European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 14, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes cafes new car pricing policies discussed i want to bring to Light a million Dollar systematic rip off of Dod personnel sanctioned and sponsored by cafes. The overseas military Saks Corporal Ion Chrysler am and of Auto dealers authorized by cafes to operate in the exchanges arc charging excessive prices for their vehicles the average customer including my self assumes thai the prices charged represent a Buna fide Best Price discount negotiated for us by cafes. After All cafes gives the dealers office and display space and authorizes them to advertise in the stars and stripes and to state in those ads guaranteed Low est prices in the  surety cafes would t allow or sponsor Price gouging by i hair contractors. That s what i thought. I ordered a new jeep at a Cost of $14,600. To Reading ads in inc Washington Post and new York times 1 noted that jeeps were substantially cheaper in Washington ., and new York. I called a dealer who quoted me a much lower Price than i hid agreed to pay to the cafes authorized dealer. I asked the wry Ryburg area sales manager How this could be possible. After All the stars and stripes and said guaranteed lowest Price in the  he stated thai Only about 2 percent of Dod customers ask about the lowest Price in the world. In several cases pressed to meet stateside prices he said he had reduced the Price by More than $1,000, hut again not for the 98 percent of customers just for the 2 percent who Pur sued inc lowest Price claim. Most like myself simply sign inc forms and pay whatever the Salesman says is the Correct Price. What a Bunch of trusting lambs we Are. He said that if i got a cheaper written quote he would beat it. After spending $50 on phone Calls i finally found a dealer who would give me a written quote. The problem is that his jeeps Don t have identical options to the one 1 ordered. The Chry Slot am manager said that the vehicle quoted by the stateside dealer must have exactly the same options you cannot subtract or add a $100 option to achieve comparability. Translation the chances of the contractor having to Back up the claim of lowest prices in the world Ore virtually  s face it How Many of us in Europe can afford the expense 10 trans Atlantic comparison shop so that we can Force cafes contractors to give us the lowest Price in the world i found an and in the nov. 10 Washington Post by heritage jeep Eagle that offers All jeeps in Stock or special order for 3 percent Over factory invoice. Presented this and to the local am jeep dealer and he forwarded it to his main office. Sony they can t accept that i was told. The offer must be on company letter head this is nonsense in and in the Washington Post is an offer to sell. No excuses cafes. You have shirked your responsibility to us. You have Given your stamp of approval to these dealers to gouge inc very customers you arc pledged to serve. If your Headquarters staff in Dallas is incapable or unwilling to award a competitive contract for. New car sales you should fully investigate the Rea sons. Surely some Large Dealership chains similar to Urisman Lustine Rosenthal or Dar in the  Area would jump at the Chance to sell to such an extensive Market. You have absolute Power to get Lis the Best Possi ble prices on the thousands of cars sold annually through your franchised dealers. Show us thai your claims of immense buying Power really mean some thing. We serving overseas must be Able to Trust you and depend on you we have no alternatives. Don t let us Down again. Name and location withheld editor s note it. Col. Charlie while pub lit affairs officer he cafes Europe replies the automobile manufacturer have contracted with cafes to sell cars at a specified markup Over the wholesale Price. These Are the Best terms we were Able to negotiate with the major automobile Compa Nies and we believe the prices represent significant savings to our customers. The overseas military sales group is a manufacturers sales representative for ills program. While oms cannot sell cars for Mure than the cafes contract Price they May sell them for less and advertise it the lowest Price guarantee which you write about was an oms program to match any Price below the cafes contract Price for which the customer can obtain a written quotation. Cafes new car vehicle prices Are not always the cheapest. Stateside dealer prices Are dependent upon an individual s negotiation skills time of the year you buy popularity of a particular Model size of the inventory Etc. Our brochure Plain talk new car sales program clearly Stales the above. While we appreciate your Confidence in wanting to shop cafes without questions asked it does t re Lieve you of the consumer responsibility to know the Market and Moke the Best Deal be it an automobile or a camera. Cafes has never made claim that the vehicle sold through the new car sales program Are the Low est in the world. The Chrysler corp., Noderer has established a policy that guarantees the customer is paying the lowest Price available from any legitimate car dealer. To qualify for the lowest available Price requires that the relic the from another source be exactly the same As the vehicle Chrysler to offering and that the dealer make his offer on Letterhead station Ery with a Clear statement of the equipment and options on the vehicle and the availability of the vehicle. A single statement by a easterner that he or she can buy a particular vehicle for less or a Continental United states conus newspaper and clipping is not sufficient to qualify for a lower Price. More often than not a conus newspaper and Price is a come on Price for a stripped Down vehicle. After All options Are added the actual Price is much More than advertised. We feel our pricing method and that used by the Chrysler sales organization is fair and represents savings to the customer Over the manufacturer s suggested retail