looking to get a marauder for work, but......

[dark98stang]

Well I am starting my new career which is to be a real estate agent :D

I will have my license by the end of October. I have been thinking of purchasing a Marauder to show clients around with it. But I have one concern, does it have air vents in the middle console so that the rear passengers can keep cool???

I am deciding between the marauder, Lexus GS 300, and S281 SC mustang. They would all be about the same price range.

I haven't test drove a marauder yet but I really didn't get a good look at it either, the salesman was bothering me to much.

The Lexus is very nice luxury and great resale value, I think.

S281 SC mustang is extremely sporty. I can get one for $34,000 with a few hundred miles on it when they are supposed to be $50,000 brand new off the lot. I won't be able to drive clients around in it but i love the car :D


Off topic kind of here:
If you were selling your house and you called up a realtor to list it. You expected to him to come to your house later that day. When he gets to your house he is a young guy that dresses in a sporty tennis shirt and black slacks. What would you picture him driving?

[piglet]

Taxi cab...........

[JerseyVics]

yea dude, for a young punk Marauder cab would do just fine... there are plenty of practical reasons as well...

my next door neighbor, well he used to live there, is a realtor - a damn successful one at that. he bought a new Expedition and that seems to work for him real well. not that there is a lot of off road activity he has to do here in North Jersey to show customers around, the reason he got it was for hauling people around... it would make sense, those in a market usualy shop in pairs (husband and wife/boyfriend and girlfriend type of deal) so with a Saleen you either lost a sale or made it less profitable for yourself if you have to inconveniece someone with transportation to the houses. with a Lexus, and especialy GS300 you might unimpress some people depending on the caliber of your clientel. if they know cars they'd not look at you as a sophisticated businessman if you drive around in a good car with a puny engine option.

marauder is your best pic because it has room for three adults with extreme comfort, you won't bite your nails if you happen to go slightly off road with it, and its the realtor type material car, its very business class looking!


good luck dude, tell us what you decide on.

--Russ :D

[b4z]

I am assuming you have some money saved or another income if you are considering buying a $34,000 car.
Expect it to take 3-6 months before you get your first commission check.
I spent my first 4 years in real estate driving a Camaro and got teased mercilessly by my cohorts. "When are you going to buy a real estate car?"
I would borrow my mom's car when i was showing property(pretty lame huh?)
The times I had clients in my car was probably 10 times a year. Most of the time they met me after work to look at houses, so they drove.
The only people I put people into my car were out of towners or when we were covering large distances.
Unless you are working with buyers a lot you will be surprised how little you need the car for clients.
Listings are the name of the game. List as many as you can.

The Saleen is a big negative. Clients won't take you seriously. They are trusting their biggest investment to you and they want to see something conservative.
A SUV or a four door.
Tahoes are popular, as are Jeeps, Volvos.
I am considering a '98 or '99 Lexus with 300 hp and 5 speed auto.
They are fast and smooth . All for 33K or less.

[dark98stang]

Originally posted by b4z
I am assuming you have some money saved or another income if you are considering buying a $34,000 car.
Expect it to take 3-6 months before you get your first commission check.
I spent my first 4 years in real estate driving a Camaro and got teased mercilessly by my cohorts. "When are you going to buy a real estate car?"
I would borrow my mom's car when i was showing property(pretty lame huh?)
The times I had clients in my car was probably 10 times a year. Most of the time they met me after work to look at houses, so they drove.
The only people I put people into my car were out of towners or when we were covering large distances.
Unless you are working with buyers a lot you will be surprised how little you need the car for clients.
Listings are the name of the game. List as many as you can.

The Saleen is a big negative. Clients won't take you seriously. They are trusting their biggest investment to you and they want to see something conservative.
A SUV or a four door.
Tahoes are popular, as are Jeeps, Volvos.
I am considering a '98 or '99 Lexus with 300 hp and 5 speed auto.
They are fast and smooth . All for 33K or less.

Yes I saved up the money and I am looking to get a car mainly for Real Estate. I am planning to purchase the car within the month or so.

I am going to be working with my Mom and we are just listing houses mainly. I might become a buyers agent but it would be just for the experience. She has been in Real Estate for 10 years and she said it doesn't really matter what kind of car I got. She also told me that I would rarely have people in my car.

She actually wanted me to get a Corvette or a BMW but I prefer to purchase mustang because it is cheaper. She also stated that it really doesn't what kind of car you drive as long as you present yourself correctly to the customer.

She said just get a car that represents your style better and that is classy.

[b4z]

Your mom is right, you probably will have very few clients in your car.

I was 29 when I get into real estate but looked like i was 20.

There was some resistance from customers. I got a lot of "How long have you been in real estate?"
"Do you have another car other than the Camaro?"
"We'll just follow you."

My closing rate was much higher when I got my Olds Intrigue. A friend of mine just got rid of his Saturn and drives a Tahoe. He is selling more houses and showing fewer houses to each client.

People perceive a nice car with success.
Heck, you'd be surprised how many people think we get a company car and a expense account. Little do they know.

Good luck in the business. With your mom's experience you are sure to be a success.

[MarauderMike]

I have been doing real estate part time for the last two and a half years. I can count the number of times I've had clients in my car on one hand, it just doesn't happen that often. The point still remains that you need to be able to transport clients in comfort. I had a 2001 F150 Supercrew that did nicely, but I wanted something with some performance, a two door car just doesn't cut it in real estate business. I got the Marauder instead of the Mustang I've been wanting for 6 years. Just as a note, my clients love the Marauder!!!!

By the way, there are no air vents in the console for the rear seat.

[Logan]

It's been my experience that rear air vents aren't required in the marauder anyway. It cools pretty well IMHO.

[b4z]

Logan,

Have you been backseat driving again?

[mtnh]

There are air vents back there, at the base of the console. However, they only allow air to flow when the climate control is selecting the "floor" air outlets. Pretty lame. Ford should just give the operator of the vehicle the option of where to send the air, like so many others have been doing for a lot of years. Even my Lincoln LS has separate air conditioning, recirculation and all registers available for selection. I usually operate in floor/dash vent mode for the air conditioning season, which provides air to the rear of the console through the selection of "floor" mode as one of the zones being used. This A/C going to just the dash vents is a pretty tired design. The floor being added to A/C is a nice way to "round out" the cool air mix in the cabin, as well as reducing noise, and also reducing air velocity through just 4 or fewer vents in the dash. It would almost make sense to have a pneumatic switch to override the dash electronic climate control to actually allow the floor selection to be called up along with the dash registers for using the A/C.