| Author |
Message |
Benoitt Todd
Guest
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 Posted:
Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:40 pm Post subject:
Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase Toyota |
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I own a Toyota used car dealership in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I'm
interested in purchasing vehicles from the states and transporting them to
Puerto Rico. Since I'll be transporting them from Jacksonville, FL (the
closest transport hub), where's the best place to purchase a Toyota vehicle
(in terms of price and condition) and how can I move it from that dealer to
Jacksonville? I was somewhat 'interested' in purchasing the vehicles from an
online site such as Ebay, cars.com, or autotrader (and skip the car search),
but I've heard some awful rumors about the quality of the cars that are sold
there. Also, I'm not limited to Toyota; I sell all kinds of cars. Any
suggestions would really be appreciated.
Todd
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Bruce L. Bergman
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:41 am Post subject:
Re: Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase To |
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On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 14:40:18 -0400, "Benoitt Todd"
<benoittodd@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | I own a Toyota used car dealership in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I'm
interested in purchasing vehicles from the states and transporting them to
Puerto Rico. Since I'll be transporting them from Jacksonville, FL (the
closest transport hub), where's the best place to purchase a Toyota vehicle
(in terms of price and condition) and how can I move it from that dealer to
Jacksonville? I was somewhat 'interested' in purchasing the vehicles from an
online site such as Ebay, cars.com, or autotrader (and skip the car search),
but I've heard some awful rumors about the quality of the cars that are sold
there. Also, I'm not limited to Toyota; I sell all kinds of cars. Any
suggestions would really be appreciated.
|
I don't do this myself, but if I was in your position I'd cultivate
a connection with several local auto dealers in the Florida area.
They sometimes get in more trade-in cars then they can move, and you
might have a better market for those cars. And they might spot good
cars at auction that they don't need but you can use...
But unless you (or a local agent you pay) have a chance to inspect
the used cars before purchase and shipping, I wouldn't buy ANY used
car sight unseen. It's just too easy to get screwed on a deal, there
are too many crooks who will fix wrecks badly to hide the damage or
roll 100,000 miles off the odometer, or buy a flood damaged car and
vacuum out the mud, and foist them off at top dollar.
You might do better in having an agent of your dealership buy
totaled cars from the US insurance auctions and ship them over as
parts cars. Over here, if they get in a wreck the insurers are will
total them out at a much lower level of damage, just because the parts
& labor bill quickly approaches or exceeds the scrap value of the car.
If your labor and parts costs are lower you can have them /properly/
fixed with local Puerto Rico skilled labor, offer a basic 12
Mo./12,000 Mile (or longer) limited warranty on the repaired car, and
everybody comes out ahead. Heck, your resale customer can even order
the options (within reason) and the paint color (since it has to be
painted anyway).
The only real bugaboo is proving to your customers that the cars
were fixed properly - put the body on a frame puller and trammed
square and straight, used proper welds and repair techniques, replaced
wrinkled hidden structural panels like door sills, proper
rustproofing, full 4-wheel alignments, etc.
That's why I would be leery of a shade-tree repair job on a
previously wrecked car - the car can crumple on the old wreck creases
or unzip at the bad welds in the next wreck, leaving the driver and
passengers unprotected.
And seatbelts that were wreck-stressed once and not replaced will
break the next time they are stressed. (They're easy to spot as the
nylon gets stiff and brittle because it partially melts absorbing the
strain, and the seams at the ends start to rip out.)
--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net. |
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HachiRoku
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:56 am Post subject:
Re: Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase To |
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On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 03:43:33 +0000, Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
| Quote: | On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 14:40:18 -0400, "Benoitt Todd"
benoittodd@yahoo.com> wrote:
I own a Toyota used car dealership in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I'm
interested in purchasing vehicles from the states and transporting them to
Puerto Rico. Since I'll be transporting them from Jacksonville, FL (the
closest transport hub), where's the best place to purchase a Toyota vehicle
(in terms of price and condition) and how can I move it from that dealer to
Jacksonville? I was somewhat 'interested' in purchasing the vehicles from an
online site such as Ebay, cars.com, or autotrader (and skip the car search),
but I've heard some awful rumors about the quality of the cars that are sold
there. Also, I'm not limited to Toyota; I sell all kinds of cars. Any
suggestions would really be appreciated.