Price without negotiations. I urge All our customers to read our Plain talk new car sales program before considering Pur chasing a vehicle through cafes or any other organization. This brochure clearly states the pro Gram s objectives and gives Many useful tips on purchasing a vehicle. As with any major Purchase the responsibility to be an informed consumer Falls on the shoulder of the buyer. If you Hare further questions about this pro cram please con act your local Exchange manager Kenneth Penny at 09721 808835. Readers have Little sympathy for whiners St often ii can t go out and do anything have  this is the biggest line of this is to the Many people Here in Germany who acc like they Are mistreated. Inni a dependent wife who has done my share of complaining about the in adequate Exchange and commissary. T have eased upon my complaints since my husband and 1 look a flight to naval station Rota. Spa Iri. You think things arc bad because your base May not have a Baston Robbins or Burger King in Rota they Hove a Baskin Robbins. Hut the Only  comes close to Burger King is the naval Exchange snack bar. You think ration cards Are a pain in the neck i Rota beside having a card Tor cigarettes Coffee and liquor Jou need one to buy electrical appliances like tvs washers stereos and refrigerators. You think of have a hard Lime because you have to drive 50 Miles to another Exchange because the one near you does t have your size of so is Levis v the nearest . Military installation to Rota is Over 200 Miles. The Only people allowed to shop at Rota s naval Exchange and commissary arc Itose assigned to Rota or those with toy orders for Rota. Do you think the people of Rota Are silting around sulking the people we met were not a Bunch of Whin cars. These people were making inc Best out of an Over seas Lour. These people made you feel right at Home even though you arc from a different Branch of the. Service. I would like to give the people from naval station Rota a  round of applause for opening my eyes 16 what 1 have to be Mare than grateful for in Germany Stephanie Payne Wiesbaden West Germany living in Germany has been an experience that my family and 1 will not soon forget nor do we wish to. We have had a great time Here despite the fact that at times Money has been Short. We have enjoyed ourselves overseas something that people who Are not in the military envy us for yet those of of equally fortunate what do 1 hear from you complaints. About an arts the stars and stripes the commissary the Exchange the Exchange Rale landlords telephones autobahn the weather. On and on. If it s in Germany it s been complained about probably 95 percent of the complainers sit at Home and try 10 think of things they Don l like. The one i hear mos i because. Horse Pucky i have Ever heard i have two kids Ages 4 and 5, and there have been very few weekends that l have stayed Home. We go Volks marching and a the kids walk All 10 Kilometres and love it. We go to various castles Parks forests Toos museums Botan ical gardens camping and hiking there is so much this country has to offer and it s All sitting there if you want to Slop feeling sorry for yourself and do it. Our tour is about at its end and even with a mortgage rent and car payment we can safely say that we have seen and done More than All you people who sit and complain. Germany is a country full of Beauty and history and we found that it does t Cost much to see it just the Effort of getting out of that chair where you sit and condemn the army that sent you Here. Can say that 1 will miss this country and All it has to offer. So t urge those of you still Here to go and explore it. Try it you May be surprised. Staff sgt. Samuel Brummett and family Tarn Wesl Germany writer appeals for daytime quietness writer decries comic strip there arc Many shift workers in the Heidelberg area who by to sleep at All hours of the Day and night. Feel that we can each do something about this i c. The trying part and we would All be happier living Here. The government housing we arc living in was not built perfectly. The Walls floors and ceilings Are obviously too thin or not insulated for soundproofing because of can hear any slightly loud noise right through them. The windows Don t Seal properly probably because of settling of the building since its construction therefore you still hear outside noises As if the windows were open when they arc shut -1 suggest that we Don t honk our car horns when coming to Piek someone up for a ride. Take the extra Effort to get out of your car and ring the Buzzer or go Knock on the door. Slamming the front door of your apartment i Chocs through the stairwell. Please Don t do it when closet and Cabinet doors Are slimmed it is also heard in neighbouring apartments. Again please Don t do it there is a limit to what any one person s cars can handle As far As loud noise without hearing loss. I it no reason to play Musk so loudly that it can be heard clearly in the stairwell and other apartments. It you feel it should be that loud please use headsets. I also think thai our children can play in inc areas provided for them rather than in and around the Carsin the parking lots and on and around the dump slurs. If you feel that these Are necessary play areas then please Don t let your children shout and scream when playing there. Wendy s. Cook sch it Tongen Wesl Germany recently the stars and scripts ran a Garfield strip which had As its theme his hate fear of spiders and subsequent abuse. Is this funny if the flagrant disregard of life is funny it says something very sad about our values. It says that it s of to Hurt a creature simply because it is lesser than us. Did we create that lift no. We have no right to take it wantonly i m not advocating censorship of the strip after All it gave me an Opportunity to express my views toward the animal world. But if we teach that it s of to kill spiders Why not cats Why not people Leigh a Lemurl Augsburg Welt Germany