Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Disappointed and returning
However, although the two of them didn't want to change cars for the time being, it was definitely necessary to go and have a look. No man doesn't like cars.
I heard that Feng Yiping was going to buy a car, and even his mother and sister wanted to go along. Later, Feng Yiping's younger aunt also came along. They might not be too interested in cars, but they were interested in shopping.
In just four or five years, the provincial capital had changed a lot. High-rise buildings were built one after the other. When Feng Yiping first came to the provincial capital, he could see from one end to the other without obstruction. Now, sitting in the car, he could only see the buildings on both sides of the road.
My mother and sister, they usually spend the whole day in the shop, and don't really have any days off. Although they live in the provincial capital, the only places they often go to and are familiar with are just a few places. They are very happy to be out for a change, and are always pointing out something about the tall buildings or shops along the road. Generally speaking, daughters tend to have more in common with their mothers.
The 4S store format will be introduced to China by Honda this year, so currently cars are still sold in the form of specialised stores, but they are all quite impressive. There are currently no plans for any car cities, but each brand has spontaneously gathered in the same area, which is popular and has many opportunities for business.
Feng Yiping does not have a dream car. He only has one rule when buying a car now, which is that it should be eye-catching and have a high value retention rate. As for the price, he really doesn't care much.
So when they arrived, he led the way and they started at the first Shanghai Volkswagen store nearby.
The others were in high spirits, knowing that these were all hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of toys. Among civilian products, they were also considered to be the ones with the most technology. Ordinary people would be in awe when they came in, but for Feng Yiping, these were nothing. This was like entering a classic car museum.
He saw a familiar one, a Porshe, and later he was able to see it again, so it was relatively pleasing to the eye, so he pulled open the door and got in.
If this were three or four years ago, not only would it have sold for a high price, but an additional foreign exchange quota of nearly 10,000 US dollars would also be required. At that time, the Santana was still quite aloof in China, and the salespeople were also quite arrogant. Now it's different. The Santana is also becoming more and more popular with the general public, and there are gradually more private car buyers. These salespeople generally don't have any airs and graces.
There were five or six of them in the trade, driving in two vans with their families. It didn't look like they were just a group of friends touring the area. They were greeted by a receptionist, but the main attention was on Feng Zhenchang and Mei Yiliang, because generally speaking, they had the most say.
However, seeing Feng Yiping opening the car door and getting in by himself, they didn't dare to be rude. Children may not be able to make decisions, but they can spoil things. So, a young man followed suit and got into the passenger seat, introducing Feng Yiping.
'Young man, you have good taste. Just the other day, SAIC announced a price cut of 20,000 yuan, so now this car is just a little over 100,000 yuan, a great deal.'
To be honest, this price is actually quite similar to the later price, but the difference between the current 100,000 yuan and the later 100,000 yuan is huge.
Feng Yiping looked at the antique style of the centre console and the equally antique steering wheel, and said, 'Haha,' and couldn't help but laugh, which made the young man feel puzzled. What's gotten into him?
Fortunately, after Feng Yiping turned the steering wheel a few times, he asked a more professional question, 'How much is the 2000 model?'
'A car with a normal paint carburetor costs more than 160,000 yuan, and a metallic paint one is a bit more expensive.'
That really ruled it out.
'Thanks, let's keep looking!'
Feng Yiping got out of the car and said to the few people over there who were following a salesperson around and hovering around a car, 'Let's go, let's go look at other places.'
'Nothing you like?' Feng Zhenchang asked him.
'Let's keep looking!'
The feeling was that this young man was the main one. The other young man chased after him and handed Feng Yiping a piece of information and a business card. 'It's good for you to know more. If you need help, call me.'
The next morning, for an hour or two, everyone went from one house to the next, looking at cars from Xiali, Peugeot, Honda, Buick, etc. He also stopped at JEEP for a longer time.
After a whole round, none of them were what Feng Yiping liked, and in the end, only Mercedes-Benz was left.
Nowadays, unlike in the future, the Mercedes-Benz brand is more well-known in China than BMW. In recent years, driving a Mercedes-Benz with a mobile phone in your hand has become the standard for this generation of local tyrants.
