MM Ownership - 2021 Encore GX (initial and ongoing updates)
01-12-21, 09:43 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
MM Ownership - 2021 Encore GX (initial and ongoing updates)
IN A NUTSHELL: Not as plush-comfortable as my former Lacrosse, but nicer than I expected, and far more suited to my present everyday driving needs.
Well, folks, it can be a small world. Just a little over a year ago, I spoke out loudly against GM’s (and Ford’s) decision to cancel most, if not all, of their passenger-car sedans/coupes (the well-entrenched Mustang was an exception), and I strongly supported the large nationwide UAW strike against GM for the closing of the plants producing those sedans and other job salary/benefit reasons. Those plant-closings, of course, were done primarily to change their production to (or to shift to other plants) capacity for future electric-vehicles and/or crossovers/SUVs. I saw it, though, (and still see it today), as an attempt to force buyers out of lower-profit sedans and into higher-profit crossovers and trucks. Of course, sedan sales had been declining for some years (that’s no secret)…but it’s also true that one cannot sell what one does not produce. Not that I hated crossovers (I don’t, and never did), but I also drove sedans for decades, liked the way that GM, in particular, did their sedans, and, yes, was irked that my future choice in vehicles (and that of others well…my view wasn’t alone) was going to be taken away just because Mary Barra’s bean-counters weren’t satisfied that enough $$$$were rolling into their coffers from each regular car sale.
Only, to be honest, it didn’t quite work out that way. Due at least partly to a couple of incidents/near-incidents which I’d rather not discuss in detail (at least right now), Providence showed me that it was time to make a marked change in my vehicle and driving…..something shorter, higher-stance off the ground, higher seat-level, better curb-clearance and approach/deparature angles, better U-turn radius/manuverability, and (most important) easier to get in and out of the typical smallish parking spaces that I have to deal with every day, whether at home in our condo-spaces or out doing shopping/errands. In other words, to do what would have been unthinkable for me a year or so before…..start looking at small crossovers.
For me, and my new (present) needs, Buick brought out the right vehicle at the right time….the Encore GX, which shares its platform with the somewhat less-expensive but differently-styled and differently-marketed Chevrolet Trailblazer. It is NOT the same vehicle as the hot-selling but slightly smaller Encore, which, for years, has been Buick’s Bread-and-Butter vehicle in the U.S., and the primary reason for the drop in the average-age of Buick buyers in the last several years. The new Encore GX will eventually replace the Encore in the U.S, but for 2020, both of them were sold side-by-side. For 2021, the Chinese market, where Buicks are extremely popular, will get both the Encore GX and a redesigned Encore, while we, in the U.S, will not get the new Encore, as the line will be dropped here despite high sales.
So, I looked at and test-drove a number of small crossovers from a variety of American, German, and Korean, and Japanese manufacturers, also as a possibility of a replacement for my brother’s girl friend’s old Mini Cooper, which is probably running on borrowed time right now. That project was set back some time, though, as her badly-injured forearm and wrist heals after a fall. At the last D.C. auto show, I was strongly impressed with the Chevy Trailblazer, particularly with what it offered for the money, as base versions start at $19,995. It was head-and-shoulders above the dull, unimpressive Trax, which heavy had formerly marketed in that category. Chevy had a couple of them out on the floor at their display, unlocked, so we showgoers could examine them and sit inside them. Buick had the Encore GX there, but up on a tilted-platform, all locked up, and that was that. …you had to sit there and listen to a pseudo-model, with a ton of make-up and some flashy clothes on, ramble on about its stats/features obviously from script. I said never mind that…I’d wait and check it out for myself at the dealership…which I did, when they started arriving about a month or so after the show.
