Need an orphan? [Birmingham]

[EdwardDennis]

Originally Posted by homeslice

What about my self-publicized financial issues?

Hey, at least I'm honest. You have to give me credit for that.

I'm going to attempt to apply for credit at the local smart dealer in the next day or two and see if any fish bite with me putting a few grand down.

No one claims you're dishonest, Homre. Here's the thing, Pal. This gentleman represents a dealer selling the Smart brand. You don't drive one. You don't own one. You haven't ordered one.
This gentleman is simply doing his job. I find your comments unhelpful---to say the least. My humble opinion, of course.

[SuperGeek]

All car dealers have used and new pricing. Used cars will generally be cheaper than their new equivalent. It doesn't matter if it's Smart, Saturn or BMW.

If you don't want to spend $X on a used car, don't. If nobody buys them, the dealer will respond to that fact.

Sales and rebates are gimmicks to get an otherwise apathetic customer to say, "Wow! I get cash back? Two cars for the price of one? Where do I sign?" In the end, the dealer's jacked up the price for the amount of the discount, or the fair market value fell and they 'neglected' to drop their prices in response. So a $15,000 car (fair value) still leaves the dealership for $15,000. The difference is Saturn and Smart get a fixed profit margin, vs. anywhere from $1k-10k depending on how educated a consumer another dealer gets.

I prefer the fixed-price approach. I don't like to negotiate.

[homeslice]

I am just trying to protect the public. Many people may not be aware that they could buy a smart convertible for $13,900 with like 3,000 to 5,000 miles on it vs. paying $16,000 for a regular passion. I believe in protecting the consumer. I don't like people overpaying for stuff, hence my constant pushing for Amsoil. I don't like wasteful things. I am super-frugal and love to teach others how to do the same.

For the money they saved on the used car, they could apply that $1,000 or so for a 100k warranty if they wanted to.

There's a local dealer here selling a red smart convertible for $13,995 with 7,000 miles on it. I may try talking to him tomorrow. I should have the money for the down payment next week.

[EdwardDennis]

Originally Posted by homeslice

I am just trying to protect the public. Many people may not be aware that they could buy a smart convertible for $13,900 with like 3,000 to 5,000 miles on it vs. paying $16,000 for a regular passion. I believe in protecting the consumer. I don't like people overpaying for stuff, hence my constant pushing for Amsoil. I don't like wasteful things. I am super-frugal and love to teach others how to do the same.

For the money they saved on the used car, they could apply that $1,000 or so for a 100k warranty if they wanted to.

There's a local dealer here selling a red smart convertible for $13,995 with 7,000 miles on it. I may try talking to him tomorrow. I should have the money for the down payment next week.

Um, okay. Amsoil certainly doesn't appear to be the preferred dealer lubricant--- or that of SCOA members-- particularly owner-wrenchers. Readers needing sound consumer protection and finacial advice might enjoy reading postings by, say, Clark Howard, found here:
ClarkHoward.com Home: Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Rip-Offs on clarkhoward.com

[homeslice]

Originally Posted by EdwardDennis

Um, okay. Amsoil certainly doesn't appear to be the preferred dealer lubricant--- or that of SCOA members-- particularly owner-wrenchers. Readers needing sound consumer protection and finacial advice might enjoy reading postings by, say, Clark Howard, found here:
ClarkHoward.com Home: Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Rip-Offs on clarkhoward.com

That's why I am here to try to educate people on that. It's the blind leading the blind when it comes to motor oils. I remember years back when I didn't know anything about it neither. All I could do is put whatever oil in and hope for the best.

Imagine if you and I had 2 cars and I insisted that mine had more horsepower than yours. How could anyone actually know until both of us ran down and paid to have our cars put on a dyno machine?

That's the same way it is about oils. You need to have very expensive tests done and put it ASTM machines to find out how the oil reacts. You simply can't pull out a dipstick and look at it.

Amsoil needs to be the preferred oil. It's better than whatever anyone else is using and that has been proven countless times with very expensive ASTM testing.

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by EdwardDennis

Um, okay. Amsoil certainly doesn't appear to be the preferred dealer lubricant--- or that of SCOA members-- particularly owner-wrenchers. Readers needing sound consumer protection and finacial advice might enjoy reading postings by, say, Clark Howard, found here:
ClarkHoward.com Home: Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Rip-Offs on clarkhoward.com

I'm an SCOA member and I use Amsoil. That being said - I don't run it to 25k. My oil changes are at around 6k-8k when I change the oil myself (owner-wrencher). I've used Amsoil for 25+ years....and yes I do use Mobil 1 too.

Alrighty, I've helped contaminate this thread enough so I'll go back to coloring and being quiet.

[homeslice]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

I'm an SCOA member and I use Amsoil. That being said - I don't run it to 25k. My oil changes are at around 6k-8k when I change the oil myself (owner-wrencher). I've used Amsoil for 25+ years....and yes I do use Mobil 1 too.

Alrighty, I've helped contaminate this thread enough so I'll go back to coloring and being quiet.

Yes, let's just drop the Amsoil comments from this thread. Whomever reads this next, do not make any more comments about it.

Thanks.