Murph

Well I sold my GS400 this past weekend. I'm trying to decide the next fun car. I'm thinking of an SC400 so I'm going to start lurking over at the SC section gathering info. Seems like some good deals are around and I can spend the winter making a personalized SC400. I already miss my GS though. I have a strange feeling that either the new generation whatever it is or maybe a GS430 is in the future. It's nice to have choices...

Take care. I'll be visiting every once in a while.

Murph

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Why did you sell the GS?

Murph

Hi Bit,

A number of reasons but it's becoming an issue to look too successful to my customers. When times were good and all were making big bucks in stock options and the like, it was no problem. Now my customers are wondering about their jobs and the possibility of a long downturn and possible extended financial issues. So I decided to get a non intrusive car for business to have less friction on the customer side. Our most succesful salesguy drives a Mercury. What the customers don't see are his homes on the Cape Cod with the deep water dock and his place in Naples FL. i'm adopting that strategy.

With that said, I also have 1 in college and one more starting next year so in order to get a vanilla car AND a have a fun car, I had to sell the GS. I'm going to wait a little while before deciding the next vehicle. In the mean time I'm driving the SAAB 900S I bought for the kids.

Murph

theanimala

Just curious, what kind of sales job do you have? I too am in sales, and I do feel very self concious with the car that I drive. Just yesterday I met 2 clients for lunch, and I purposely 'wasted' some time in the resturant so they could leave first. I feel that sometimes that may want me to lower price because if I am living too well, I must be over charging them... of course, I bought my car used for the price someone would buy an average new car for.

Murph

I'm in the Manufacturers Rep business. I'm the VP of the company but I still call on customers. Everybody contributes. I even have the owner/president out on the road now as well. We represent some high tech semiconductor(uP and DRAM) and laser companies thru out New England, Upstate NY and Puerto Rico. We've been in business since 1979. I joined them in 1985.

Murph

LexCiting

Murph - I know the feeling. You can kinda tell when you drive up in your car, and someone has a little comment.

mumbles

I don't have any "customers", but my GS is the nicest car by far out of my group of co-workers, so I get some heat over that. One of them will be buying an X5 soon, so that will take some pressure off In your case, you would like to think that the customers were intelligent enough to figure out the you might have got the car when times were good, and be able to separate business from personal envy, but that's not the way of the world. From a pure business perspective, you are probably making a wise decision! Keep in touch though.

fboukari

On the countryside (Sweden) nobody knows what a Lexus is. So people with money who wanna keep a low profile buy Lexus for that reason.
/Freddo

Goods

Very interesting post. I used to be in sales as well, and it does make an impression as to what vehicle you pull up in.


Not wanting to look too successful (at the expense of the customer). And even driving a non-union made car. (or even a non-american brand even though it may have been made in the US or Canada.).

But now that I'm out of Sales, and in Manufacturing (Engineering) (looking to get back into sales), the comments you get for owning a nice car are unfortunately ... " You must be getting paid too much money."

When actually, like theanimala stated .. there's plenty of good used cars that will still look nicer and newer than a new car.

Anyways, we all have are own priorities and must make are own decisions. I'm sure we all try and do the right things in the long run.

Just my $0.00002 cents.

0110101

I feel you guys.
Sometimes beautiful cars can cause us grief.
For instance, my manager and his clients were walking out to the parking lot. Spotting my white GS400 they asked my manager whos car it is. He told them it's one of our engineers and our clients suggested that I must be getting paid too much. Well, I just had my annual review and don't see a raise coming. Hmmm maybe I do get paid too much.....yeeeaaah right!!

LexFather

Take the badges off, or put the Toyota Aristro on the GS!

I feel you, appearances are decieving. On the other hand, the dude in the GS may SEEM successful, but is living check to check:eek:

Don't leave Murph!!!!

ebruce2

iTrader: (1)

Murph, a very smart move in these times, IMO. I can relate, since I am frequently guilty of hiding my car in the parking garage when I make calls on customers. My boss has tried to persuade me to drive a less-assuming vehicle for years now. He suggested "a Taurus or something" Yuk. Now, if he gives me a company car, that's another story. I brought that up, and he got REAL quiet. Hmmmm.

If it's coming out of my pocket, I'd like to enjoy the fruits of my labor. vehicle-wise.