mycitymotorZ, LLC is a web-based company committed to providing both a realistic marketing and advertising service to local and regional dealer/partners, select service partners, as well as (and most importantly) an educational and informational resource for those prospective vehicle shoppers who, frankly, struggle with the thought of searching for a new or newer, pre-owned vehicle. This struggle isn’t due to product search itself, but rather the whole process of: (1) having to spend countless hours investigating every option known to humankind; (2) maintaining an accurate and highly-refined “collision-avoidance” system with virtually every dealership within reasonable phone or email range; and, (3) yes, even having to ensure that the vehicle’s brakes are in great working order to avoid a personal injury impact with that occasional sales consultant (which by the way, IS THEIR JOB...they are simply trying to create a more welcoming atmosphere for YOU...though it may not always feel that way).

Then, complicating matters more, you will spend another morning, afternoon, evening, summer vacation, or other comparable period of personal “leisure” time at the dealership waiting to sign your life away … again! You want a vehicle … not a doctorate degree in quantum physics! Are we right?

Now, please understand that much of this commentary is for humor value, but the sad reality is that there is always just a little perceived truth in what today's shoppers, like YOU, might believe actually occurs when searching for his/her new(er) vehicle. Frankly, these are EXACTLY some of the professional misperceptions that we & our GREAT Partner/Dealers hope to CONQUER with you here at MCM!

We, and our Partner/Dealers, recognize that YOU ARE BUSY! While you may have the desire to look for something a little newer or nicer, or simply just need a quality, more headache-free alternative for another family member, it’s just not worth the hassle … even if you DID have the time. Our mission, along with our great Partner/Dealers, is to provide a quality, time-conscious, and more private avenue through which each can work with and for you (as they truly WANT to do). Our Partner/Dealers will supply you with the most quality-based and cost-competitive series of vehicle solutions in a timeframe that IS and should be the most important to you … YOURS!

The primary services that are provided through our site are designed to educate and assist you in creating a greater understanding and appreciation for the developing intricacies of what dealers expect, and, fundamentally, what you should expect … all in a timeline that works with YOUR SCHEDULE. While it might seem a little convoluted, the entire process of selecting and purchasing/leasing a vehicle is really not that difficult. We want you to properly investigate all of your options as a prospective buyer, and we are committed to providing those participating marketing dealer/partners an avenue to work hard to find that GREAT solution for YOU! Our services are designed to create a more consumer-friendly atmosphere where our Partner/Dealers can do what ONLY they can do effectively... find YOUR vehicle solution. And, now it’s CONVENIENT, CONFIDENTIAL, & COST-FREE!

Absolutely NOT! Our company is a marketing and advertising service for the very dealers from whom YOU are soliciting your offer, if (and only if) that’s YOUR desire. In a strange quirk of fate, these Marketing Partners are providing you with a series of cost-competitive vehicle solutions ... many of which you may have NEVER even considered. In fact, most vehicle BUYERS seldom actually purchase the vehicle they desired (or thought they did) initially. Vehicle size, color, interior/exterior features, among so many other items sometimes (in real life) are not what each originally thought. That's where the professionalism of our Partner/Dealers comes in! We are simply, through our site, conveying YOUR specific desires in your next vehicle to our Partners and letting them do what only they can do best … structure a suitable vehicle solution and prospective offer for you. We solicit additional retail traffic to our site through our own marketing efforts, and then submit any inquiries in a safe, secure, and confidential format to the Partner/Dealers for their consideration and assistance. The rest is really up to them and you! What we offer is simply more information to help create a coordinated "playing field" for YOU and our Partner/Dealers to engage, if YOU BOTH choose to do so.