So, in March, just as the pandemic was starting to affect the country, I took a test-drive in a 2020 version, with the larger of the two turbo-three-cylinders offered and with GM’s 9-speed automatic instead of the CVT. I wasn’t too terribly impressed with the three-pot-engine’s low-RPM road-manners (a noted lack of refinement)….but part of that, pleasantly, seems to have been improved for 2021. Although it is not true in all 100% of cases (the Buick Verano), I’ve learned from the past to generally not trust first-year vehicles from GM and Chrysler, even though they sometimes have high rebates if in low demand. But, for my needs, this vehicle had me sold…..I liked most of its looks except for the D-pillars. Eve on the base model, it had a number of useful features on it (at a power price) than did my former Lacrosse, and some of what was not standard was available as options. It had the disable-button for the engine start/stop function that earlier Buicks should have gotten but didn’t, a button that allowed a choice between FWD/AWD use to save drag on the small engine when AWD was not needed, 3-stage heated seats, the gas-filler door and pipe on the left (driver’s side), which I much prefer to the passenger’s side like on several other vehicles I’ve owned. It also had a ton of safety features, at a low price, which GM is generally not known for including in its marketing. So, in August of 2020, I put in an order for a 2021 mid-level Select version, which I thought was the best value money-wise, and, since any version can be ordered with any of the drivetrains, specified the larger of the two three-pot turbo engines, AWD (since there was a switch to disconnect it if not needed) , and the 9-speed transmission, which has been in production for several years, instead of the new CVT which comes with the FWD versions. I chose the Bronze color (which is really an Autumn/Cinnamon, and the two-tone white/black cloth interior, which I thought looked much nicer than the dull monotone black. Then, it was just wait. First, on delivery, they said a couple of months. Then it was going to be December. Then, they said four to six months…between January and March 2021. Production at the Bupyeong, Korea plant was delayed for several reasons (one of them a partial-strike by the Korean Auto Workers’ Union)..but it finally got built and delivered. I was afraid that the order might have to be re-submitted (or changed to a 2022 model) when GM, a few days ago, announced that the Encore GX would lose five of the external 2021 colors, including the Bronze I ordered, starting in February. I’m used to that, though, because GM has pulled that on me several times before in marketing-changes, and my former Lacrosse order had to be re-submitted three times to finally keep up and get it right.
But, no worries…it was delivered to my local GMC/Chevy/Buick shop a few days ago, although the dealership didn’t even know it had arrived until I stopped by and asked. They sales-managers told me they had not expected it for a little while yet, but somehow (?) it got in earlier than they had figured. I took a quick look at it, verified it what exactly what I had ordered, but didn’t have time to test-drive it right then…I had an appointment. So, I came back a few hours later, test-drove it, and it checked out fine except for the FWD/AWD button, which didn’t seem to be working correctly. The shop found a bad actuator, ordered the part overnight, installed it this morning, and it was good to go. Th vehicle was delivered with flawless fit/finish, no scratches of any kind, and, except for the bad actuator, no obvious defects. Tire pressure was too high….once again, the PDI guys didn’t bleed them like they were supposed to, but, Hey, what do you expect for the probably-minimum-wage that they get? So, I didn’t fuss….I just quietly bled them down to the recommenced PSIs myself, like I often have to do for test-drives at many dealerships.
I was generally (but not completely) satisfied with the deal. They didn’t really give much of a break on the dealer-price, because of the demand for this vehicle (almost as much as its hot-selling Trailblazer cousin), low profit-margin, limited-availability, and special-order-status. But, conversely, I WAS pleasantly-surprised by a $2000 rebate that GM gave me that I didn’t think I would get on a 2021. GM’s policy is that, on a special-order, you get what is in effect on delivery-date, not on the day you ordered. There was no 2021 rebate when I ordered mine last August, but there is now….surprising on a vehicle that is selling this well. I got an OK trade on the Lacrosse considering the depressed market for sedans…..not as good as I would have liked, and not as good, percentage-wise, as the excellent, better-than-KBB trades I have gotten on past vehicles. Overall, the deal, to my standards, was acceptable….but, then, again, I’m generally not one to act like I’m in a Middle East Bazaar when negotiating prices. I’ll protest or resist if I think there is excessive profiteering, but I don’t haggle for every last dollar.
