Monday, November 13, 2006

It's A Good Thing For Them That We're All So Car Dependent

In so many areas of our lives, the people with whom we make deals are held responsible to certain levels of honesty and integrity. Whether it be out of respect to the law or out of fear of losing customers to competitors with lower prices or nicer smiles, we consumers are treated well and with dignity.

And then there is the car business. From dealers to repair shops, it seems that we not only lose out on the deals, but we just accept it as a foregone conclusion that we will be lied to and we will pay too much. We are just too weary to fight these battles. I would love to live in a city with better mass transportation. I would love to not need to own a car. Even if living in a city with a higher cost of living outweighed the price of driving a car in my current city, I would just feel better not having the daily worry of whether or not my car would start and how that would affect my family financially. And essentially, I want to be no one's sucker.

I'm thinking of this after reading the latest in alleged Bill Heard dishonesty:

"We would like to congratulate you on your ‘04 Trailblazer," a voice said.

It's a recording that'd been left on the car's message system by the salesmen at Bill Heard that closes with this zinger:

"I know you got f**ked, but still in the long run, you're going to be happy with it. So, take care!"


I invite your comments on the subject of trusted mechanics and car dealers. Shared knowledge is indeed shared power.

6 comments:

Rob Robinson said...

The Scene has reported on the nonsense at Bill Heard previously, too. My advice would be not to do business with this company for any reason.

On the subject of trusted mechanics, I was referred to P&J Auto on 44th Avenue in Nashville and would never go anywhere else. Paul, the owner, is one of the most honest people I know, and he loves his work. (615) 292-1700.

(I have no personal or business connection to P&J Auto other than being a very satisfied customer.)

chez bez said...

Thanks for the words of advice. I'll keep them in mind.

Anonymous said...

As far as mechanics go, Import Auto Maintenance on Broadway always did a great job for us. But we don't own an import at the moment and therefore haven't used them in a while.

Mr. Mack said...

I was a used car manager in a large Chevy store in Atlanta, and was sandwiched between two different Bill Heard operations. They are by far the most deceptive dealer ever. I know the in's and out's of the car business, and sometimes I buy cars for people and negotiate the process for them, for a small fee. I am happy to share what I know, (no charge) because I really hate those guys. Let me know if I can help...

Rae said...

UGH! That is the worst dealership. We went there once and I totally felt like I needed a shower afterwards. Total SLEAZE!!

There's a great body shop in Smyrna - Patterson's. They were awesome and so easy to work with. Next time I'm whacked I'll go back, it's worth the drive!!

Newscoma said...

I find this appalling. Bill Heard needs to be shut down if he's doing crap like this.
Most folks live paycheck to paycheck and a new car is a necessity they have to have.
I live in Hooterville though and sometimes it is of the good because I know the folks I'm buying from.
They sure as hell don't want to look at me over a piece of pie knowing they sold me a lemon.
One advantage of Hooterville, I guess.