THAT IS FANTASTIC!!! It is always our sincere hope that you are satisfied with your present automotive dealer. In fact, part of our service to our marketing dealer/partners is to enhance those relationships they have by creating an even more inclusive sense of trust in their willingness to work with a particular client. However, since YOU are paying the bill to your dealer, don’t you think that it might be in your best interest to at least verify the level of their “sincerity” … maybe? Our services provide you with all of the pertinent information necessary to develop that verification. You can ALWAYS accept or decline ANY offer … at ANY price … at ANY time. No obligation! That is OUR process and commitment, along with our Partner/Dealers, to you!

Your financial & credit profile is from a practical standpoint the primary qualifier for virtually any retail automotive transaction. Your profile can determine the functional interest rates and term(s) of financing available to you. In fact, it can even determine what specific model years of a particular vehicle you may be able to consider. Given that circumstance, it is our desire to ensure that you are given EVERY opportunity to consider the EXACT vehicle that you desire and within the conditions and prospective terms that are important to you. This information, which should remain entirely confidential (except to you & the business office), will be used to initially validate the primary purchase levels for which you MIGHT qualify and to maximize certain aspects of the financial services segment of any transaction (should you choose to accept one) that may be the most advantageous to YOU. After all, this IS supposed to be about you and the right vehicle… YOURS ... right?

Absolutely ZERO!!!

In fact, should you accept an offer from one of our Partner/Dealers, you will be asked to complete a brief and candid Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS). Provided that this survey is completed (time restrictions apply), we will actually PAY YOU $5 for your time and patronage. All CSS Promo fees are processed within 7-10 business days, subsequent to the completion of the survey, and are mailed via USPS. Your feedback is critical to our success and that of our Partner/Dealers, and the information provided in the CSS is key in allowing our company and each of our Partner/Dealers to better serve YOU.

Your time has a value, and the CSS Promo fee is a but a small token of our appreciation of it!

The basic timeline for any inquiry is relatively immediate, unless YOU request that a Credit Profile be created as well. In this case, the timeline will include a reasonable period of time for credit processing (if applicable), along with payment, and data request confirmation. This will generally take no more than 24 business hours to complete. From that point, the inquiry will be submitted to every applicable partner for consideration. There is a 72-hour opportunity (OPEN STATUS period) for the dealer/partners to review the inquiry and propose an offer to that inquiry. While you may accept any offer from any partner at any time prior to the expiration of that 72-hour period, you are NOT required to do so. Partners may amend or alter their offer(s) during the OPEN status period. It is, therefore, in your interest to monitor this activity frequently.

At the end of the OPEN STATUS or if you have accepted an offer PRIOR to the expiration period, the inquiry is transferred to PENDING STATUS. Once in this status, partners are NOT permitted to add an offer made to your inquiry; however, they ARE permitted to Edit or Rescind the original offer presented to your request. If not already done, you have 24 hours (NOT business hours) to review and conveniently accept any of the offers presented through your TOOLS tab, available from your ACCOUNT menu bar. You are also able to DECLINE ALL OFFERS, if none of those presented is satisfactory. Failure to complete this task within that 24-hour timeline will automatically transfer the inquiry to CLOSED STATUS, after which you will be UNABLE to accept any offer presented on the inquiry.

If, however, you accept a presented offer (either during the OPEN or 24-hour PENDING status periods), you will have an additional 72 hours (NOT business hours) FROM THAT POINT to review your offer, further negotiate with your dealer if necessary, or even select another available offer. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will this final 72-hour expiration period be extended. Please note, here, that once an offer has been accepted (and the inquiry is transferred to PENDING status), those offers NOT accepted may be rescinded by the appropriate dealer/partner, as a courtesy to their inventory needs. This does not, however, prevent YOU from anonymously contacting any partner submitting an offer to discuss that offer (even if it happens to have been rescinded). You know them … they, however, have no clue who you are.

Once in CLOSED STATUS, you will have 24 hours (NOT business hours) to complete the CSS survey for any applicable refund of your Credit Profile & Search Analysis fee.

