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| Member |
Been looking at new cars for a while. Got a pretty good idea of what I'd like, but I keep running into packages when I'm configuring a car online. Why does my choice of suspension affect the exterior or interior color I am allowed. Why does wanting a leather wrapped steering wheel cost me $1300 for stuff I don't want? I just want my car the way I want and in the color I want it. For that matter, why is blue or green another $500-900 compared to black or white or gray. For $40k, if I want it pink with green polka dots, I should be allowed to order it the way I want. A Perpetual Disappointment... | ||
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Spread the Disease |
Packages make them more money than separating all the options. If I want at least half of the options in a package, I'll get it. The small extra bit is minimal over the lifetime of the vehicle. You will regret it if you really wanted those features. ________________________________________ -- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. -- | |||
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| Member |
I feel ya. I bought a new car last weekend. I got so pissed putting something together with option packages that I finally bought a car with virtually nothing on it in the way of options. Not kidding. I have windows that are rolled down manually. Strictly 4 seats, 4 tires and an engine. I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not. | |||
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| Spread the Disease |
I miss that in many ways! I haven't even seen that as an option on most new cars/trucks that aren't the "commercial truck" version. I always wanted to get a new truck with NO CARPET. I want to be able to hose the damn thing out if I needed to. But nooooooo; that only come on the "comercial truck" version that has no electronic anything. ::sigh:: ________________________________________ -- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. -- | |||
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| Member |
I told the dealer when I bought my new car years ago what I wanted and I wasn't paying for all the other crap they wanted to "bundle" with... they were pretty accommodating I ended up getting most of the stuff for free... granted most of the stuff they took off the price tag was dumb shit like "paint protection" which are those little clear strips they put on the door to avoid door dings which they probably pay 30 cents for and want to charge $500, but I felt like a winner when I walked away so that's all that matters... | |||
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| Member |
They have made it that you almost need option packages if you want anything. I purchased the value car in Chevrolets lineup so I knew what I was getting. AM/FM stereo with 2 front speakers only, no CD player. Manual side mirrors. They wanted it off the lot in a bad way since they said no one would look at it and if the did, they walked away when they saw that it had no power windows or mirrors. Unless I'm buying a Corvette, BMW, Mercedes or something like that, it's a Bic lighter to me. I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
I am old. Really, really old. I remember the days when there was a list of each option, listed and priced separately. There were a few options that had pre-requisites of other options, but this was strictly for functional necessity. הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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| Member |
I remember those days. I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not. | |||
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Member |
Sounds like the OP is looking at BMWs. Where M-Sport restricts you away from a few exterior colors & interior trims. I think about the only, nearly, a la carte brand, is Mini. The Enemy's gate is down. | |||
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| Yew got a spider on yo head  |
It's infuriating. | |||
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Member |
I wouldn't advocate for this in any other situation, but if you actually talk to the dealer they may be able to special order some stuff from the factory for you that will get you out of the packages. ________________________ | |||
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| Member |
They do it because of the assembly line process. It's much easier for the manufacturer to have 3-4 option packages and today they build cars with option package 301A, tomorrow 301A and 302A. Much less chance of the build getting screwed up and an option getting forgotten. Also, parts ordering on their end from vendors is easier too. | |||
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| Rail-less and Tail-less |
I think Mini is the only company that truly lets you choose almost every detail. _______________________________________________ Use thumb-size bullets to create fist-size holes. | |||
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| אַרְיֵה |
Really? The assembly line process? A "forgotten option?" Back in the late 1970s I spent a year and a half at an automobile factory in Barcelona. I was the team lead on a "Transfer Of Technology" project, applying technology used in American auto factories at that time, forty years ago. The project involved adding computer stations all along the final assembly line, to do an ID on each auto body as it passed that station, and display the options to be installed at that station. Each car was built to a specific order, right down to whether it had a hard rubber shift knob or a wooden one. This was, forty years ago, standard technology in the U.S.A. -- we introduced it to the SEAT factory in Spain. I know for a fact that Mercedes was doing it at the time, since I ordered a new Mercedes for myself, for factory pick-up, and I got the tour when I went to Sindelfingen (sp?) bei Stuttgart to take delivery. Forty years ago. It's not a new concept now. The unavailability of specific options is a marketing problem, not a manufacturing problem. הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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| Big Stack |
You beat met to it. The packages cut down the issue of production permutations. It make supply chain issues and production planning eons simpler. And, yes, it makes them more money by forcing customers to buy more options than they would otherwise get. So it's a win-win for them. For the buyer? Not so much.
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| Big Stack |
And note that the Mini models, for their comparable size and performance compared to other brands, tend to be significantly more expensive.
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Striker in waiting |
Agreed, but sadly, $40K is barely into mid-range these days. It's insane, I know. BTDT. Several times. If you want truly custom, you have to go high-end and semi-handbuilt. Once you're spending $100K on a car, you can pretty much have it the way you want, right down to custom paint color, interior materials, trim, and even stitch color. Frustrating as hell. -Rob I predict that there will be many suggestions and statements about the law made here, and some of them will be spectacularly wrong. - jhe888 A=A | |||
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| Member |
Porsche does too, and they charge you DEARLY for every little option. There's like 3 pages of options for a Porsche 911. Leather wrapped shifter $300, leather wrapped a/c knobs $400, etc. etc. It's very common to go look at one and see $20k in options! | |||
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| Member |
UMMMMMM the option could be forgotten by the salesman ordering the car for the customer. When I worked in new car sales, one salesman told me he ordered a car for someone in Michigan once and the guy was a jerk and the guy wanted the window defroster in the rear window and he purposefully didn't check the box on the order sheet. When you have 3 pages of options, it's EASY to overlook one of them. People are human. It's also easier for the factory to run out of the part for an option if they have 3 pages of options to choose from. It's much easier if Ford is selling an Expedition, you pick the trim level (Limited, xlt, etc.), then you have 3 option groups to choose from and that's it. It stream lines their parts ordering process, their build process, and how much they need to stock. Go to Porsche's website and click on build for a 911, the amount of options to click and choose from will make your head spin. | |||
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| אַרְיֵה |
Customer placing a special order should receive a copy of the order. If customer does not double-check that the order is correct, customer shares the blame for the error. הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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