Tesla Model 3 - Finally.

We think it’s a 2010 Nissan Altima. We also may have managed to get a tag and a VIN!

No chase. Didn’t even occur to me at the time, but chasing and confronting a possibly drunk driver could easily escalate into road rage. Not worth it.
 
Well, I may not be getting one for awhile. :(

I went to a dealer today. They had the one I wanted, but it’s not for sale. The trim level I want and my preferred color. They are using it as a demo, “not for sale”. o_O An in demand car in a hot market.

Worse, some of the dealers are listing the cars at price A, but then tacking on more later; market adjustments. I get the price doesn’t match the MSRP, but shouldn’t the price match what they advertise as the “price”? :mad: At least those advertising MSRP: $X and Price: $Y, where Y > X are being upfront and honest.

While I dislike the “market adjustments”, I despise the deception of some of them.

Fortunately I don’t need a new car, I just want one.
 
wayne said:
Well, I may not be getting one for awhile. :(

I went to a dealer today. They had the one I wanted, but it’s not for sale. The trim level I want and my preferred color. They are using it as a demo, “not for sale”. o_O An in demand car in a hot market.

Worse, some of the dealers are listing the cars at price A, but then tacking on more later; market adjustments. I get the price doesn’t match the MSRP, but shouldn’t the price match what they advertise as the “price”? :mad: At least those advertising MSRP: $X and Price: $Y, where Y > X are being upfront and honest.

While I dislike the “market adjustments”, I despise the deception of some of them.

Fortunately I don’t need a new car, I just want one.
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You went to a Tesla store expecting to walk out with a car?
 
Salty said:
You went to a Tesla store expecting to walk out with a car?
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No, Kia dealer. They advertised a EV6, and had it, just weren’t selling it right now. :confused:

Just found it really odd that a car dealer isn’t selling a car.
 
wayne said:
No, Kia dealer. They advertised a EV6, and had it, just weren’t selling it right now. :confused:

Just found it really odd that a car dealer isn’t selling a car.
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They aren’t selling much of anything without a wait and more than sticker these days.
 
wayne said:
Well, I may not be getting one for awhile. :(

I went to a dealer today. They had the one I wanted, but it’s not for sale. The trim level I want and my preferred color. They are using it as a demo, “not for sale”. o_O An in demand car in a hot market.

Worse, some of the dealers are listing the cars at price A, but then tacking on more later; market adjustments. I get the price doesn’t match the MSRP, but shouldn’t the price match what they advertise as the “price”? :mad: At least those advertising MSRP: $X and Price: $Y, where Y > X are being upfront and honest.

While I dislike the “market adjustments”, I despise the deception of some of them.

Fortunately I don’t need a new car, I just want one.
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They’ve been that with the Mach E as well.
 
Salty said:
They aren’t selling much of anything without a wait and more than sticker these days.
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Velocity173 said:
They’ve been that with the Mach E as well.
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I'll have to decide if I want to pay a "premium" or not. These cars aren't cheap to begin with. The part that irritates me is when they list a price and then add more, which is patently illegal in Georgia. Perfectly fine to add "doc fee", "dealer markup", "market adjustment" or anything else, but it has to be included in the advertised price. There are several dealers in the metro area doing it right. Their price is above MSRP, but they are upfront and honest about it. The only thing legal to add afterwards are government taxes/fees.

The really crazy thing was the dealer I visited today. They have the car advertised and on the lot, but are using it as a demo. WTF? They were also tacking on more than the "price", which is illegal.

It's this craziness why I haven't purchased more cars in my lifetime. If I could buy a car like I could buy an oven at Home Depot I would have bought more of them so far. "I like that one. Here's my credit card." Boom! more car sales. ;) Ok, it might take a check or even a car loan, but it shouldn't take hours. They aren't building the darn thing, just processing orders. :p I have a car loan set-up with Lightstream already. I can cut someone a check and be done with it. "Somebody take my money!" :D
 
I don't recommend this a lot, but it might not be a bad idea to contact whatever the equivalent of the AG's office is in GA. Sounds like GA laws are similar to NY, and here they have taken a dim view of price gouging during crisis situations. No idea if this qualifies or not. But things like companies charging double for generators during storms, having people pay extra fees to be on 'waiting lists', etc., have been actionable up here. I'm generally supportive of small businesses, but car dealerships, banks, insurance agents, crack dealers, etc., don't always fit into that area to me.
 