At any time during the process, you can conveniently monitor the status of your inquiry and all activity on it by selecting the "Review My Inquiry" link available through the TOOLS tab on your ACCOUNT page. You can also obtain a "hard copy" report of this data by simply signing into your account, making any changes to your profile as desired, and selecting any of several linkable data display/reports from the REPORTS menu. You will have complete access to each outstanding inquiry and subsequent offer available to that inquiry.

No Harm … No Foul! You’ve held up your end of the bargain … and, frankly, so have we & our partners. That doesn’t mean, however, that the “right” solution to your needs was currently available from one of our partners. If you are NOT satisfied with any part of the service(s) provided through mycitymotorZ.com, simply select DECLINE ALL OFFERS on any active inquiry, or allow the inquiry to automatically transfer to CLOSED STATUS and submit the online CSS survey. Your Credit Profile & Analysis fee will be refunded, and you are free to submit another inquiry from the top at your discretion … or not. Either way, we remain grateful for your consideration of the services we & our partners provide.

OK ... admittedly, this one can get UGLY ... FAST!

While we would LOVE to be able to tell you that trade appraisals are an exact science, we can’t. In fact, by definition, appraisals are little more than “opinions of value”. Yeah, yeah, sounds great guys, but, what does that mean to me … right? What it means to you is that every prospective dealership, based on specific geographical region, customer base, and general traffic flow (just to name a few), has a different “opinion” of what your vehicle is worth … AT THE WHOLESALE LEVEL. Please understand, all trade appraisals are based on what ANY particular dealer believes an identical vehicle can be purchased from another source in their area. That’s right … your 2008 Cadillac SRX, with 16,000, Sunday-driven & pampered miles, that has been “diaper-wiped” since it left the showroom floor is nothing more than a wholesale COMMODITY! And, unfortunately, unless you are prepared to retail the vehicle yourself, including verbally wrestling with everyone traveling on your local roadway who believes that “YOUR BABY ON WHEELS” is their next financial conquest, you should expect to receive no more than AVERAGE WHOLESALE VALUE on your trade … NOT CLEAN, ULTRA-CLEAN, or even RADIOLOGICALLY-PURIFIED CLEAN .... Nope .... AVERAGE WHOLESALE.

Here’s why: appraisals in general, regardless of source, are primarily based on the supply, consumer demand, character, and condition, relative to what a common “replacement” or “comparable” to it might be. Your Cadillac (that’s currently still being wiped down with the diaper) is "like new" to you … right? Showroom new! Well, so is everyone else’s, with certain exceptions. By the time most vehicles make it to the "front line" at any dealership, they’ve been fully detailed using things that likely glow into the upper stratosphere, but make that vehicle look virtually indistinguishable from your pristine jewel on four wheels! Now, what’s the difference? For the dealer … ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ... and that's really the point! It only matters to YOU, because you’re emotionally attached to it ... as everyone (including the dealer who you might wrongfully think is trying to "steal" your pampered car) recognizes. However, please understand that the dealer is absolutely NOT trying to remove you FROM your current vehicle as much as trying to meet the specific AND EXACT need that you came TO them to satisfy. So, for the purposes of why you are here (and AT THE DEALERSHIP) … LET THE EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT GO!

That said, there are differing degrees of wholesale value, depending upon a variety of factors. Ultimately, the value you should expect will be a generic average of several book and regional wholesale auction values. Additionally, the customer make-up of the dealership also impacts that value. For example, if the dealer firmly believes that your vehicle could be immediately sold FOR A PROFIT in a reasonably short period of time, it's worth more ... they are much less likely to have some of the standard “carrying costs” (floor plan maintenance, interest on financing, insurance, etc.) that other dealers might have to absorb in their appraisal. Remember, just like in your case, to them TIME IS MONEY TOO!