I don't do this myself, but if I was in your position I'd cultivate
a connection with several local auto dealers in the Florida area.
They sometimes get in more trade-in cars then they can move, and you
might have a better market for those cars. And they might spot good
cars at auction that they don't need but you can use...
But unless you (or a local agent you pay) have a chance to inspect
the used cars before purchase and shipping, I wouldn't buy ANY used
car sight unseen. It's just too easy to get screwed on a deal, there
are too many crooks who will fix wrecks badly to hide the damage or
roll 100,000 miles off the odometer, or buy a flood damaged car and
vacuum out the mud, and foist them off at top dollar.
You might do better in having an agent of your dealership buy
totaled cars from the US insurance auctions and ship them over as
parts cars. Over here, if they get in a wreck the insurers are will
total them out at a much lower level of damage, just because the parts
& labor bill quickly approaches or exceeds the scrap value of the car.
If your labor and parts costs are lower you can have them /properly/
fixed with local Puerto Rico skilled labor, offer a basic 12
Mo./12,000 Mile (or longer) limited warranty on the repaired car, and
everybody comes out ahead. Heck, your resale customer can even order
the options (within reason) and the paint color (since it has to be
painted anyway).
The only real bugaboo is proving to your customers that the cars
were fixed properly - put the body on a frame puller and trammed
square and straight, used proper welds and repair techniques, replaced
wrinkled hidden structural panels like door sills, proper
rustproofing, full 4-wheel alignments, etc.
That's why I would be leery of a shade-tree repair job on a
previously wrecked car - the car can crumple on the old wreck creases
or unzip at the bad welds in the next wreck, leaving the driver and
passengers unprotected.
And seatbelts that were wreck-stressed once and not replaced will
break the next time they are stressed. (They're easy to spot as the
nylon gets stiff and brittle because it partially melts absorbing the
strain, and the seams at the ends start to rip out.)
--<< Bruce >>--
|
I was questioning this post, Bruce. I have seen these before. You 'sell'
the car, and then getting a call asking you to wire $4500 to pay for
shipping the car. Of course, you'll receive YOUR money when the car is
loaded onto the ship...
Most of these people have come from Southa Africa and the 'islands', also
a large amount of Russians, mostly in the New York area.
I sell used cars from a small lot; I'm just a 'salesman', but if I wanted
to, I could gather about 200 cars by the end of the day after tomorrow. If
Todd wants to pay *ME* I'll send him more cars than he knows what to do
with...
I'm betting it won't happen...
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Bruce L. Bergman
Guest
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| Posted:
Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:45 pm Post subject:
Re: Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase To |
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On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 05:56:03 GMT, HachiRoku <Trueno@ae86.GTS> wrote:
| Quote: | I was questioning this post, Bruce. I have seen these before. You 'sell'
the car, and then getting a call asking you to wire $4500 to pay for
shipping the car. Of course, you'll receive YOUR money when the car is
loaded onto the ship...
Most of these people have come from South Africa and the 'islands', also
a large amount of Russians, mostly in the New York area.
I sell used cars from a small lot; I'm just a 'salesman', but if I wanted
to, I could gather about 200 cars by the end of the day after tomorrow. If
Todd wants to pay *ME* I'll send him more cars than he knows what to do
with...
I'm betting it won't happen...
|
Yeah, and I'll bet you've seen a lot of lemons go by in the auctions
that you've passed on, too. If it's a legit post by an honest
businessman, you are the kind of person he should get involved with, a
local buying agent who can steer the good cars you don't need his way,
for a set hourly or per-car payment. He'll be paying all the bills
directly from an escrow account of some sort.
And if it's a scam, it will show itself fast enough. "Wait - you
want me to go buy the car from the auctioneer and pay to ship the car
out of the country without being paid /for/ the car yet? Sorry,
deal's off. Go away."
Remember, it's very difficult to scam an honest person. The scammer
is hoping you (the potential scammee) have just a little bit of
larceny in your own heart to go after the 'big score', then they can
clean you out. "Help me get $12 Billion of ill-gotten gains out of
this African country, and you'll get $2 Million for your trouble.
Just send me all your bank account information..."
--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net. |
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Benoitt Todd
Guest
|
| Posted:
Tue Dec 07, 2004 9:49 pm Post subject:
Re: Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase To |
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|
You're right about that. The idea of purchasing a used car without seeing it
is just a bad idea.
