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Strategies & Market Trends : Tech Stock Options
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To: Stoctrash who wrote (44032)5/29/1998 8:04:00 AM
From: Patrick Slevin  Read Replies (1) of 58727
 
Cars

I was just discussing this on P-Mail.

It seems GM and Chrysler are both going the AutoNation(?) road. I was doing business primarily with one dealer for over 25 years. Practically within walking distance from here. I went there not only because as a frequent customer I always got solid discounts but because I could walk into the service department and get taken care of immediately. The guy once offered me a key to the building because I garaged my T-Bird in a building he owned there....just in case I needed something on a Sunday or anytime he might be closed.

Now, GM sends these promotional packets each month inviting me to the superstore miles away. I cannot get the service there that was built up with a relationship lasting over 25 years. It's a supermarket, and it will take me a half-hour to get there. The new dealerships are to be primarily located on highways and main roads and they are phasing out the locals.

So now I found a foreign auto specialist for the Bimmer and the local gas station for my wife's Buick, and I'll buy the next BMW where I bought the last one, a discount guy in Westchester.

I agree 100% about the longevity of these beasts. The BMW has only 44,000 miles on it but it's 13 years old and aside from routine maintenance I could not have put more than 3 or 4 thousand dollars into it in all these years.

As far as the GM cars, well I turn them over about every 35,000 miles but I cannot recall the last time I put excess $$ into one for repair. I guess they would last for years as well. For that matter, if I drove the '57 more often it might need less care.

I guess GM and Chrysler will cut costs by centralizing the dealerships but the pressure to maintain a good relationship with a regular customer will come off the mega-dealer's agenda. So loyalty to a brand or dealer will further dissipate.
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