European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 c the stars and stripes sunday March 22, 1992 s4s Dave Dudlo Independent salesmen working on military bases in Europe sold nearly 14,000 vehicles in 1991. Chrysler products Are the most popular followed by general motors and Ford. Quot i m not sure i understand How the military can promote the Sale of cars and at the same time be responsible for consumer  Peter Brown editor of automotive news Afes from Page 11 dealers cafes acts As the customers advocate he said a if a person feels that something Wasny to right about their car Purchase they should Contact the manager of the Exchange where they bought the car Quot Munn said a the vast majority of problems can be and Are solved at that  Roger and Michelle Belton both specialists with the 294th base support in in Pir Masens have been fighting just such a Battle since december 1990 when they purchased a 1990 Chevrolet Corsica from the general motors outlet in Vogel Weh Germany. The be tons claim they were misled by their pm Salesman that their new car was delivered with defects and that the car was worse off after repairs than it was to begin with. And All along the be tons said cafes did almost nothing to help them. Quot cafes told us it Wasny to their responsibility and that if we had a complaint we should Call the pm representative in Kronberg. 1 did and the people there told us to Call cafes a Roger Belton said. However cafes does not have a new cars amps Luke Britt Jeff Gardner is general manager of military car sales sales complaint department Munn said. Problems with the program Are dealt with by the same customer service department that handles All cafes complaints he said. Johnny Fox a Dod civilian from Stuttgart Germany has been tangling with the new car sales program for More than two years Over problems with his 1989 Chevrolet Astro Van. A a cafes has left me to totally fend for myself against a Large corporation a said Fox who has hired a German attorney in an attempt to Force oms to take the Van Back or pay him for his time and trouble. Fox and the be tons have blown their problems out of proportion according to Gardner. Military car sales honors the warranty on every car it Sells he said. Quot our Long list of satisfied customers proves that Gardner said adding that a a car is a complicated piece of machinery. People have to expect some  new car sales officials said that less than 1 percent of their customers Ever make a complaint. Based on the number of formal complaints lodged in 1990, however the number is closer to 2.5 percent. Experts such As Gillis conclude that americans in Europe would be better served by buying direct from a . Dealer or some other Independent source. But fixed prices a however High a stateside delivery and the convenience of shopping on their own installation appear to be Strong incentives for Exchange customers who have made the cafes program the largest Market for american made cars in the world. Quot what we do is provide customers with an Opportunity to order an american made car or truck of their Choice under controlled and protected conditions at a fair Price throughout the Model  Gallagher chief of the cafes automotive Branch Dallas surveys from Page 10 same sources Are available to each of us a Armstrong said. Quot but we do offer the most up to Date figures because we update each  the wholesale prices published by pc Carbooke and other Cost guides Are based on what manufacturers charge car dealerships for cars Armstrong said. When the information is not available from manufacturers the Price guide companies go to dealers and Large car leasing companies she said. The stars and stripes Survey showed that the wholesale prices published by pc Carbooke generally Are slightly higher than those published in the other sources used in the Survey. Armstrong said she could not explain Why her company a figures Are higher than other published figures. In the stripes Survey two models exceeded the 7 percent ceiling As determined by three of the Price guides but did not violate the limit according to pc Carbooke. The remaining six instances of apparent overpricing were substantiated by All the sources including pc Carbooke. Officials with both cafes and the companies hired by the manufacturers to handle the new car sales program disputed the Survey results. They said it is not appropriate to base the calculations on prices quoted by salesmen because those figures Are subject to approval by management. Eugene Leavy executive director for overseas military sales group said half of All orders accepted by salesmen Are altered in some Way when they arrive at company Headquarters in Kronberg Germany. It is oms that sets the prices on All general motors and Chrysler vehicles sold through the cafes system and on Navy installations. The company manages the sales delivery and warranty service for the two Detroit automakers. Fords military sales Are handled by its German subsidiary Ford deutschland. A fall orders go through not one but two computer checks when they get to Kronberg a Leavy said. A if a Salesman makes a mistake it certainly will be caught there. I done to imagine that that Many mistakes go out of our office. If so cafes would be All Over  but cafes relies Only on occasional random sampling of sales transactions to determine whether Price controls Are adhered to. It is possible that some overpricing occurs without cafes being aware Gallagher said. Quot but it certainly Isnit intentional a he said. New car salesmen base their Price quotes on charts distributed by the respective Headquarters offices Gallagher said. The figures on those forms Are fixed and salesmen cannot adjust the prices at All he said. However the stars and stripes obtained some copies of those company Price lists. The prices listed on three of these forms All taken from oms sales agents exceeded the 7 percent limit