FastEddieB said:
We think it’s a 2010 Nissan Altima. We also may have managed to get a tag and a VIN!
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I read the tag in the video, or at least part of it. How did you get the VIN?
 
AggieMike88 said:
If your wife had stopped 8-10 back, that could have been more of a head on hit.
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I was driving. I didn’t realize I was beyond the stop line until I took photos of the scene. Watching the video, I see how I got there: the light had just turned yellow and I possibly could have made it through the intersection before it turned red. But being conservative I stopped, albeit just past the line but still well clear of the intersection.

But, yes, had I been back a car length the impact would have been to the left front, with a lot more damage and a greater possibility of injury. So it all worked out for the best.
 
Pretty sure alcohol was involved there.
 
Wow. Glad you are OK! Just watched it. Yeah, it looked like they used your car to help "finish" the turn. Either impaired somehow or have really poor skills.
 
Velocity173 said:
Pretty sure alcohol was involved there.
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With the laws on drunk driving and leaving the scene such as they are, I can almost see the reasoning behind fleeing and hoping for the best. Stop, and a DUI arrest is nearly certain, with draconian penalties and no credit for having stopped and doing the right thing. Flee, and you have a decent chance of making it home and sleeping it off.

We’re going to give the video evidence we have to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Between them and Progressive, we may have a hope of a charge of leaving the scene and/or insurance fraud. Or may not. We’ll see.
 
wayne said:
No, Kia dealer. They advertised a EV6, and had it, just weren’t selling it right now.
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I find the car dealership experience distasteful.

Most of my car have been purchased used. I've bought new only three times; a BMW in 1999, a Mazda3 in 2018, and the Tesla in 2021. I used a buying service for the BMW which greatly streamlined the process. I bought the Mazda through the internet sales department which streamlined the negotiation process but I was still put through over three hours of waiting then high-pressure warranty sales pitch in the finance department when I I wanted to do is write the check and go home.

Tesla's model, which has no dealerships or commission sales staff, is so much better. The price is there on the website for all to see. They have been adjusting that price frequently to adjust to the market but it's all out in the open. No sales pressure. No finance office. No special offers. No extended warranty plans. No deceptive financing offers. Tesla is showing us that the dealership model is obsolete and corrupt.

I ordered on July 26, 2021. The same car today is $4,500 more expensive.
 
This is hysterical. So, if you missed it I drove to a dealer yesterday to buy an EV6. They have it. I want to buy it. They are not selling it, but instead using it as a demo. o_O

I get an email this morning from them:

Still looking for a 2022 Kia EV6?
Check out this pick from Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw and schedule a test drive today.​


JUST ADDED Vehicle added 4 days ago
2022 Kia EV6
PRICE
$52,780​

and a link to "View Details".

Huh? I was just there yesterday. Ready to buy it.

There's a disconnect between marketing and sales. :rolleyes:
 
Larry in TN said:
Can't wait to hear how that plays out.

Do, are you sending to clip to Wham Bam Tesla Cam?

https://www.youtube.com/c/WhamBaamTeslacam
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We’ve been watching some of their videos. Enough to make us shy about ever driving again!

Two other YouTubers asked for permission to use the video, which I granted. Not heard from WhamBaam.

edited to add: Just submitted to WhamBaam.

We both thought the “Jesus Fish” on the back of the fleeing car was a nice touch*, combined with Karen’s spontaneous exclamation. What would Jesus do? FLEE!!!

*It took enhancement to see the fish - I’ll post the enhanced view later.
 
