Buying a car in 1986

[eljefino]

B-roll from a Florida TV station about the car shopping experience in 1986.

Notes:

-- The salesman comes across as at least partially knowledgeable and professional.

-- The shopper does not. He's a hairdresser driving a 1979 Volare station wagon he's looking to trade in. Doesn't know if he wants a two-door or four, if he wants six cylinders or eight.

-- 70-something thousand miles is considered "a lot."

-- There's a nice corral of malaise era American sedans, and a bunch of G-body coupes. They were everywhere!

 

[loneryder]

I remember back then when the AC was on it was a slow dog. Those engines were so leaned out they had little power.

 

[BornSlippy]

That sales guy looks like he could sell you a car and arrange a hit for you.

 

[walterjay]

Lots of memories there. I had a Mercury Monarch that he mentioned, a Chevy Impala similar to the one he was considering and a brown Caddy like the one seen.

 

[loneryder]

The buyers first impression couldn't have been good. Car wouldn't start and the salesman indicated it was on the lot a long time. The guy seemed interested so I would have gotten the jumper out there right away. I bought one of those Mercury Monarchs from Hertz in NJ for my in laws. They ran the wheels off the car and never had any trouble. I had a couple of those Cutlasses for company cars and they never gave me any trouble. 3K OCI's back then.

 

[97prizm]

B-roll from a Florida TV station about the car shopping experience in 1986.

Notes:

-- The salesman comes across as at least partially knowledgeable and professional.

-- The shopper does not. He's a hairdresser driving a 1979 Volare station wagon he's looking to trade in. Doesn't know if he wants a two-door or four, if he wants six cylinders or eight.

-- 70-something thousand miles is considered "a lot."

-- There's a nice corral of malaise era American sedans, and a bunch of G-body coupes. They were everywhere!

The metallurgy has come along way. I dealt with a local Nissan dealership years ago and one of the drivers was this old but funny guy named Walt. He remembers his dad pulling the motor out of his 1941 Hudson and setting it on his workbench. Apparently the engine was completely worn out at 40k miles needing a rebuild. We have vehicles today with longer warranties than vehicles lased.

 

[macarose]

I remember this video. As a dealer for way too many years, I can tell you that selling a car is the absolute last 1% piece of the puzzle.

It's like a circus or a wrestling show. 99% of your work happens well before the customer even comes to your door.

 

[researcher]

B-roll from a Florida TV station about the car shopping experience in 1986.

Notes:

-- The salesman comes across as at least partially knowledgeable and professional.

-- The shopper does not. He's a hairdresser driving a 1979 Volare station wagon he's looking to trade in. Doesn't know if he wants a two-door or four, if he wants six cylinders or eight.

-- 70-something thousand miles is considered "a lot."

-- There's a nice corral of malaise era American sedans, and a bunch of G-body coupes. They were everywhere!

what's the youtube link to that video? It's coming up as "cannot find IP address" on my browser..

 

[researcher]

what's the youtube link to that video? It's coming up as "cannot find IP address" on my browser..

EDIT: nevermind my dns server was down.. all fixed now..

 

[dfarr67]

The metallurgy has come along way. I dealt with a local Nissan dealership years ago and one of the drivers was this old but funny guy named Walt. He remembers his dad pulling the motor out of his 1941 Hudson and setting it on his workbench. Apparently the engine was completely worn out at 40k miles needing a rebuild. We have vehicles today with longer warranties than vehicles lased.

When EFI came to be the norm- engines lasted much longer.

 

[zzyzzx]

I remember back then when the AC was on it was a slow dog. Those engines were so leaned out they had little power.

Over at the Ford Escort forums, the A/C button is sometimes referred to as the "drop anchor" button.

 

[LowMilesLesabre]

I may be mistaken, but is that an AMC Concorde parked next to the Mercury Monarch? Those were about the only “fancy” compact cars you could buy in that era

 

[MCompact]

In 1986 I was driving my 1973 Bavaria, but I lusted after a 535i. I wasn't able to scratch that itch until 1990.

 

[DweezilAZ]

I may be mistaken, but is that an AMC Concorde parked next to the Mercury Monarch? Those were about the only “fancy” compact cars you could buy in that era

Well, no: Granada/Monarch were sold as luxury compacts, LeBaron/Diplomat, Chevy Nova Concours, Valiant Brougham/Dart SE, Camaro Berlinetta, Mustang II Ghia. Maverick with the LDO option started it all off in 1973, well before AMC got a clue with the Concord.

Vinyl tops, crushed velour, shag carpeting, full wheel covers with color keyed accents, pin striping, bright trim, all part of the package.

Ironic, since AMC introduced the Hornet in 1970 as "The Little Rich Car" and along the way had designer editions. They had it in their hands and fumbled the ball until 1978 after everyone else was selling luxury compacts