Well ppl, it's been fun...well, maybe not that fun or else I won';t be leaving...

basically it boils down to Service...Customer Service...of which I'd have to rate mitsu dealers at the bottom...

I've enjoyed the forum, found it extremely informative, and over the months it got me that much more excited abotuthe car i truely wanted...but b/c of the experiences I had in dealing with mitsu, I won't be getting a Ralliart(NOTE: pay attention to spelling any saleppl out there) b/c of the way I was treated at 2 separate mitsu's in town.

For those that don't know and wonder what I'm refering too:

first dealer: - walked in for a thun. grey RA, w/ sun& sound, in 5 speed...dealer tried to sell me a white auto for over $40,000...7 yr financing for $530/month...no friggin way in Hell...not to mention pushy as hell, and they basicly held the keys for my Saturn hostage while doing the deal...

second dealer: - had a blakc, w/ sun&sound, w/ alarm & tint, purchase price of vehicle $28,500(tax, etc. inc.) not bad...claimed they were giving us $9500 for trade-in...but then payments were $550/month for what I thought was 72months...which I could've lived with b/c of the negative equity on the trade(expected)...but wait...it was 84months...that's another <$6000...that doesn't add up...reason why..well, turns out they were only giving us $3500 for trade.... which would basically put an extra <$12,000 in their pockets, and out of mine...I don't think so...
this, after we got hassled for 10 minutes by the *** in the finance office taht thought he was god....

all in all, not good experiences...and so why would I want to deal with mitsu again??...

If we had been treated with even just a smidge of respect adn descency, we probably would've dished out that ludacris amount for the car...take for instance Saturn...looking back, we god ripped off on buying this car...but we treated so good during it all that we even went back and looked at the Ion and the Vue...and even though we didn't Love either of them...we were at the point where we almost bought a Vue b/c we enjoyed dealing with the saleguy there so much...


Unfortunately that leaves me sitting where I am...in my little yellow Saturn, thinking, once I'm working for a while, get a lot more of the Saturn paid off, then I'll probably head back to Mazda, where I liked teh car, almost as much as the RA, and got treated reasonably...

because of that, I don't see a point in coming on here anymore...I've enjoyed some of the conversations with people, and and grateful for the advise recieved...and I would hope that no one has to go through an experience like I did when getting your RA...

Happy motoring!

 

Have you considered buying a used car?

 

Damn --- I am so glad to have Huntington Beach Mitsubishi!!!!

 

join the Costco's executive club....i got my pheonix red for $18K 5 year plan no money down... 339 a month.. =D

 

They sell cars too?!?!

 

Well, if you wait a few more months till the 05's come out you'll be able to pick up an 04 for under 20grandCDN.

 

I know what you mean, I went to the dealer here in Winnipeg and with money down they wanted an insane amount of money, and the guys were just chumps. I ended up calling ontario and getting it from there for cheaper even after shipping. I'm actully thinking about emailing Mitsubishi about it.

 

hello did you guys not pay attention to my post? Costco? no money down... 5 year... 339 a month..... nice... EXECUTIVE MEMBER AT COSTCO =)

 

don't give up! There's always another way.....just gotta find it.

 

How much do you owe on the saturn? If its like 6000 then thats why they are giving you 3500 for your car.. they have to pay it off!

 

I don't know if you can blame Mitsu for the dealers. If I were you I'd call Mitsu and bi*ch about those places. Tell them they lost a potential buyer due to that crap.

If I were you I'd be looking at alternate sellers in the area. Hell, even driving out of the way to get a deal is worthwhile.