As soon as they entered the door, there was a very domineering Mercedes-Benz with a tiger head. Even when the sister-in-law saw it, she was dazzled and let out a 'wow'. She hugged her son and looked inside through the car window. As for Mei Qiuping, after hearing Mei Yiliang say that the expensive cars here cost two to three million yuan each, she subconsciously stood far away. If she accidentally scratched the paint, she would have to sell how many bowls of noodles to make up for it?
'Hello! This is our latest model, the S600, over 2.6 million.' A salesperson in a black suit and with a name tag walked over, deliberately or unintentionally blocking the car in front of it. Without asking or introducing herself, she coldly and casually started by quoting the price.
If there's one thing Feng Yiping hates most, it's flight attendants. Just because they work as flight attendants on an airplane, they are all arrogant and conceited, and they can't be described as having a high opinion of themselves.
Another thing is the sales of these luxury goods. They naturally feel that they are also of a high class because they sell things at high prices.
If Feng Yiping were alone, he would just laugh and there would be no need to argue with such people. However, seeing that his parents were really shocked by her purchase of a car worth more than 2 million yuan, he became a bit annoyed. 'At my age, what's the point of driving such an old car? Is there an M-class SUV? Take me to have a look.'
The Mercedes-Benz M-Class was only launched in March last year, setting a precedent for luxury brand SUVs. BMW only followed suit and launched the X5 afterwards. Feng Yiping still prefers the M-Class, which is noble but not ostentatious, and suits his temperament perfectly.
And unlike Japanese cars such as Honda, which will launch a new model this year, it is likely that there will be a facelift next year, and there will be improvements to the appearance, such as making the logo on the front grille bigger, so that the new model from last year will seem a bit outdated when you drive it on the road this year.
Mercedes-Benz cars, of course, will change inside, but generally the appearance will not change much. For example, the appearance of the Tiger-head Benz has been consistent for the past eight or nine years, and the first-generation M-Class will not be replaced until around the same time.
I heard that Feng Yiping, a kid with his mouth not even open wide enough to let the hair on his upper lip out, bought a Mercedes-Benz. The salesperson obviously didn't believe it, 'M-Class, I don't know.' You must have heard it somewhere to fool me, she thought to herself.
'What about the G-Class?' The woman certainly didn't know any better, as the G-Class would not be introduced in China until almost ten years later.
'Call your manager out, I want to ask if I can reserve an M-Class.' Feng Yiping didn't mean to make things difficult for her, there was no need to, just a few words to knock her down a peg would do.
The woman was also unsure whether Feng Yiping was being serious or not, but she still went to find the manager, only that the faint arrogance on her face was now nowhere to be seen.
'Oh, hello! I heard you want to order a car, let's go sit over there!' A middle-aged man in his forties came out, looking very shrewd, and led them to a round table nearby.
'This young man, right? What kind of car do you want?'
Hearing Feng Yiping say that, he took out a picture from the folder, 'Is this the one?'
Feng Yiping also learned that the first-generation M-Class looked like this from the picture in the folder, but from the outside, it didn't look much different from the later models. He liked it at once, 'Yes, that's the one. Do you have it?'
'Sorry, it hasn't been introduced to the mainland yet.'
'What about the G-class?' Feng Yiping asked, hoping against hope. The manager then pulled out another picture, of the civilian G-class, which looked exactly the same as the later model. "Yes, do you have it?'
The manager shook his head. "No, if you think the S-class is too formal, then you could consider the E-class, which has a younger and sportier design.'
'Tell me, would these two be available in the free trade zone?' Feng Yiping asked him.
'Well, I'm not sure.' The manager hesitated a little. He could see now that these people definitely wanted to buy a car and didn't lack money. The two cars they had asked about were not cheap. If he tried hard, he might be able to sell an E-Class. "The E-Class is really good, and there are also some cars in stock. You can try it!'
'Thank you, but I'd better go to the free trade zone and have a look!" Feng Yiping politely declined his offer.
A group of people came with high hopes, but left somewhat disappointed. 'Brother, where did you find out about those two cars?' Feng Yuxuan asked him after getting in the car.
'I saw them in Hong Kong,' he replied casually.
'Do you really want to go all the way to the free trade zone?'
'Yes!' Since it was going to cost so much, he was going to go through the trouble to buy what he liked.