- Dec 12, 2000
- 25,706
- 10,446
- 136
Well, like I said my dad wants to replace his '01 MDX with something a bit fresher. You know, its amazing how excited we can get about a certain car, believing everything we read in magazines and thinking beauty is only skin-deep. Then you go to the dealership and so many factors come into play...some having nothing to do with the car in question. First and foremost, how you are treated when you walk in the door. With that said, let's get down to business:
PICS!
First stop: Infiniti
Vehicle: FX35
What experts said: More Porsche than the Cayenne...awesome sports SUV...yada yada
What we said: "WTF?? Can't even fit in the back seat! And the navigation SUCKETH! Too confusing, not voice-activated. Nevermind the fact that there is no room for real cargo in the back."
Verdict: Not an option. Didn't even bother picking up the literature or taking it for a spin.
Dealership experience: No pressure. Dealer waiting outside greeted us and welcomed us inside the showroom. Asked us what WE were interested rather than trying to show us everything under the roof. Paid attention, understood our criticisms. Gave us some BS about the navigation ("uh, no honey, the fact that it talks to us does NOT = voice activation!") Overall dealer grade: A-
Next: Lexus
Vehicle: RX330
What the experts said: General consensus is that this is a perfect replacement for the RX300, which set the benchmark for luxury car-based SUVs.
What dad said: "Haha! This thing was built for woman drivers! Slow, sluggish, transmission drops gears to get power on the slightest hint of an incline (hate to see what it does on a real hill!) and the engine revs like a 4-cylinder."
What I said: "OMG best interior EVAR!!! Perfect for the passengers who don't care about engine performance. Best leather and interior materials we've seen today"
Verdict: Took it out for a spin, got the brochure, but probably not a contender...
Dealership experience: Not what we were expecting at all. Took us a few minutes to find someone to help us. When we did get someone, he seemed overly anxious to help anyone else. Didn't take us to be serious buyers. Asked us questions that had nothing to do with what we were interested in ("have you ever driven a Mercedes or BMW? Do you own a luxury car?" blah blah blah SHATAP!!!) Took way too long to get a test vehicle for us...there were 3 with plates on the lot so I don't know why it took so long. Didn't get the treatment we were told to expect from Lexus. Overall dealer grade: C
Next: Acura
Vehicle: '03/'04 MDX
Dealership was closed for Memorial Day
Next: Volvo
Vehicle: Volvo XC90
Dealership was closed for Memorial Day
Next: Porsche
Vehicle: Cayenne (for benchmark purposes only)
We were hoping to drive the Cayenne to get a feel for size/build of the Touareg (and also feel that turbo V8 engine! :Q) but unfortunately they were closed for remodeling.
Next: Volkswagen
Vehicle: Touareg
Dealership experience: OMG, this is probably one of the best dealerships I've EVAR been to! They had a huge lot, huge building, very attractive showroom layout. We were able to get a manager within 30 seconds of when we requested one. She explained that they currently had 10 names on the waitlist for V6 Touaregs and 18 names on the list for V8 Touaregs. They are expecting their first shipment in late June/1st week of July. She was very excited about the vehicle but didn't babble about it...told us a great story about how she will get to test drive the Touareg somewhere in the desert around Phoenix real soon (special orientation program for dealers...sounds cool!) Apparently 5 manufacturers have used this trail to demo their SUVs...but VW is the only one that's ever successfully completed the climb to the mountain summit!!! She added our name to the waitlist for no charge and truthfully said that they are expecting these to sell for MSRP for some time with no markup and no incentives. Overall dealer grade: A+
Last stop: Chrysler
Vehicle: Pacifica
Experts say: Damn good 'crossover' vehicle, signifies a new direction at DaimlerChrysler...the first joint vehicle to benefit from Mercedes parts.
We said: Most overhyped vehicle EVAR! Dad: "Omg, this drives like the Plymouth Voyagers I get off the rental lot! LOTS of nose dive when braking, chassis bounce when accelerating, loud engine, only 4-speed auto (5-speed auto is the new standard for luxury SUVs these days), can't feel any "Mercedes" in the ride, navigation sucks, and WTF is the point of a DVD player WHEN THERE'S NO FSCKING SCREEN??? YOU HAVE TO PLUG IN YOUR OWN (WITH RCA CABLES???)" Me: "Interior is good, seats are very comfy (comparable even to the RX330's!), turning radius is awesome for such a large vehicle, but I can't operate the navigation while dad drives, and he doesn't like looking under the speedometer to check the nav map (which is too small btw.) Center console is better placement for it. Overall, this is a really good Chrysler, but its still a Chrysler. Don't pay $38 grand for one. Interesting how they're already running incentives for this car (today the deal was you pay a $1 under invoice for a Pacifica with AWD.)
Verdict: Not an option. Shouldn't have wasted time here.
Dealership experience: Worst evar. EVAR!!! We ask a lady on the lot about the Pacifica. She says she doesn't know anything about it, ask the sales manager. Sales manager shows us the vehicle in the showroom (like we couldn't see it already) and DISAPPEARS. We ask someone for a test drive, they say "see the manager". Finally a kid working there offers to help us, but he takes 15 minutes to hunt down a set of keys for us (there are 6 test drive vehicles with plates on the lot btw...) and THEN he gets the keys to one without plates, so he has to grab the plates for it!! He accompanies us on the drive, but he CAN'T ANSWER A SINGLE FRIGGIN' QUESTION. The ones he does answer he gets DEAD WRONG ("AWD is standard on all vehicles"..."base engine can be upgraded" are some of his bigger blunders.) Overall dealer grade: D
PICS!
