Brian98GTP
03-01-2008, 12:55 PM
Below are a few pics of the car, and the story behind me getting it (pretty long story) :D
For a few months, I was looking for a used '01 and up SSEi's online. I wanted to get a silver one, fully optioned with moonroof and lower miles, and with the chrome 3 spoke looking rims. I came across one at the Zimbrick dealer in Madison that was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I setup a time to come and test drive the car, which was last Saturday around 1pm. The salesman called me when I was 10 minutes away, telling me some dude from Iowa just bought the car. I didnt have a hold on it because I was told it was sitting there for a few weeks with NOBODY showing any interest in it. So I drive all the way back to West Bend, and start looking at the next car down on my list... my 'Plan B'.
This was pretty much the same car as the one in Madison, but it had painted crosslace rims and tinted windows. I call the dealership, which was located at 27th and College in South Milwaukee, and talked to a guy in sales. He said this car was sitting there for a few MONTHS, and had very little interest in it. I told him I would be down there in about 45 minutes to look at it. Tasha and I haul a$$ all the way down to South Milwaukee, and the second I pull into the lot, I knew my luck hadnt changed. The salesman had this look of disbelief on his face, and then told me that some guy walked into the dealership 10 mintues after I got off the phone with him and paid cash for the car without even test driving it! Another trip, another wasted effort.
I go home and I find this red one in Brookfield. On my way home from work Monday, I stop in and test drive it. Car was immaculate, and was priced pretty good. I wasnt happy with the color or lack of moonroof, but it was a great car.
I decide to keep looking for the silver one that my heart was set on, and come across another one in Appleton at a dealership called 'Ultimate Rides'. The name sounded gay, but whatever.... they had the car I was looking for.
It had higher miles (80K), but when I called and talked to them, they said they were willing to come down in price. I asked him if there was anything wrong with the car as far as scratches, dents, holes in the interior, etc... He said the car was immaculate and that "I wouldnt be disappointed". I asked him if the tires were new, or at least good... and he said they were great.
So Tuesday night after work, Tasha and I drove all the way up to Appleton to check out the car. Before going inside to speak to the salesman, I decided to go check out the car first. The front bumper had HUGE paint chips/scratches/cracks on it, the pass. headlamp lens was yellow, the tires were damn near BALD, and there were scratches all over the outside of it, all around the car like someone buffed it with a fork underneath the buffing pad.
I headed inside to find the guy I spoke to over the phone the night before.
We walk in the front door to find that everyone was in the back garage area, talking with a group of young thugs that we saw walk in the back door when we pulled up. We waited for about 6 or 7 minutes before someone came out to the sales floor. The guy I spoke to over the phone, turned out to be this 19 or 20 year old 'kid' that though he knew everything about cars.
He gives me the keys to the Bonneville and hands me a dealer tag to put on the front dashboard. He goes back inside to chill with the thugs, so I start my inspection on the car. The trans fluid smelled REALLY burnt, and was damn near black in color..... there was an electrical burning smell that hovered around the engine bay... and the duct going to the airbox wasnt even connected. The car drove like it was a HARD 80K miles. Everything was loose, clunking, or worn out.
We're just about to pull back into the dealership parking lot after our test drive, only to be pulled over by the local police. He walks up to the car and asks if we're employees or customers. I tell him we were neither, because we werent buying this piece of sh!t from that fvcked up dealership. He laughs, and proceeds to tell my that this was the 6th time he's pulled over someone test driving a car from this dealership for not having a tag shown on the back of the car. I try talking him into coming in with us and giving the douchebags a ticket, but he said he'd give them one more warning.
I go back inside the dealership, and the sales-kid asks me if we were speeding. I said no, we were pulled over because someone was either too cheap or too stupid to buy a magnetic plate holder to put on the back of the vehicle. He gave me a blank look, and said that it wasnt needed. :rolleyes:
Well, after the cop ARGUED with the manager about showing the plate on the rear, he ended up giving him a $250 ticket for who knows what.... In the meantime, the sales kid asked me if I was interested in buying the car. I told him I wouldnt buy that piece of sh!t for anything over $4000 (car was priced at $9K). He said it was NOT a POS, and that many others have test driven the car and thought it was a great vehicle. I then ask him why the fvcking thing was still on the lot, and he gave me another dumb look. I walked out after that conversation, and started on my hour long trip home.
Fast forward to Thursday..... I took Tasha to go look at the red car in Brookfield. She liked it, but knew I wanted a different color, etc... I said I could live without the moonroof and silver color, and we both decided this was the best deal we came across out of any other car we found, as far as miles and year..... so we bought it. I think we both wanted this whole 'car chasing' to stop, too.
So anyways... thats the retarded story, and here are the pics....
2001 Bonneville SSEi, 53K miles, fully powered, fully optioned (except moonroof :()
Walked out of the dealership paying $7250 (pre tax, title, license) with a $2000 trade in ('97 civic in fair condition, but needing brakes, axles, and a good cleaning).