So, in summary, trade appraisals, while they should be reasonably close in value, are by design not generally identical. They will fall within a range. The key is to find and analytically expect what that range is IN ADVANCE of negotiating with any dealer … or, as our marketing partners are providing, get several “opinions”. We have also provided a few common links in the TOOLS tab in the ACCOUNT menu bar for consideration. We would encourage you to review each and consider that: (1) dealers DO exist to make money … they are seldom not-for-profits; (2) they DO generally want to earn your business; and, (3) you need to EXPECT to receive something far less than retail on your trade … not because the dealer doesn’t like you or your vehicle. Frankly, they probably like BOTH. However, they do have costs of doing business … many of which you will never see or know. Knowledge is the key to your success in this regard.

Failure to recognize any one of these facts will leave you frustrated, aggravated, and (just our guess) holding that same “For Sale” sign on that same roadway about which we spoke just a little earlier. Be willing to understand, but definitely be prepared and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE research multiple resources for potential valuation. Our staff is always available for additional input, should you have any questions in this regard. Just send us a quick note by email, or pick up the phone and give us a call.

We can help by providing quality access to outstanding Partner/Dealers! We have several that are franchised auto dealerships and are ready, willing, and more than able to assist you in your search for that special new vehicle. All you have to do is select “NEW” in the Vehicle Type drop-down (Step #1) from the “Request An Offer” tab in the Account menu bar.

No. mycitymotorZ, LLC. is neither an active automobile dealer nor negotiator/facilitator acting on your behalf. In fact, we are specifically prohibited from providing such a service. However, virtually all of our Marketing Partners provide these products, and are more than eager to help in that regard. If any of these types of products or services are of interest to you, please note & designate that interest in your information provided in your inquiry (in the “Desired Terms” section [Step #4] of our vehicle selection process).

You won’t … and neither would we! It is our position that any truly reputable dealer offering a vehicle for sale should be willing to allow you to have it properly inspected by an independent, trained, and skilled professional of YOUR choosing. Now, this does NOT mean that they should be WILLING OR HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. Just like home inspections, such services are a functional “insurance” against possible loss and are likely at YOUR EXPENSE. If, however, any dealer suggests that their double-throw-down, ASE-certified genius has already taken that peek and you should be satisfied with their assessment exclusively? RUN!

In all actuality, they are likely right ... the vehicle is probably just fine. But, they’re not buying it … YOU ARE! If you want an independent inspection, you should be entitled to it. It’s really not that much to ask.

You should expect what we would expect … only the very best! While we have absolutely NO CONTROL of any aspect of your inquiry and selection process, we do have something far more important … your feedback from the CSS survey. If your delivery differs in any substantive way from your inquiry AND THE PARTNER'S ACCEPTED OFFER provided, we not only want to know … WE EXPECT TO KNOW! That’s one thing upon which we count on you … and, again, it’s worth so much to us that we are willing to return your entire Credit Profile & Search Analysis fee … remember?!

Ok. This is one of the biggest and most notorious “pet-peeves” around (and rightfully so, we might add). And, it SHOULD BE a HUGE concern when considering a transaction with ANY dealer. Assuming that you’ve agreed on a specific vehicle and the basic terms of the transaction for that vehicle in advance, IF you’re at any dealership for more than one (1) hour … note, we didn’t say 1 DAY OR WEEK! … for anything other than the actual delivery, there’s a problem! Under only very limited circumstances, should one ever be required to spend more than about 60 minutes at a dealership. We, generally, would suggest that you allow about 30 minutes to confirm the integrity of a vehicle (your trade appraisal/valuation should be completed during this same period as well). An additional 30 minutes should be about all that is necessary for all of the activity in the Finance/Business Office. That’s 60 minutes … period.