I know you all want camera-images…..I’ll post them as soon as there’s enough sunlight to do the interior and the paint job what it deserves…it looks much nicer in the sunlight than on a cloudy day.
It’s also going to probably take me weeks to get all of the electronic functions set up and adjusted correctly. This is far and away the most complex vehicle I’ve ever owned…even more so than the Lacrosse, and gone are the days when one just jumps into a vehicle, turns a key, puts it in drive or first gear, and shoves off.
I also spent a lot of time today just on the details of dealing with Sirius XM radio, GM’s On-Star, and GEICO insurance just getting the accounts and policy changed to the new vehicle and organizing my own folders and paperwork.….you’re not going to just sit down and be able to that in five or ten minutes, either. And even that was nothing compared to what I went through in the dealer’s Buisness Office….My Gosh, those forms (they are both paper and electronic now, projected onto the Buisness Manager’s desk, ) are truly endless. I must have signed five or six dozen if them (No, I’m not exaggerating). I got a nice surprise, though, when they ran my credit-check (which they said was government-required, even though it was a private-check sale, and not financed)…it showed me about forty points higher (well above 800) than what my own bank showed me at…perhaps from a different rating company, as there are actually three credit-rating companies for private individuals. Of course, I never borrow money for anything (and especially for an auto-sale), so, it makes little difference to me either way….just a figure on paper. I also have a protection treatment coming that covers the interior, paint, etc…. something I haven’t had before. It includes free washes on request….. something very important to me, since I’m generally getting too old to do constant stem-to-stern exterior washes myself now, although I’m still well-short of having one foot in the grave. And, before I forget, I also have to report the sale to the County’s tax-office, as my County, in Virginia, taxes auto-assessments each year….those property-taxes, fortunately, are deductible on your Federal Schedule A. Some counties in Virginia do that because, unlike across the river in Maryland, the Virginia State Constitution does not allow local County income-taxes, and the counties make up for that lost revenue by taxing houses and vehicles instead.
Well, anyway, here we go again….but this is kind of old-hat to me by now, after a half-century of getting new vehicles. Unless this car is totaled, stolen, or the small turbo-three-pot engine craps out early (which is probably unlikely since I am not a hard driver), I should have this car several years minimum, and it could (?) possibly be the last purely gasoline-vehicle I own. Like it or not, the future of vehicles seems to be getting more and more electric, for a number of reasons. I suspect my next vehicle will be either a hybrid or pure-electric, especially since my GM dealership says they are now recharging free for GM customers with GM-brand BEVs like the Chevy Bolt.
List, BTW, on my Encore GX Select's sticker, with AWD, the larger engine/9-speed, the Hands-off Liftgate-package, the Advanced Technology Package, and the rubber floor mats (which the dealership has to order from Parts department) was $31,945. Base FWD models start at just over 24K, and top-line Essence models can run 35-36K fully-loaded.
MM
Well, folks, it can be a small world. Just a little over a year ago, I spoke out loudly against GM’s (and Ford’s) decision to cancel most, if not all, of their passenger-car sedans/coupes (the well-entrenched Mustang was an exception), and I strongly supported the large nationwide UAW strike against GM for the closing of the plants producing those sedans and other job salary/benefit reasons. Those plant-closings, of course, were done primarily to change their production to (or to shift to other plants) capacity for future electric-vehicles and/or crossovers/SUVs. I saw it, though, (and still see it today), as an attempt to force buyers out of lower-profit sedans and into higher-profit crossovers and trucks. Of course, sedan sales had been declining for some years (that’s no secret)…but it’s also true that one cannot sell what one does not produce. Not that I hated crossovers (I don’t, and never did), but I also drove sedans for decades, liked the way that GM, in particular, did their sedans, and, yes, was irked that my future choice in vehicles (and that of others well…my view wasn’t alone) was going to be taken away just because Mary Barra’s bean-counters weren’t satisfied that enough $$$$were rolling into their coffers from each regular car sale.
