Gateway Nissan Blog

 

AutoNation, the country’s largest “mega-dealer” are supposedly reinventing the car buying process with the goal of shrinking the time down to thirty minutes or less---that’s right…30 minutes to buy a car. On the surface, that sounds like a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that? But, when you dig a little deeper, you realize that it falls into the same category as “dreaming”, “wishing on a star” or  getting your palms read.

 

Buying a new car is a big deal—it should not be hurried. Buying a car is not like buying a book on…

Your 60,000 mile car needs more than just an oil change, a timing belt, a transmission service, etc. We don't hear about these long neglected parts very much these days. I really don't know why. We all drive farther, faster and harder. These parts wear out, but their slow death is not very evident because we are so busy texting and driving like maniacs---Until one day, we hit that curve just a…

 

We all make mistakes. We ordered a filter for a customer’s 2013 Mercedes GLK from a local aftermarket parts store. We were performing an oil change, and needed the correct oil filter for that vehicle. They sent us a filter which we installed. THE BAD NEWS….it was the wrong filter. A little over 1000 miles of driving is all it took to destroy the engine. Who paid for it?---The insurance company of the parts store, at a total cost of just under $18,000.  The problem was resolved and the customer ended up satisfied, but what a…

I was wondering where this common phrase came from the other day right after I used it in a meeting with my managers—don’t ask me why, I just do things like that. I have used the phrase often as an example of how, the better we come to know someone, the less respect we tend to give them. My first thought was to look it up in the Bible. That phrase sounds like it ought to be in Proverbs—nope, not there. Then I did what modern man does—I “Googled it”. The phrase actually comes from Aesop…

 

Ever get mail from Nissan, Ford, GM or another car company with a "Private Offer" of $500 or more? Are these for real? Well the short answer is...YES. Many manufacturers are using private offers to select individuals in order to boost sales. Those are real dollars that will be subtracted from your best negotiated price, and these offers are in addition to all other factory rebates.

So if you are in the market for a car and you get one of those offers, go check out the car and see if it is really something you want--buying the wrong…

 

Trading cars to get better gas mileage seems like a good idea when gas prices are rising (unlike today), but people seem to get amnesia when gas prices start falling. We haven’t seen gas this cheap for a long time, and a predictable thing is happening—big gas hogs are selling again (and gas-sipping hybrids are not). The prudent thing to do is to think “long term” when making a vehicle purchase decision. Gas prices will go up again (I promise), and they are still a significant expense in every household.  So should you trade in your gas hog…