 

Man check this out. You can create this for yourself from the www.edumunds.com website. I just found the going price for the ralliart with the sun and sound package. This price also includes the destination charges. I don't know what your tax cost is but at least this gives you an idea of what you should be paying. Find out what your car is worth and what the payoff is. Basically do your own figures and go to the dealership with the numbers at hand. Ask them to match the price you created and just tell them that if they feel you're asking for to much to let you know and you will move on. I got out the dealership in about 3 hours because I got into a shouting match with the finance guy cause I wouldn't take his extended warranty. He tried to have the lady in there tell me that the bank required me to take the warranty in order for me to get the loan. I told him he was a liar and tell the bank to fax over the legal doc that says so. Of course he refused. I wanted to ask that b*tch to step out front so I could put a dump'n on his ***. If that would not have happened I would have gotten out alot quicker. Anyway look at this, and go to www.edmunds.com to make your own.

 

Khobin~ I had a similar experience.

For so long I had put off getting a new car. The "Champagne Pony", my 92 Ford Tempo was getting a little long in the tooth. So last October I saw an article about the Lancer Ralliart and I was definitely going to buy one in 2004. Well, later on that month I saw another article about the Mazda3 and made it #2 on my list.

So over the next two months I was researching the two cars and still had the Ralliart as my top pick. Funny thing is during the time period I never actually saw any of the two cars on the road. Then on one fateful Monday morning in January I broke the drivers side mirror on the Champagne Pony and I decided that it was time for a new ride. All my finances were in order.

That Saturday I get up real early to go to the local Mitsubishi and Mazda dealerships. I go to the Mitsubishi dealer first and the manager meets me as soon as he opens. He gives the usual sales banter; what color are you looking for, how much do you want to pay a month, blah, blah, blah. So I tell him I want a Ralliart and say at least 350/month. I just threw the number out there because I already knew what I was willing to pay and how much I could afford. So he tries to steer me to an OZ-Rally, but he couldn't find one on the lot. After that he finds an 04 ES and hands me off to a sales woman for a test drive. She is really trying to sell me this car, but I am not impressed. When we get back to the dealership I insist that I test drive the Ralliart. I do and I love it, but I play it cool. I also tell her that I was thinking about buying the Mazda3. She was still trying to sell me the ES. We go to her office and I ask her for a brochure but they are out of them for the Lancer.

Well I leave and go to the Mazda dealer. He asks the same questions as the other guy and we test drive the 3s sedan. I fell in love with that one too. One difference between the Ralliart and the 3 is the sense of speed. You know you're moving pretty quick in the Ralliart, but it always seems as if you're not going fast enough in the 3. Another difference is the stylying. The 3 has more of an european feel. This guy tried to show me some Proteges too, but he wasn't pushy. I even met the owner of the dealership and he was extremely nice.
As I left the Mazda dealer and took a brochure home I knew that I wanted to buy a car from them. It felt like they wanted to sell me the car that I wanted and was willing to pay for.

The following Monday I go back and get the Mazda for 357.29/month for 48 months. Coincidentally, the Mitsubishi sales woman calls me that evening. I tell her that I just bought the Mazda. Then, she gets snippy with me and says well why didn't you like our car (she was refering to the ES). That didn't sit too well with me and I let her have it. I told her that she didn't want to sell me the car that I was wiling to pay for and that I already had a budget for the Ralliart. I also said that if one dealership is too dumb to take your money, then you go to the other one. I also told her that I was more than willing to pay $18k-$20k for the Ralliart, but you wanted to sell me a $14k car and the Mazda guys didn't mind selling me a car for $18k. Then I asked her if that makes any sense and why they didn't want to take my money. I also told her that if someone is looking to buy a Mazda3 don't try to sell them the ES. She didn't say anything, so I told her that I would never buy a car from them, and I hung up.

Good customer service does make a difference. It is why I'm driving a 3s instead of a Ralliart.

 

Where are you guys finding these looser Mitsu dealers?!

 

Mark Mitsubishi in Glendale Arizona.

That dealership was showing ghostspeed the es modem because he threw out that $350 per month number. It's all about that profit and the ralliart for that monthly rate doesn't mean alot of it. I could only imagine how many cars a dealership could sell if they just ran the business honest and fair. But they are trained to be shadey, now buying a car is one of the worst buying experiences you can ever be involved with. Find the numbers you want and call the fleet department. They typically have a set price and have to stay with it.