Only, to be honest, it didn’t quite work out that way. Due at least partly to a couple of incidents/near-incidents which I’d rather not discuss in detail (at least right now), Providence showed me that it was time to make a marked change in my vehicle and driving…..something shorter, higher-stance off the ground, higher seat-level, better curb-clearance and approach/deparature angles, better U-turn radius/manuverability, and (most important) easier to get in and out of the typical smallish parking spaces that I have to deal with every day, whether at home in our condo-spaces or out doing shopping/errands. In other words, to do what would have been unthinkable for me a year or so before…..start looking at small crossovers.
For me, and my new (present) needs, Buick brought out the right vehicle at the right time….the Encore GX, which shares its platform with the somewhat less-expensive but differently-styled and differently-marketed Chevrolet Trailblazer. It is NOT the same vehicle as the hot-selling but slightly smaller Encore, which, for years, has been Buick’s Bread-and-Butter vehicle in the U.S., and the primary reason for the drop in the average-age of Buick buyers in the last several years. The new Encore GX will eventually replace the Encore in the U.S, but for 2020, both of them were sold side-by-side. For 2021, the Chinese market, where Buicks are extremely popular, will get both the Encore GX and a redesigned Encore, while we, in the U.S, will not get the new Encore, as the line will be dropped here despite high sales.
So, I looked at and test-drove a number of small crossovers from a variety of American, German, and Korean, and Japanese manufacturers, also as a possibility of a replacement for my brother’s girl friend’s old Mini Cooper, which is probably running on borrowed time right now. That project was set back some time, though, as her badly-injured forearm and wrist heals after a fall. At the last D.C. auto show, I was strongly impressed with the Chevy Trailblazer, particularly with what it offered for the money, as base versions start at $19,995. It was head-and-shoulders above the dull, unimpressive Trax, which heavy had formerly marketed in that category. Chevy had a couple of them out on the floor at their display, unlocked, so we showgoers could examine them and sit inside them. Buick had the Encore GX there, but up on a tilted-platform, all locked up, and that was that. …you had to sit there and listen to a pseudo-model, with a ton of make-up and some flashy clothes on, ramble on about its stats/features obviously from script. I said never mind that…I’d wait and check it out for myself at the dealership…which I did, when they started arriving about a month or so after the show.
So, in March, just as the pandemic was starting to affect the country, I took a test-drive in a 2020 version, with the larger of the two turbo-three-cylinders offered and with GM’s 9-speed automatic instead of the CVT. I wasn’t too terribly impressed with the three-pot-engine’s low-RPM road-manners (a noted lack of refinement)….but part of that, pleasantly, seems to have been improved for 2021. Although it is not true in all 100% of cases (the Buick Verano), I’ve learned from the past to generally not trust first-year vehicles from GM and Chrysler, even though they sometimes have high rebates if in low demand. But, for my needs, this vehicle had me sold…..I liked most of its looks except for the D-pillars. Eve on the base model, it had a number of useful features on it (at a power price) than did my former Lacrosse, and some of what was not standard was available as options. It had the disable-button for the engine start/stop function that earlier Buicks should have gotten but didn’t, a button that allowed a choice between FWD/AWD use to save drag on the small engine when AWD was not needed, 3-stage heated seats, the gas-filler door and pipe on the left (driver’s side), which I much prefer to the passenger’s side like on several other vehicles I’ve owned. It also had a ton of safety features, at a low price, which GM is generally not known for including in its marketing. So, in August of 2020, I put in an order for a 2021 mid-level Select version, which I thought was the best value money-wise, and, since any version can be ordered with any of the drivetrains, specified the larger of the two three-pot turbo engines, AWD (since there was a switch to disconnect it if not needed) , and the 9-speed transmission, which has been in production for several years, instead of the new CVT which comes with the FWD versions. I chose the Bronze color (which is really an Autumn/Cinnamon, and the two-tone white/black cloth interior, which I thought looked much nicer than the dull monotone black. Then, it was just wait. First, on delivery, they said a couple of months. Then it was going to be December. Then, they said four to six months…between January and March 2021. Production at the Bupyeong, Korea plant was delayed for several reasons (one of them a partial-strike by the Korean Auto Workers’ Union)..but it finally got built and delivered. I was afraid that the order might have to be re-submitted (or changed to a 2022 model) when GM, a few days ago, announced that the Encore GX would lose five of the external 2021 colors, including the Bronze I ordered, starting in February. I’m used to that, though, because GM has pulled that on me several times before in marketing-changes, and my former Lacrosse order had to be re-submitted three times to finally keep up and get it right.