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW17.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW16.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW15.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW14.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW13.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW12.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW11.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW09.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW08.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW07.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW06.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW05.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW03.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW02.jpg
For a few months, I was looking for a used '01 and up SSEi's online. I wanted to get a silver one, fully optioned with moonroof and lower miles, and with the chrome 3 spoke looking rims. I came across one at the Zimbrick dealer in Madison that was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I setup a time to come and test drive the car, which was last Saturday around 1pm. The salesman called me when I was 10 minutes away, telling me some dude from Iowa just bought the car. I didnt have a hold on it because I was told it was sitting there for a few weeks with NOBODY showing any interest in it. So I drive all the way back to West Bend, and start looking at the next car down on my list... my 'Plan B'.
This was pretty much the same car as the one in Madison, but it had painted crosslace rims and tinted windows. I call the dealership, which was located at 27th and College in South Milwaukee, and talked to a guy in sales. He said this car was sitting there for a few MONTHS, and had very little interest in it. I told him I would be down there in about 45 minutes to look at it. Tasha and I haul a$$ all the way down to South Milwaukee, and the second I pull into the lot, I knew my luck hadnt changed. The salesman had this look of disbelief on his face, and then told me that some guy walked into the dealership 10 mintues after I got off the phone with him and paid cash for the car without even test driving it! Another trip, another wasted effort.
I go home and I find this red one in Brookfield. On my way home from work Monday, I stop in and test drive it. Car was immaculate, and was priced pretty good. I wasnt happy with the color or lack of moonroof, but it was a great car.
I decide to keep looking for the silver one that my heart was set on, and come across another one in Appleton at a dealership called 'Ultimate Rides'. The name sounded gay, but whatever.... they had the car I was looking for.
It had higher miles (80K), but when I called and talked to them, they said they were willing to come down in price. I asked him if there was anything wrong with the car as far as scratches, dents, holes in the interior, etc... He said the car was immaculate and that "I wouldnt be disappointed". I asked him if the tires were new, or at least good... and he said they were great.
So Tuesday night after work, Tasha and I drove all the way up to Appleton to check out the car. Before going inside to speak to the salesman, I decided to go check out the car first. The front bumper had HUGE paint chips/scratches/cracks on it, the pass. headlamp lens was yellow, the tires were damn near BALD, and there were scratches all over the outside of it, all around the car like someone buffed it with a fork underneath the buffing pad.
I headed inside to find the guy I spoke to over the phone the night before.
We walk in the front door to find that everyone was in the back garage area, talking with a group of young thugs that we saw walk in the back door when we pulled up. We waited for about 6 or 7 minutes before someone came out to the sales floor. The guy I spoke to over the phone, turned out to be this 19 or 20 year old 'kid' that though he knew everything about cars.
He gives me the keys to the Bonneville and hands me a dealer tag to put on the front dashboard. He goes back inside to chill with the thugs, so I start my inspection on the car. The trans fluid smelled REALLY burnt, and was damn near black in color..... there was an electrical burning smell that hovered around the engine bay... and the duct going to the airbox wasnt even connected. The car drove like it was a HARD 80K miles. Everything was loose, clunking, or worn out.
We're just about to pull back into the dealership parking lot after our test drive, only to be pulled over by the local police. He walks up to the car and asks if we're employees or customers. I tell him we were neither, because we werent buying this piece of sh!t from that fvcked up dealership. He laughs, and proceeds to tell my that this was the 6th time he's pulled over someone test driving a car from this dealership for not having a tag shown on the back of the car. I try talking him into coming in with us and giving the douchebags a ticket, but he said he'd give them one more warning.
I go back inside the dealership, and the sales-kid asks me if we were speeding. I said no, we were pulled over because someone was either too cheap or too stupid to buy a magnetic plate holder to put on the back of the vehicle. He gave me a blank look, and said that it wasnt needed. :rolleyes:
Well, after the cop ARGUED with the manager about showing the plate on the rear, he ended up giving him a $250 ticket for who knows what.... In the meantime, the sales kid asked me if I was interested in buying the car. I told him I wouldnt buy that piece of sh!t for anything over $4000 (car was priced at $9K). He said it was NOT a POS, and that many others have test driven the car and thought it was a great vehicle. I then ask him why the fvcking thing was still on the lot, and he gave me another dumb look. I walked out after that conversation, and started on my hour long trip home.
Fast forward to Thursday..... I took Tasha to go look at the red car in Brookfield. She liked it, but knew I wanted a different color, etc... I said I could live without the moonroof and silver color, and we both decided this was the best deal we came across out of any other car we found, as far as miles and year..... so we bought it. I think we both wanted this whole 'car chasing' to stop, too.
So anyways... thats the retarded story, and here are the pics....
2001 Bonneville SSEi, 53K miles, fully powered, fully optioned (except moonroof :()
Walked out of the dealership paying $7250 (pre tax, title, license) with a $2000 trade in ('97 civic in fair condition, but needing brakes, axles, and a good cleaning).
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW17.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW16.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW15.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW14.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW13.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW12.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW11.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW09.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW08.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW07.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW06.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW05.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW03.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/Money98GTP/UC2410RW02.jpg