Topic: Re: Etching and Nitrogen Fees

[ironwood]

Had my snows installed at my dealership yesterday with a nitrogen fill, as I had paid for the etching and nitrogen package with the new car purchase a year ago.  How can I tell that in fact my snows were indeed nitrogen filled? 

[blur911]

How can I tell that in fact my snows were indeed nitrogen filled? 

Exactly. 

[Railton]

Green valve caps.
Railton

[Wheelboy]

How can I tell that in fact my snows were indeed nitrogen filled? 

Inhale it and see if it gives you a Donald Duck voice.   

[tpl]

How can I tell that in fact my snows were indeed nitrogen filled? 

Inhale it and see if it gives you a Donald Duck voice.   

That's Helium not Nitrogen.

[Wheelboy]

That's Helium not Nitrogen.

Ok it's back to Physics class for me!   

[ironwood]

Green valve caps.
Railton

Yes of course...the green valve caps were switched from my summer tires to the winter treads.  But seriously, how can tell that indeed my winter tires were nitrogen filled so I know I got what I paid for?

[safristi]

.....suck it and see...............a lung full o nitro......should make ya dizzy   errr........

[Wheelboy]

seriously, how can tell that indeed my winter tires were nitrogen filled so I know I got what I paid for?

Ya can't.  So some of the unscrupulous ones just stick four lime green valve caps on and charge you pots of money.  It wouldn't take them long to figure that one out.  At my local VW stealership ALL the cars on the lot had the fancy valve caps.  Riiiigggghhhttt.

[No H2O]

here is a link from OMVIC regarding etching and any other unsolicited goods.

Now all we need from them is something explaining why we need a $30 per hour clerk to process a car sale for 10 whole hours or more...aka Admin Fees. 

[No H2O]

Is the Globali sticker in any way supposed to prevent theft?

Exactly!

And how do these stickers prevent a car from being parted out at a used parts outlet?

Its amazing how they work on the fears of people. I guess that is why insurance companies do so well.

[Wheelboy]

And how do these stickers prevent a car from being parted out at a used parts outlet?

Yeah but I'll bet the punk kid joyriders are scared shitless when they see them.   

[No H2O]

And how do these stickers prevent a car from being parted out at a used parts outlet?

Yeah but I'll bet the punk kid joyriders are scared shitless when they see them.   

Remember the TV reports (maybe on 60 Minutes) where they set up bait cars and had cameras within them that they watched.

When the guy got in, all doors locked and the LEOs would show up. It was fun to see the guy loose it, kicking the inside of the door, etc. Of course all that could have been avoided by having cyanide gas pumped into the car after the doors locked. Mercy? I'm fresh out!

[dealer ratings]

i noticed globali isnt sold in the business office but is assumed to be included when you purchase the vehicle.  dont you have to sign a waiver when you refuse this  "admin fee"?  If its an option that i can choose to have or not have, why is it called an admin fee?  why doesnt globali publish their list price so the dealers have to keep their prices reasonably inline?

reeks of scam to me!

[TyWebb]

It's been many years since my last "new" car purchase and I had never even heard of this etching/nitrogen fee until yesterday.  I just want to share my brief experience on the subject.

My wife and I are ready to purchase a new Hyundai and happened to come across the colour we want at an out of town dealer yesterday afternoon.  We made an offer to buy the vehicle.  The salesperson came back with a reasonable counter-offer but also informed us of an additional $500 charge, not shown on their website, for nitrogen filled tires and vehicle etching.  We just looked at each other... nitrowhat?   She went on to explain the benefits of both features and stated that "all vehicles arrive at the dealership already etched and nitrogen filled".  Also adding "I have no idea why they don't show this charge on the website".  Confused by this additional charge we decided not to negotiate any further and leave our purchase for another day.  As we were saying our "we'll think about it's", the salesperson did offer to see what she could do about the $500.  We left before that happened.

I started searching this site for information on nitrogen/etching as soon as we got home.

I'm pretty certain that we will still buy this car somewhere but more than likely from another dealer.  Our next offer will start $500 lower than yesterday's in anticipation of this happening again.

Thanks to the regular posters on this site.  Awesome information here.
 

[Wheelboy]

It's been many years since my last "new" car purchase and I had never even heard of this etching/nitrogen fee until yesterday.  I just want to share my brief experience on the subject.

My wife and I are ready to purchase a new Hyundai and happened to come across the colour we want at an out of town dealer yesterday afternoon.  We made an offer to buy the vehicle.  The salesperson came back with a reasonable counter-offer but also informed us of an additional $500 charge, not shown on their website, for nitrogen filled tires and vehicle etching.  We just looked at each other... nitrowhat? 
Thanks to the regular posters on this site.  Awesome information here.
 

Just imagine the poor devils who DON'T read this site and the first time they ever hear about those two scams are when they are *this* close to signing.  I make a point of looking for those little green, round window decals that show just how many people get sucked in.  Those things are on the vast majority of cars out on the streets.

NO salesperson ever says "We like to sell this but it's against OMVIC'S rules for me to say that it's compulsory.  You have complete freedom of choice."  My Acura dealer was the closest to saying this.  He mentioned its existence but when I announced that I was quite aware of its existence and the rules that governed its sales he backed right off.  He got my business.  Others in the preceding months didn't.

[tpl]

The nitrogen thing is particularly funny.   As every tire already has 80% nitrogen in it anyway it should be good fun to negotiate that  price down to 1/5 of that which they are asking...with a straight face if you can do it.    Or insist that they let all the gas out of the tires and refill them from a regular compressor.

[Wheelboy]

insist that they let all the gas out of the tires and refill them from a regular compressor.

They might play you at your own game and try to charge you for the bit that they can't remove without creating a vacuum.   

I had to laugh when I visited my local VW dealer - Leavens in London Ont - ALL the cars on their lot had lime green valve caps indicating that all their cars (new, used) had nitrogen already installed.  I guess they know what's good for their customers. 

[Gardiner Westbound]

I'm pretty certain that we will still buy this car somewhere but more than likely from another dealer.  Our next offer will start $500 lower than yesterday's in anticipation of this happening again.

It's the salesman's job to make the offers. Don't respond to, “How much do you want to spend?” Negotiate up from true dealer cost, not down from MSRP. Let him do the talking. Control, but don't dominate the negotiation. Never suggest a number. Ask him for his best price.

[Triple Bob]

TyWebb, just refuse to pay it, don't negotiate it in. Mine came etched etc, I just said I didn't want it and wouldn't pay, they were fine with that. Be strong.