cr4x4cruiser
Observer
Someone commented about a Montero I purchased recently, regarding the online reviews of the dealer I purchased it from... which got me to thinking. Honestly, I rarely give credence to most anything anyone opines about these days - especially when the source is completely anonymous. Hell, for that matter, I will bet the bank that everyone who reads this knows of many family members they wouldn't give a nickel for their opinions.
I called the dealer initially, and was not impressed by the first person I spoke to... put it on the back burner, and kept plugging along, looking for that "one". Having spent the better part of two years looking I was fed up with morons and their Monteros [Land Cruisers / Troopers]. The vast majority of vehicle sellers these days seemingly do not know a transfer case from a camshaft. Sure, they know how many cupholders the damn vehicle has, they know they only fill up the truck "once a week". But truth be told, they know nothing of what they possess.
After earnestly looking for the past few months, and near my wits end with said morons, I told my better-half that this particular Montero, if still available, was about the best we will ever get. We drove down, on the spur of the moment. We even had to call the dealer and ask them to stay open - since we were driving the I-5 parking lot at evening rush hour.
They stayed open... as soon as we got there the guy handed us the keys & told us to take it for a ride... "return when you are ready". We took it for a good while... we had the 'Auto Check' in hand [I use 'Auto check', since 99% of everyone else uses 'Car Fax']. It looked like the right miles... it drove like the right miles... it was as it should have been. When we returned we began the negotiating dance.
I knew what I wanted it for, but I was more than optimistic with my desired number. Sal [not the first person I contacted, but the guy that waited for us, as well as an owner] told me I could never get that number - and actually pulled out the file and all of the paperwork, and showed me the exact amount they paid for it at auction [previous owner traded it in on a new BMW]. He told me if he could make $500 on the deal he would be happy. I had no reason to doubt anything I was seeing.
It took us maybe two minutes to decide that $500 was nothing compared to what I expected to shell out for repairs [and, likely, a rear locking axle] of anything else we had pined for. Since we only came in with a fixed amount of cash [yeah, I didn't want to go over a certain limit] Sal simply asked us to send in a couple of payments over the next couple of months. No damn financing... no holding the title back... this ended up being one of the simplest and best transactions I've ever done on a vehicle.
I could care less what others' opinions are of this dealer... I wouldn't hesitate to return. These guys are nothing more than people who ended up traveling halfway around the globe, to escape a retched environment [Middle East], and are trying to live the American dream. They treated us right... they treated us respectfully... and they never, once, got my "BS-Meter" tripping.
Online opinions/ reviews? Sure, I'll respect 'em... the day that fine piece of chicken posting her wares online shows up at my doorstep not packing 150 extra pounds of "thickness" nor 15 years of magical aging. Take anything found on the internet with a grain of salt... find out for yourself... we finally did, we ended up with one of the best 1999 Montero SR's to be had - anywhere - for the money.
I called the dealer initially, and was not impressed by the first person I spoke to... put it on the back burner, and kept plugging along, looking for that "one". Having spent the better part of two years looking I was fed up with morons and their Monteros [Land Cruisers / Troopers]. The vast majority of vehicle sellers these days seemingly do not know a transfer case from a camshaft. Sure, they know how many cupholders the damn vehicle has, they know they only fill up the truck "once a week". But truth be told, they know nothing of what they possess.
After earnestly looking for the past few months, and near my wits end with said morons, I told my better-half that this particular Montero, if still available, was about the best we will ever get. We drove down, on the spur of the moment. We even had to call the dealer and ask them to stay open - since we were driving the I-5 parking lot at evening rush hour.
They stayed open... as soon as we got there the guy handed us the keys & told us to take it for a ride... "return when you are ready". We took it for a good while... we had the 'Auto Check' in hand [I use 'Auto check', since 99% of everyone else uses 'Car Fax']. It looked like the right miles... it drove like the right miles... it was as it should have been. When we returned we began the negotiating dance.
I knew what I wanted it for, but I was more than optimistic with my desired number. Sal [not the first person I contacted, but the guy that waited for us, as well as an owner] told me I could never get that number - and actually pulled out the file and all of the paperwork, and showed me the exact amount they paid for it at auction [previous owner traded it in on a new BMW]. He told me if he could make $500 on the deal he would be happy. I had no reason to doubt anything I was seeing.
It took us maybe two minutes to decide that $500 was nothing compared to what I expected to shell out for repairs [and, likely, a rear locking axle] of anything else we had pined for. Since we only came in with a fixed amount of cash [yeah, I didn't want to go over a certain limit] Sal simply asked us to send in a couple of payments over the next couple of months. No damn financing... no holding the title back... this ended up being one of the simplest and best transactions I've ever done on a vehicle.
I could care less what others' opinions are of this dealer... I wouldn't hesitate to return. These guys are nothing more than people who ended up traveling halfway around the globe, to escape a retched environment [Middle East], and are trying to live the American dream. They treated us right... they treated us respectfully... and they never, once, got my "BS-Meter" tripping.
Online opinions/ reviews? Sure, I'll respect 'em... the day that fine piece of chicken posting her wares online shows up at my doorstep not packing 150 extra pounds of "thickness" nor 15 years of magical aging. Take anything found on the internet with a grain of salt... find out for yourself... we finally did, we ended up with one of the best 1999 Montero SR's to be had - anywhere - for the money.
