I’m divorcing my father.
My Dad is the undisputed world champion new car buyer. He’s not brand loyal when in a buying mood, and will buy a car from the dealer who gives him the best deal.
He likes to trade-in his car every 2-3 years, so he gets a good trade-in and so that his cars are almost always under warranty and he looks after them so well that they are in pristine condition when he does. That’s not to say he doesn’t drive them, because he does, long distances, as he lives down the south coast of New South Wales and drives to Sydney every couple of weekends at least.
Anyhow, back to the car purchase.
He sits down and decides how much cash he’s prepared to pay on top of his trade-in and will NOT budge from that figure. He then sets out to do the rounds of the new car dealerships striking fear into salesmen. He’s had Fords, Nissans, Mitsubishis, and is currently driving a Toyota which is fairly new, but he’s not real happy with it and he’s missing the ABS he had with his last car (which did, in fact, save his life on one occasion). My mother’s the one that is nervous now in a car that doesn’t come with it as factory installed, nor can they get it installed after the fact. I suppose she’s nagged him so badly he gave in.
Aaaaanyway… He sets off on his rounds visiting the various dealers just looking and to cut a long story short, at no time has he ever purchased a new car for a dollar more than he’s been prepared to pay, and including EVERY (and I mean EVERY) optional extra included at no charge. This time was no different. The negotiations take over an hour, and the last 2 times, he’s been walking out in disgust, with the franchise owner and salesman running after him to the street to make a deal. I swear, if the salesman hasn’t lost 3 kilos in sweat making a deal with my dad, then he hasn’t done a good enough job. I should pimp him out to people buying new cars for a charge of a couple of hundred bucks a pop, because he will save you thousands!
But this time the unthinkable happened. He went too far in his brand whoring…
HE BOUGHT A HOLDEN!
Oh the humanity!



damaged_one wrote,
OK, for us clueless americans what’s wrong with a Holden? They seemed to be pretty popular when I was down there. Aren’t they a GM company?
Link | May 31st, 2006 at 9:11 am
The Grumpy One wrote,
Well down here in Oz, many people fall into two main brand camps: Ford and Holden (GM). The touring car racing circuit down here involves a fairly major car race each year which is basically Ford versus Holden and many, many people stand on each side of that brand fence.
Now, despite the fact that Holdens are far inferior to Fords, with Holden supporters classified mainly (well, by me, at least
) as of lower than average intelligence, blue singlet and flanellette (plaid) shirt wearing rednecks, my father has chosen to associate our fine family lineage with such a product!
I’ll never live it down.
Link | May 31st, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Dez wrote,
I bought a 2006 Honda Civic VTI - it’s been 8 weeks and i’m still waiting for the mofo.
They’re sold out everywhere now… Anyway, that my new car experience. :)
Link | May 31st, 2006 at 8:41 pm
damaged_one wrote,
OK, now I understand. We have a lot of people that are brand loyal here to. Personally I like Ford trucks. I currently have a Ford Super Duty Powerstroke which I love and I have an old 77 Ford which is a great workhorse. But for cars, I’m not too much of a Ford fan except for the Mustang. My wife drives a Cadillac STS which she really loves and my daughter drives a Toyota Camry. But I know people that will only own vehicles from one manufacturer.
Link | June 1st, 2006 at 12:50 am
Tone wrote,
The Holden looks like the Chevy Aveo (which, I believe is actually made by Daewoo)
My next car is gonna be spiffy. It’s the Cadillac CTS (yes… it’s the entry level version… but I’m not made of money!).
Link | June 1st, 2006 at 9:24 am
Zipper wrote,
Like damaged_one, I also have a Ford Super Duty Powerstroke truck.(My support of the war
) The last 4 out of 5 vehicles I have owned were 3 Ford trucks, 1 Ford van and a VW Jetta. I too don’t like Ford’s cars much.
It is kind of funny here at home because the Girl-friend has always owned GM cars. I hate GM products!!!
Link | June 1st, 2006 at 11:23 am
Tone wrote,
I’ve owned a lot of different vehicles over the years (of the 4 wheel variety):
Oldsmobile Delta 88
AMC Spirit
MG Midget Convertable (I had to put the top down to get in)
VW Bus
Chevy Chevette (aka: “the vette” or “the shitvette”)
VW Dasher
Ford Mustang
VW Fox
Buick Century
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Dodge Caravan
Dodge Durango
Geo Tracker Convertable
Suzuki Aerio
Jeep Liberty LTD
My favorite was my first car (the Olds Delta 88). It had a 455 cubic inch V8. My friend, Delvin, put a twin 4-barrel kit on it (two 4 barrel carbs). OMG….. power galore. Sadly, the rear end wasn’t up to it
Of course, I’d rather ride my motorcycle… but that’s just me :-)
Link | June 2nd, 2006 at 3:54 am