But, no worries…it was delivered to my local GMC/Chevy/Buick shop a few days ago, although the dealership didn’t even know it had arrived until I stopped by and asked. They sales-managers told me they had not expected it for a little while yet, but somehow (?) it got in earlier than they had figured. I took a quick look at it, verified it what exactly what I had ordered, but didn’t have time to test-drive it right then…I had an appointment. So, I came back a few hours later, test-drove it, and it checked out fine except for the FWD/AWD button, which didn’t seem to be working correctly. The shop found a bad actuator, ordered the part overnight, installed it this morning, and it was good to go. Th vehicle was delivered with flawless fit/finish, no scratches of any kind, and, except for the bad actuator, no obvious defects. Tire pressure was too high….once again, the PDI guys didn’t bleed them like they were supposed to, but, Hey, what do you expect for the probably-minimum-wage that they get? So, I didn’t fuss….I just quietly bled them down to the recommenced PSIs myself, like I often have to do for test-drives at many dealerships.
I was generally (but not completely) satisfied with the deal. They didn’t really give much of a break on the dealer-price, because of the demand for this vehicle (almost as much as its hot-selling Trailblazer cousin), low profit-margin, limited-availability, and special-order-status. But, conversely, I WAS pleasantly-surprised by a $2000 rebate that GM gave me that I didn’t think I would get on a 2021. GM’s policy is that, on a special-order, you get what is in effect on delivery-date, not on the day you ordered. There was no 2021 rebate when I ordered mine last August, but there is now….surprising on a vehicle that is selling this well. I got an OK trade on the Lacrosse considering the depressed market for sedans…..not as good as I would have liked, and not as good, percentage-wise, as the excellent, better-than-KBB trades I have gotten on past vehicles. Overall, the deal, to my standards, was acceptable….but, then, again, I’m generally not one to act like I’m in a Middle East Bazaar when negotiating prices. I’ll protest or resist if I think there is excessive profiteering, but I don’t haggle for every last dollar.
I know you all want camera-images…..I’ll post them as soon as there’s enough sunlight to do the interior and the paint job what it deserves…it looks much nicer in the sunlight than on a cloudy day.
It’s also going to probably take me weeks to get all of the electronic functions set up and adjusted correctly. This is far and away the most complex vehicle I’ve ever owned…even more so than the Lacrosse, and gone are the days when one just jumps into a vehicle, turns a key, puts it in drive or first gear, and shoves off.
