amount may have come down, but that's what it was earlier in the year when I test drove one. We decided to wait for one with more power and a couple of years production behind them. There are several Chrysler dealers here with several sitting on their lots and they aren't moving fast enough to justify the mark-up. Orders are at least a year out, but at least a person can get what they want.
You might try posting your experience on the message forum at http://www.ptcruiserclub.org and see what the experts over there have to say (that's the equivalent of the SS people here). They even have a couple of Blue ones in the "for sale" area.....One Auto and one 5-speed. Good luck!
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) But it runs very nicely, has good pickup (182 HP), decent gas mileage (22-26), some very handy features (such as split fold-down back seats, valet locks for the trunk area, etc.) and fits the bill for a commuter car. We drove it up to Vermont recently and it really was a comfortable ride up there. Tax, title, license, lock, stock and barrel we paid about 23K for it.
After trying to keep my black '87 Monte Carlo SS clean, all I can say is that I'll never buy another dark colored car again unless I don't give a damn about it's appearance. My Silver SS has gone months between washings (at times) and still looked damn good. (Of course, it's a garage queen, so the only thing it'll get on it is dust! 
