derBayerische July/August 2024 - 3

TheSteeringColumn
Mid-spring has greeted us with an abundance of rain, warm days, cold days
and all-around weather confusion. At my house, spring also greeted us with
the arrival of a slew of new- to-us vehicles, as well as some cars leaving us
for new caretakers. Before we knew it, in mid-April, we had 19 cars at the
house and were feeling overwhelmed. Over the past month, we have had
the great fire sale. I found it fascinating dealing with different types of
characters asking questions and others just shooting out offers without
having ever seen the car.
I especially found the process of dealing with vehicle shipping companies
to be highly concerning. One of the vehicles (an E46 ZHP) needing to
make its way to us was located in upstate New York. We originally planned
to do a road trip, pick up the car and then drive it back. After taking a
moment to consider that the E46 had not moved from its garage spot in
almost three years and not loving the idea of dealing with the unexpected,
I decided to ship it. It took 25 phone calls and countless emails over the
course of a few days to find a shipper. I had scheduled five different companies
to pick up the car, all of them canceling roughly an hour before they
were supposed to arrive. It turns out that most of the " shipping companies "
are actually just a shell that schedules or tries to find a truck and trailer to
bring the car to you. They do not own any trucks nor do they carry
insurance for the shipper that will be delivering your car. I finally was able
to find a direct shipper who owned their own equipment. I pleaded my case
and explained what had happened over the past few days. This company
then went out of their way to pick up the car that same day, arrange a
driver to drive through the night, and drop off the car the next morning.
I never dreamed the shipping process would be so convoluted and difficult.
The other mysterious process has been the roundabout nonsense of
dealing with an actual dealer. After numerous attempts to procure two new
vehicles (a Jeep and a new BMW X3), I found myself wanting to scream out
of frustration at the games being played with pricing. Having been in the car
business since high school, I know all the tricks of the trade very well, but
a new one has presented itself in a strange way. Dealers are now offering a
lower out-the-door price to consumers who are financing the vehicle versus
those paying cash. While I understand the concept, I also know that car
dealers are in the game to make money as quickly as possible.
When I was in sales, we wanted to get vehicles off our floor fast!
If we could get a cash deal to free space up for additional inventory, it would
be a win-win. The dealership selling one of the vehicles in which we were
interested, actually refused to sell it to us because we wouldn't finance it with
them. We briefly considered financing, and then immediately paying off the
loan, but out of principle, decided to look elsewhere.
All this to say, if and when you dodge the raindrops and begin car
shopping, be mindful of the car-shopping and shipping games that have
developed post pandemic. Make sure you look out for yourself and do not
let the emotion of a shiny new object cloud your judgment. Here's looking
to summer and a stress free motoring season! Don't let the dealers win
Philippe Fregeolle, Co-Editor
July I August 2024
3
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derBayerische July/August 2024

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