I also spent a lot of time today just on the details of dealing with Sirius XM radio, GM’s On-Star, and GEICO insurance just getting the accounts and policy changed to the new vehicle and organizing my own folders and paperwork.….you’re not going to just sit down and be able to that in five or ten minutes, either. And even that was nothing compared to what I went through in the dealer’s Buisness Office….My Gosh, those forms (they are both paper and electronic now, projected onto the Buisness Manager’s desk, ) are truly endless. I must have signed five or six dozen if them (No, I’m not exaggerating). I got a nice surprise, though, when they ran my credit-check (which they said was government-required, even though it was a private-check sale, and not financed)…it showed me about forty points higher (well above 800) than what my own bank showed me at…perhaps from a different rating company, as there are actually three credit-rating companies for private individuals. Of course, I never borrow money for anything (and especially for an auto-sale), so, it makes little difference to me either way….just a figure on paper. I also have a protection treatment coming that covers the interior, paint, etc…. something I haven’t had before. It includes free washes on request….. something very important to me, since I’m generally getting too old to do constant stem-to-stern exterior washes myself now, although I’m still well-short of having one foot in the grave. And, before I forget, I also have to report the sale to the County’s tax-office, as my County, in Virginia, taxes auto-assessments each year….those property-taxes, fortunately, are deductible on your Federal Schedule A. Some counties in Virginia do that because, unlike across the river in Maryland, the Virginia State Constitution does not allow local County income-taxes, and the counties make up for that lost revenue by taxing houses and vehicles instead.
Well, anyway, here we go again….but this is kind of old-hat to me by now, after a half-century of getting new vehicles. Unless this car is totaled, stolen, or the small turbo-three-pot engine craps out early (which is probably unlikely since I am not a hard driver), I should have this car several years minimum, and it could (?) possibly be the last purely gasoline-vehicle I own. Like it or not, the future of vehicles seems to be getting more and more electric, for a number of reasons. I suspect my next vehicle will be either a hybrid or pure-electric, especially since my GM dealership says they are now recharging free for GM customers with GM-brand BEVs like the Chevy Bolt.
List, BTW, on my Encore GX Select's sticker, with AWD, the larger engine/9-speed, the Hands-off Liftgate-package, the Advanced Technology Package, and the rubber floor mats (which the dealership has to order from Parts department) was $31,945. Base FWD models start at just over 24K, and top-line Essence models can run 35-36K fully-loaded.
MM
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-12-21 at 10:08 PM.
01-13-21, 08:18 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Congrats! Enjoy it. Looking forward to the pictures!
I wouldnt have let them pull my credit:
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-c...auto-car-loan/
I wouldnt have let them pull my credit:
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-c...auto-car-loan/
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a car dealer may pull your credit – if you consent by filling out and signing a loan application. However, when paying with cash or prearranged financing, a dealer has no right to coerce you to agree to a credit check by invoking the USA Patriot Act, the 2001 federal anti-terrorism law.
Yet, it happens. Wanda Dunbar, 70, and her husband went to buy a new car from a dealer near Palm Springs, California. The couple planned to pay cash, but the dealer told them the Patriot Act required him to run a credit check.
“The dealer said he had to make sure that we were who we said we were and that we weren’t terrorists,” she says.
Yet, it happens. Wanda Dunbar, 70, and her husband went to buy a new car from a dealer near Palm Springs, California. The couple planned to pay cash, but the dealer told them the Patriot Act required him to run a credit check.
“The dealer said he had to make sure that we were who we said we were and that we weren’t terrorists,” she says.
01-13-21, 08:55 AM
#3
Pole Position
Congrats on your new higher H-point vehicle. I as well always had cars & a few trucks, but never a cuv/suv.....
01-13-21, 11:03 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Congrats! Enjoy it. Looking forward to the pictures!
I wouldnt have let them pull my credit:
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-c...auto-car-loan/
I wouldnt have let them pull my credit:
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-c...auto-car-loan/
It let me know that at least one company gave me a very high rating. That was good to know.
01-13-21, 11:15 AM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Congrats!!! Finally.
01-13-21, 11:20 AM
#7
Pole Position
To the broader topic, dealers push hard to pull credit even if you are paying with certified guaranteed funds not because they have to but because it is a necessary step for them to try to sell you on a finance product - notwithstanding the fact you neither want nor need it.