First stop: Infiniti
Vehicle: FX35
What experts said: More Porsche than the Cayenne...awesome sports SUV...yada yada
What we said: "WTF?? Can't even fit in the back seat! And the navigation SUCKETH! Too confusing, not voice-activated. Nevermind the fact that there is no room for real cargo in the back."
Verdict: Not an option. Didn't even bother picking up the literature or taking it for a spin.
Dealership experience: No pressure. Dealer waiting outside greeted us and welcomed us inside the showroom. Asked us what WE were interested rather than trying to show us everything under the roof. Paid attention, understood our criticisms. Gave us some BS about the navigation ("uh, no honey, the fact that it talks to us does NOT = voice activation!") Overall dealer grade: A-
Next: Lexus
Vehicle: RX330
What the experts said: General consensus is that this is a perfect replacement for the RX300, which set the benchmark for luxury car-based SUVs.
What dad said: "Haha! This thing was built for woman drivers! Slow, sluggish, transmission drops gears to get power on the slightest hint of an incline (hate to see what it does on a real hill!) and the engine revs like a 4-cylinder."
What I said: "OMG best interior EVAR!!! Perfect for the passengers who don't care about engine performance. Best leather and interior materials we've seen today"
Verdict: Took it out for a spin, got the brochure, but probably not a contender...
Dealership experience: Not what we were expecting at all. Took us a few minutes to find someone to help us. When we did get someone, he seemed overly anxious to help anyone else. Didn't take us to be serious buyers. Asked us questions that had nothing to do with what we were interested in ("have you ever driven a Mercedes or BMW? Do you own a luxury car?" blah blah blah SHATAP!!!) Took way too long to get a test vehicle for us...there were 3 with plates on the lot so I don't know why it took so long. Didn't get the treatment we were told to expect from Lexus. Overall dealer grade: C
Next: Acura
Vehicle: '03/'04 MDX
Dealership was closed for Memorial Day
Next: Volvo
Vehicle: Volvo XC90
Dealership was closed for Memorial Day
Next: Porsche
Vehicle: Cayenne (for benchmark purposes only)
We were hoping to drive the Cayenne to get a feel for size/build of the Touareg (and also feel that turbo V8 engine! :Q) but unfortunately they were closed for remodeling.
Next: Volkswagen
Vehicle: Touareg
Dealership experience: OMG, this is probably one of the best dealerships I've EVAR been to! They had a huge lot, huge building, very attractive showroom layout. We were able to get a manager within 30 seconds of when we requested one. She explained that they currently had 10 names on the waitlist for V6 Touaregs and 18 names on the list for V8 Touaregs. They are expecting their first shipment in late June/1st week of July. She was very excited about the vehicle but didn't babble about it...told us a great story about how she will get to test drive the Touareg somewhere in the desert around Phoenix real soon (special orientation program for dealers...sounds cool!) Apparently 5 manufacturers have used this trail to demo their SUVs...but VW is the only one that's ever successfully completed the climb to the mountain summit!!! She added our name to the waitlist for no charge and truthfully said that they are expecting these to sell for MSRP for some time with no markup and no incentives. Overall dealer grade: A+
Last stop: Chrysler
Vehicle: Pacifica
Experts say: Damn good 'crossover' vehicle, signifies a new direction at DaimlerChrysler...the first joint vehicle to benefit from Mercedes parts.
We said: Most overhyped vehicle EVAR! Dad: "Omg, this drives like the Plymouth Voyagers I get off the rental lot! LOTS of nose dive when braking, chassis bounce when accelerating, loud engine, only 4-speed auto (5-speed auto is the new standard for luxury SUVs these days), can't feel any "Mercedes" in the ride, navigation sucks, and WTF is the point of a DVD player WHEN THERE'S NO FSCKING SCREEN??? YOU HAVE TO PLUG IN YOUR OWN (WITH RCA CABLES???)" Me: "Interior is good, seats are very comfy (comparable even to the RX330's!), turning radius is awesome for such a large vehicle, but I can't operate the navigation while dad drives, and he doesn't like looking under the speedometer to check the nav map (which is too small btw.) Center console is better placement for it. Overall, this is a really good Chrysler, but its still a Chrysler. Don't pay $38 grand for one. Interesting how they're already running incentives for this car (today the deal was you pay a $1 under invoice for a Pacifica with AWD.)
Verdict: Not an option. Shouldn't have wasted time here.
Dealership experience: Worst evar. EVAR!!! We ask a lady on the lot about the Pacifica. She says she doesn't know anything about it, ask the sales manager. Sales manager shows us the vehicle in the showroom (like we couldn't see it already) and DISAPPEARS. We ask someone for a test drive, they say "see the manager". Finally a kid working there offers to help us, but he takes 15 minutes to hunt down a set of keys for us (there are 6 test drive vehicles with plates on the lot btw...) and THEN he gets the keys to one without plates, so he has to grab the plates for it!! He accompanies us on the drive, but he CAN'T ANSWER A SINGLE FRIGGIN' QUESTION. The ones he does answer he gets DEAD WRONG ("AWD is standard on all vehicles"..."base engine can be upgraded" are some of his bigger blunders.) Overall dealer grade: D
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