To say that I have some experience in the car business is truly an understatement! I have cleaned, repaired, sold, financed, imported, exported, restored, rebuilt, and wholesaled vehicles for the last 30 years and I am only 43! I just love cars and the business but I don't work in it anymore. Now I just help friends, family and myself! (this includes contributing to forums as much as I can! Some talented people here so I don't know how much more I can be of help!) Anyway...this is the current list in my stable:
2015 Honda Pilot
2013 Toyota Prius 4
2010 Lexus LS460 AWD
2013 Ram 2500 reg cab long bed with cummins and 6spd manual
2004 Mercedes C240 4matic wagon
Just sold my 2013 Toyota Tundra double cab and my 1993 rust free Toyota Land Cruiser with only 82k original miles
And now.....an awesome 2003 Liberty Renegade!
My history with the Liberty is just a spot on the map but it was a big one for me. I used to be the business manager for a big dealership group and over saw the finance departments. Part of my pay package was always having a demo to drive and free gas. Problem is that I lived 60 miles away from the dealership that my office was located in and to top it off...it was in NE Ohio. If you are not aware of the weather there....it is PUTRID! Hot, sticky and just plain nasty in the summer if you actually are lucky to see the sun and there is a break in the typical overcast or brutally cold snowy and icy winters. I had to drive right through the snow belt which is the product of the lake effect and can tell you on a good snow day, the roads looked like a war zone with accidents and vehicles littered all over the highways!
Now because of my long commute it was agreed upon that I always take a used vehicle because I just rack up the miles too quickly. I still had to rotate out of the used cars quickly as well but I didn't mind driving something new every 2 to 4 weeks! Needless to say I drove many...many vehicles over the course of a few years! Now the dealership that I worked out of happened to be a Chrysler / Jeep dealership and I mostly drove vehicles that were 1 to 3 years old and nothing over 24k miles. The first year that I worked there I decided to grab a 2002 Liberty sport. I couldn't get over how quirky it was compared to the norm but I quickly enjoyed driving it and even when the weather got better....I passed on some spectacular vehicles to stay in a Liberty! What I will tell you though at this point of the story is that I drove around 25 different Liberty's but they were all either from 2002 or 2003 with the exception of 2! The first 2005 that I drove was a limited. I hated it. Couldn't put my finger on it but I didn't like it. Up until this point I had always been behind the wheel of sports and I thought oooh...I am going to like this limited but I didn't. I didn't say anything and drove it for 2 more weeks and was glad to get out of it and into something else. Months later I got into a 2005 Renegade and again I said oooh...this should be fun! I hated it! I came to work the next day and approached the Sales manager at the time and told him about this. I told him that I didn't think something was broken but rather it just felt.....well wrong! Sure there were very subtle changes but overall the comfort and drivability was just off. That is when he taught me about all the changes and I had my ah ha moment. Now I still think the newer rigs are great because for what it is...the Liberty is an amazing vehicle but I was stuck on 02's and 03's and that was it! Well I am happy to say that I finally have my own for the first time since waaaay back when and got a 2003 Renegade that appears to be very well maintained and it came with some awesome goodies on it already and what excites me most is the 5spd! Really helps get the most out of these motors. My plan now is actually to sell many of the other vehicles and keep the Liberty, Pilot, and LS460. The Pilot is a lease for the wife and in another year we will just lease something for her and my son again but my vehicles will stay put for a long time. The only other vehicle that I am keeping my eyes open for would be a 2002-2003 excursion with the 7.3 diesel. With some light modifications you can completely update the entire exterior and interior to a 2015! All that work along with a brand new and rebuilt drivetrain and you have one hell of a truck that will last for another 20 years!
So to sum up my story.....I am very excited to be here with you guys!!!
2015 Honda Pilot
2013 Toyota Prius 4
2010 Lexus LS460 AWD
2013 Ram 2500 reg cab long bed with cummins and 6spd manual
2004 Mercedes C240 4matic wagon
Just sold my 2013 Toyota Tundra double cab and my 1993 rust free Toyota Land Cruiser with only 82k original miles
And now.....an awesome 2003 Liberty Renegade!
My history with the Liberty is just a spot on the map but it was a big one for me. I used to be the business manager for a big dealership group and over saw the finance departments. Part of my pay package was always having a demo to drive and free gas. Problem is that I lived 60 miles away from the dealership that my office was located in and to top it off...it was in NE Ohio. If you are not aware of the weather there....it is PUTRID! Hot, sticky and just plain nasty in the summer if you actually are lucky to see the sun and there is a break in the typical overcast or brutally cold snowy and icy winters. I had to drive right through the snow belt which is the product of the lake effect and can tell you on a good snow day, the roads looked like a war zone with accidents and vehicles littered all over the highways!
Now because of my long commute it was agreed upon that I always take a used vehicle because I just rack up the miles too quickly. I still had to rotate out of the used cars quickly as well but I didn't mind driving something new every 2 to 4 weeks! Needless to say I drove many...many vehicles over the course of a few years! Now the dealership that I worked out of happened to be a Chrysler / Jeep dealership and I mostly drove vehicles that were 1 to 3 years old and nothing over 24k miles. The first year that I worked there I decided to grab a 2002 Liberty sport. I couldn't get over how quirky it was compared to the norm but I quickly enjoyed driving it and even when the weather got better....I passed on some spectacular vehicles to stay in a Liberty! What I will tell you though at this point of the story is that I drove around 25 different Liberty's but they were all either from 2002 or 2003 with the exception of 2! The first 2005 that I drove was a limited. I hated it. Couldn't put my finger on it but I didn't like it. Up until this point I had always been behind the wheel of sports and I thought oooh...I am going to like this limited but I didn't. I didn't say anything and drove it for 2 more weeks and was glad to get out of it and into something else. Months later I got into a 2005 Renegade and again I said oooh...this should be fun! I hated it! I came to work the next day and approached the Sales manager at the time and told him about this. I told him that I didn't think something was broken but rather it just felt.....well wrong! Sure there were very subtle changes but overall the comfort and drivability was just off. That is when he taught me about all the changes and I had my ah ha moment. Now I still think the newer rigs are great because for what it is...the Liberty is an amazing vehicle but I was stuck on 02's and 03's and that was it! Well I am happy to say that I finally have my own for the first time since waaaay back when and got a 2003 Renegade that appears to be very well maintained and it came with some awesome goodies on it already and what excites me most is the 5spd! Really helps get the most out of these motors. My plan now is actually to sell many of the other vehicles and keep the Liberty, Pilot, and LS460. The Pilot is a lease for the wife and in another year we will just lease something for her and my son again but my vehicles will stay put for a long time. The only other vehicle that I am keeping my eyes open for would be a 2002-2003 excursion with the 7.3 diesel. With some light modifications you can completely update the entire exterior and interior to a 2015! All that work along with a brand new and rebuilt drivetrain and you have one hell of a truck that will last for another 20 years!
So to sum up my story.....I am very excited to be here with you guys!!!