Now, there can be exceptions … some of which are TOTALLY legitimate (staff member in finance office had to leave due to illness, etc.). However, generally, longer delays are the result of either difficulty in the negotiation process or simply poor planning on the part of the dealership. If it happens to be the first, then you have some culpability, if not, then that’s THEIR problem … they should plan better ... that's what our mothers said, RIGHT?! Your schedule IS important. Since when is YOUR time less valuable than THEIRS? It isn’t. It is your right to demand accountability. Put the pressure on them … let’s say $1/minute over that … would that work for you? Reputable dealerships, like our partners are very conscious of the entire process, and we trust will be committed to meeting or exceeding every expectation during your entire experience!

Please reference the 30-MinuteMAX Commitment Z-Tail in the Finance Office portion “Desired Terms” selection segment of your Offer Submission (located in Step #4 of the “Request an Offer” tab in the My Account menu bar).

We source only the finest, local/regional, and community-based partners to advertise on our site. Many of these partners are third- and fourth-generation dealerships that have proven track records in both product knowledge and complete customer satisfaction. We would encourage you to thoroughly investigate any vehicle offered by ANY partner. This might include a full inspection by a service specialist of your choosing and a quick test- or demo-drive (which can again be done anonymously – no one knows who you are from your inquiry). The presentation of the final Offer Acceptance Certificate, complete with all of the vehicle offer and partner detail, to that partner will likely NOT be done until AFTER you are satisfied with both the vehicle and the final offer … at least that would be a relatively prudent course of action. However, again, that’s YOUR call. Not ours.

Nevertheless, as we’ve mentioned earlier, ultimately, you will have a great deal of “say” in who our partners are and how each is approached moving forward based on your final CSS survey feedback. We are grateful for that courtesy on your part!

An Extended Service Contract (ESC) is a separate contract offered by most reputable dealers to offset those costs necessary to maintain and/or repair a vehicle beyond its scheduled manufacturer's warranty period. These plans generally protect against mechanical failures or breakdowns with either a minimal or no-deductible option. ESC’s are available with a variety of different coverages, but offer peace of mind against costly and unexpected repair bills in the event of mechanical failure. With the rising costs of parts and labor, in many cases, ESC's offer more than complete financial payback, especially if a major breakdown occurs. Many ESC companies will also offer a pro-rated refund of the unused portion of the contract in the event that the vehicle is a total loss in an accident, traded, or if the ESC is canceled.

GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) is an inexpensive insurance product that protects against financial loss, if your vehicle is either a total loss due to accident or stolen and never recovered. The main benefit to you as the consumer is to cover any deficiency between what is owed on the vehicle vs. the “fair market value” the insurance company dictates. Many lenders recognize the importance of GAP, and some leasing companies automatically include this coverage in their lease agreements in order to protect themselves in the event of a loss.

Automobiles are predominantly stolen for one of two reasons: resale value or individual parts. VIN etching is the permanent engraving of a vehicle’s federally registered Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) onto its windshield, windows, and/or specific body panels. VIN etching acts as a theft deterrent (similar to a security company sign in front of your home), because it not only makes it nearly impossible to profit from “parting out” your vehicle, but it also makes it more difficult to dispose of a vehicle, once stolen. VIN etching is a relatively inexpensive add-on product, recommended by many police and insurance providers to protect against loss. In addition to a specific monetary reclamation coverage against loss (up to several thousands of dollars payable back to YOU), a number of insurance agencies may offer a discount off the comprehensive portion of your insurance coverage or even waive your insurance deductibles, if your vehicle is properly protected by VIN etching.

Vehicle Protection Packages are becoming exceptionally popular and are a great way to protect your vehicle investment, especially if you are considering keeping the vehicle long-term. Interior protection provides resistance to staining caused by spills (i.e. coffee, soda, etc.) and protection to your fabric, leather and carpet. Exterior protection includes a gloss-enhancing product, generally polymer-based that adheres to your vehicle's clear coat and protects the vehicle against UV fading, industrial fallout, road tar, paint, tree sap and bird droppings. Protection packages are a great way to not only keep your vehicle looking great, but can be a tremendous benefit at the time of prospective trade or resale.