My initial thought was to purchase these cars in genuinely good condition
(something I'd purchase for myself) and sell them here 'as is'. Sales are
pretty slow here so I dont't have the personnel (there's a higher market for
new, high-priced vehicles) that will allow me to offer some type of warranty
on the vehicle. So the cars I purchase would be certified so that the buyer
knows that he's getting a good deal.
Tt'd be great to find someone in FL that will help me find good-quality used
cars; flying over there everytime can be a financial burden. And, of course,
I'll pay all the bills before taking the car off the lot.
Todd
"Bruce L. Bergman" <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:ab7ar0ton7q3aliaqhfmj4o3ktu7c0jdiq@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 14:40:18 -0400, "Benoitt Todd"
benoittodd@yahoo.com> wrote:
I own a Toyota used car dealership in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I'm
interested in purchasing vehicles from the states and transporting them to
Puerto Rico. Since I'll be transporting them from Jacksonville, FL (the
closest transport hub), where's the best place to purchase a Toyota
vehicle
(in terms of price and condition) and how can I move it from that dealer
to
Jacksonville? I was somewhat 'interested' in purchasing the vehicles from
an
online site such as Ebay, cars.com, or autotrader (and skip the car
search),
but I've heard some awful rumors about the quality of the cars that are
sold
there. Also, I'm not limited to Toyota; I sell all kinds of cars. Any
suggestions would really be appreciated.
I don't do this myself, but if I was in your position I'd cultivate
a connection with several local auto dealers in the Florida area.
They sometimes get in more trade-in cars then they can move, and you
might have a better market for those cars. And they might spot good
cars at auction that they don't need but you can use...
But unless you (or a local agent you pay) have a chance to inspect
the used cars before purchase and shipping, I wouldn't buy ANY used
car sight unseen. It's just too easy to get screwed on a deal, there
are too many crooks who will fix wrecks badly to hide the damage or
roll 100,000 miles off the odometer, or buy a flood damaged car and
vacuum out the mud, and foist them off at top dollar.
You might do better in having an agent of your dealership buy
totaled cars from the US insurance auctions and ship them over as
parts cars. Over here, if they get in a wreck the insurers are will
total them out at a much lower level of damage, just because the parts
& labor bill quickly approaches or exceeds the scrap value of the car.
If your labor and parts costs are lower you can have them /properly/
fixed with local Puerto Rico skilled labor, offer a basic 12
Mo./12,000 Mile (or longer) limited warranty on the repaired car, and
everybody comes out ahead. Heck, your resale customer can even order
the options (within reason) and the paint color (since it has to be
painted anyway).
The only real bugaboo is proving to your customers that the cars
were fixed properly - put the body on a frame puller and trammed
square and straight, used proper welds and repair techniques, replaced
wrinkled hidden structural panels like door sills, proper
rustproofing, full 4-wheel alignments, etc.
That's why I would be leery of a shade-tree repair job on a
previously wrecked car - the car can crumple on the old wreck creases
or unzip at the bad welds in the next wreck, leaving the driver and
passengers unprotected.
And seatbelts that were wreck-stressed once and not replaced will
break the next time they are stressed. (They're easy to spot as the
nylon gets stiff and brittle because it partially melts absorbing the
strain, and the seams at the ends start to rip out.)
--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net. |
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Gord Beaman
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:52 am Post subject:
Re: Question from dealer: most reliable place to purchase To |
|
|
"Benoitt Todd" <benoittodd@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Quote: | You're right about that. The idea of purchasing a used car without seeing it
is just a bad idea.
My initial thought was to purchase these cars in genuinely good condition
(something I'd purchase for myself) and sell them here 'as is'. Sales are
pretty slow here so I dont't have the personnel (there's a higher market for
new, high-priced vehicles) that will allow me to offer some type of warranty
on the vehicle. So the cars I purchase would be certified so that the buyer
knows that he's getting a good deal.
Tt'd be great to find someone in FL that will help me find good-quality used
cars; flying over there everytime can be a financial burden. And, of course,
I'll pay all the bills before taking the car off the lot.
Todd
Appears like a money making deal for some interested young |
enterprising buck who is very knowledgeable about used cars down
there.
I'm neither young, enterprising, interested, knowledgeable about
cars nor down there so I guess I'm out. :(
--
-Gord.
(use gordon in email) |
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