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In my continuing saga, I drove to another dealer that was advertising a Kia EV6, in the trim and color I want. They don't have it yet. Their website ad for it even says: "Recent Arrival!" It won't be here until the first week in April. So much for "Recent Arrival!" Not that that is far off. :(

Plus, they, like every other car dealer want to add fees onto the price afterward. Which, if I'm reading the Georgia website right, is patently illegal. :mad:

It's pretty standard practice, but so is speeding. Both are illegal though. ;)

The only thing that is legal to add to the price is taxes and government fees. Everything else has to be imbedded in the price. They want to tack on an extra ~$1850. :mad:

From the georgia.gov website:

Only government fees such as tax, title, tag and Lemon Law fees may be excluded from advertised vehicle prices. The Georgia Attorney General Office’s position is that any other amounts of money that the dealership collects as part of the sale – including, but not limited to, dealer fees, previously installed dealer options, and electronic titling fees – must be included in the advertised price. This pricing requirement extends to any advertised price in any medium, including online advertisements, whether from third-party advertisers, such as Autotrader, or on dealer websites.​
 
I've actually had decent experiences with the two vehicles I ever purchased at a dealership. Of course with both vehicles I had negotiated the price and details via internet prior to showing up in person. All I had to do was test drive and then sit with the Finance guy to sign the paperwork/pay up. Usually less than 1.5hrs total. I'm sure my experiences are more the exception than the rule.
 
FastEddieB said:
With the laws on drunk driving and leaving the scene such as they are, I can almost see the reasoning behind fleeing and hoping for the best. Stop, and a DUI arrest is nearly certain, with draconian penalties and no credit for having stopped and doing the right thing. Flee, and you have a decent chance of making it home and sleeping it off.

We’re going to give the video evidence we have to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Between them and Progressive, we may have a hope of a charge of leaving the scene and/or insurance fraud. Or may not. We’ll see.
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10 to 1 odds the driver was so drunk that the driver never knew (s)he had hit another car, then woke up the next day and wondered how the car got damaged.
 
@wayne

I say it is time to contact the state AG office. If no action, contact local news stations or local politicians to put pressure on the AG.

Tim
 
tspear said:
@wayne

I say it is time to contact the state AG office. If no action, contact local news stations or local politicians to put pressure on the AG.

Tim
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I was told it took 7 to 10 days just to get the police report filed. No need to rush things excessively, but I’m supposed to get a call back from the reporting officer soon so I can give him the evidence and info we’ve put together.
 
@FastEddieB

My post to @wayne was about the bait and switch dealer ads. :D They are illegal in most states; yes sometimes dealers do it. From what I have seen the in a few states, the AGs office makes a lot of noise, and brings charges against a number of offenders and gets them all to clean up every once in a while. Sounds like it is time to do so in GA.

Tim
 
I’m intending on calling the AG’s office tomorrow. I want to see if they can or will do anything.
 
I wouldn't expect local TV to do anything about it, if there is anything like here. Here, local car dealers advertisements make up a large percentage of local TV station revenue. I've never seen a piece on dishonest name brand dealer tactics in the Albany area. Every once in a while the state or county AG's office goes after one, though. I think mostly to keep them in line. The last I remember was up in Saratoga area, around inappropriate/illegal financing.
 
Our 2 most recent used car purchases were at dealers. A 2011 Ford Flex bought in 2014 at a Chevy dealer in GA and a 2006 Honda Ridgeline bought in 2018 at a Honda dealer in TN. Both tried to add a $500 “Doc Fee” to their online advertised price. We balked and they both said it was “required”. Only when they saw we were actually ready to walk away did they relent. Sort of. They still charged the Doc Fee but took $500 off the top line sales price to make the bottom line match the advertised price. Still annoying. The $500 Doc Fee was preprinted on every sales form, requiring a prospective buyer to recognize it for the hustle it is and squawk - I’m sure lots of folks just pay it, buying the “it’s required” spiel.
 
I’m taking delivery on Sunday! I checked two days ago and it still said apr 25 - may 25 and then boom, today got the notice!
 
Larry in TN said:
Thanks. That's what I have. M3LR Blue/Black.

By "with AP", do you mean with FSD? I did not get the FSD. Happy with the basic autopilot features.
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Yes, I still don’t understand the jargon. Full self driving yes.
 
Salty said:
Yes, I still don’t understand the jargon. Full self driving yes.
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There is a lot of jargon.

I'd like to try FSD. I might subscribe to it for a month next time I take a long road trip. Tell us how you like it once you've driven with it for a while.
 
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