and now it's complicated

i thought the cartelligent people were completely out of the game. i'd wrangled the discount by myself -- in fact i've even got a car on order with another dealer -- but the dealership that i've been working with through cartelligent (antioch chrysler) has decided that they will honor the employee discount. and THAT puts me in a quandry ...

because the cartelligent guy has done a ton of work for me ... a whole bunch of stuff that i haven't included here ... probably the biggest of which was finding out that a GPS added to the car would not be covered by the warranty wrap (only the items that come with the car from the factory are covered). if i hadn't have had the delay from him on the back-and-forths of our discussions, i never would have gotten in touch with my super-close friend for the employee discount.

having said all that, the fleet manager i've been in touch with at autowest in fremont has been super-responsive. in fact, they've been the only dealership that has been adequately responsive to me on email.

still, the cartelligent guy has gone out of his way for numerous items, including giving me a ton of information that goes well-beyond the call of duty.

i can get this car for the same price either place. it costs me $300 more with cartelligent because i pay their service fee. and they have done me a ton of good ...

i call the cartelligent guy and tell him that i'll go with him if they can guarantee i get a spot in the manufacturing queue. he's nearly certain they can.

i call the guy at autowest and tell him the situation and that i'll no longer be needing the car.

"it's too late. we already have a VON," meaning the vehicle order number (as opposed to the VIN -- the vehicle information number). the car has an assembly schedule. only a radical act of nature can stop the production now.

which means i'm in a really funny situation ...

i've gone out of my way to get a cruiser custom made to my specifications in such a way that it would be unique. a cruiser-only color with a dark body and a light top. less than 500 will be built before the line is shut down.

and i've managed to have two identical cars made.

nice work, b1.