I've paid for cars with a personal check and had no credit pull, albeit they usually wanted to. The only exception here is some manufacturer rebates etc are contingent upon financing a minimum amount. That's legit - those are the terms, and if you want the rebate you have to finance a bit. But pulling credit isn't a requirement. It's to give the finance guy an opportunity to sell you on a loan....
Trending Topics
01-13-21, 11:26 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
It's going to take me weeks to get all of the electronic functions set up and adjusted correctly....assuming that they are working properly and don't need re-programming (which I'll find out with time). This thing is more complex than the space-shuttle LOL. 
01-13-21, 11:37 AM
#11
Lexus Champion
The bronze looks good in the sunlight. Glad to hear you were able to get the Encore in that color before the new choices come out. I like the white interior. We have it in our car (ivory actually) and haven't had any issues with keeping it clean or dye transfer with jeans which I wear all of the time.
01-13-21, 11:37 AM
#12
Lexus Champion
Congrats Mike! Love the color!
01-13-21, 11:52 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
It looks great! Did you trade the Lacrosse?
You just don't want people pulling your credit if they don't have to. Credit pulls impact your score, and anytime somebody has your SSN and access to your credit report it increases the likelihood of someone stealing your identity. I am VERY tight about who I let pull my credit. In this case, I object to the dealer lying to you about why they were doing it.
01-13-21, 11:55 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by JDR76
Congrats Mike! Love the color!
Originally Posted by LexBob2
The bronze looks good in the sunlight. Glad to hear you were able to get the Encore in that color before the new choices come out. I like the white interior. We have it in our car (ivory actually) and haven't had any issues with keeping it clean or dye transfer with jeans which I wear all of the time.
Both colors, BTW, along with the Chili-red and two shades of blue, are on GM's chopping-block next month. No word on what (or if) those colors will be replaced with.......as of now, the only factory-colors remaining are the black/white/Pearl-White and steel-gray. GM's marketing, though, is notoriously erratic...we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with, if anything.
01-13-21, 12:10 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Thanks. Yes. I know I might have gotten more on a private sale, but it just wasn't worth the additional hassles over what we already go through with a typical new car today. I was up late last night with insurance, satellite radio, On Star, county-tax-registration, etc...and also a good part of this morning. And I'll be up every night for weeks trying to learn the electronic programming LOL.
Makes me recall when I learned to fly, in the mid-1980s....all of those functions combined (inspection/pre-flight/flight-planning/cockpit-checklists, instrument-scanning, navigation, communications, post-flight shutdowns/securing, etc....) probably wasn't as complex as today's vehicles.
They probably weren't lying...or trying to sell me any financing. They knew that I wasn't going to need any financing. I wouldn't be in that showroom, under those conditions, if I needed a loan....and they knew it. What they can do or not do is very tightly regulated nowadays.
They also did that credit-application the last time I bought the Lacrosse there, and it did not affect my credit-rating....nor was my ID hacked. The only thing that ever actually drove down my credit-score had nothing to do with a dealership......it was when I dumped my old credit card and took out a new one that paid more cash back on each transaction....and, at the time, I also added a new bank account to my existing ones that had not existed before. That was enough to do it.
Makes me recall when I learned to fly, in the mid-1980s....all of those functions combined (inspection/pre-flight/flight-planning/cockpit-checklists, instrument-scanning, navigation, communications, post-flight shutdowns/securing, etc....) probably wasn't as complex as today's vehicles.
You just don't want people pulling your credit if they don't have to. Credit pulls impact your score, and anytime somebody has your SSN and access to your credit report it increases the likelihood of someone stealing your identity. I am VERY tight about who I let pull my credit. In this case, I object to the dealer lying to you about why they were doing it.
They also did that credit-application the last time I bought the Lacrosse there, and it did not affect my credit-rating....nor was my ID hacked. The only thing that ever actually drove down my credit-score had nothing to do with a dealership......it was when I dumped my old credit card and took out a new one that paid more cash back on each transaction....and, at the time, I also added a new bank account to my existing ones that had not existed before. That was enough to do it.