hi everybody jody tope bits with wheat to me divorce dcor i am very fortunate today to have a very special guest my good friend and a person i haven't seen in many many years and you'll hear our story but my friend melissa lee who is a salesperson extraordinary are at a rake in tina mercedes and the reason why i'm having our on today is very interesting and we'll explain later  but having said that i'd like to do it introduce melissa lee of break it tina in edison new jersey mercedes benz how are you i am well so good to see you it's so good to see you too i thought we would start out because you know it's all about chatting anyway i forget there's a camera here so we're telling everybody who's listening how we first met in our our story so i think you can you can jump in and add al started off by saying i called you up about seventeen years ago and i said i really want to mercedes benz and at the time i was married since then i've gone through we to me and i said my my husband at the time there's no way he's ever going to let me have a mercedes and with my business it was important to show a certain presence with my car being a honest a stylus and everything and that the mercedes was part of the marketing package he didn't want to hear it he was telling me no way and i had to time called you and said i had a poseidon and we were paying x amount of money i forgot what it was and is there any way i could have a mercedes for that money and you're like you said  you told me to come on our monitors we have cars and every price markets are a value so you can get you can get it you can get it come in let me show you which one you can get and i gave you the background and he was difficult right there i did get war warned that he was like on the cheaper side hate to say it but yeah less expensive less expensive and we walked in and i don't know how long we were there a few hours later i had a mercedes as the  of my hands and i made the last four payments yes yes yes yes we can do that yeah so many different ways of doing things you're never there's never a way that you can't get it you don't have to get the most expensive ones there's all levels  refineries as twenty different levels so there's injury level mid level mid to high level high level super high level i mean there's all levels and everyone everyone anywhere can get a little i know and i don't think people know that they honestly don't know that they're intimidated by the name if they're feeling that they want one and they feel like their budget just isn't up to par and why this ties in i think so importantly with weed and me and you know going from we to mean married to single or any type of transition whether it's you know loss of a spouse retirement empty nest syndrome any kind of horrible transition where you feel you want to be uplifted by completely materialistic i don't like why the hell not do it you why not you have one life to live that's right you get just in the morning try to be your best self you put a little judge on your lips why can't you drive a little and we have a saying at mercedes which is the road is too long and life is too short to drive anything less than a mercedes that we're not did you hear that you need a mercedes he's an expert it is it's very true and the weird part of the story or since a weird but this is what i love about you because i'm going to ask you these questions in a sack and but let me just explain to the audience when i went in and not only did i get the car with a difficult through a situation and thank you but if you came even more difficult than years later sadly i had to come in to you and give up my mercedes because i was in the middle of an awful divorce right and i just couldn't i just couldn't afford anything at the time and it was quite awful and i remember we cried together it was very sad it was it was heartbreaking it was heartbreaking because i loved it it made me happy and it helped as a marketing tool for my business which was an area design an art and now i no longer had this marketing tool and it was even more about feeling i felt somewhat like i failed somewhere you know yes but you feel that way where you and i are people go through that where you come out of it you get out of it you step up and you seventeen years later you by the way she's not a normal sales person i know they have a bum rap because most of them deserve it but this is the woman to come to melissa levy addison mercedes ben and why because for seventeen years you didn't send me a generic happy birthday or you know you go hey jodi has your son thinking of you how are you for seventeen years you stayed in touch with me and i may be getting teary now very sweet and human on the went through me with this horrible transition that i was going through with the divorce and losing my home and issues you know health issues with my son you just you were there you don't sound a little crazy  you three weeks ago with a big i called you up and i said melissa i'm ready to get my mercedes you know my business i have this business things are good i came back and i got my black mercedes again get in the car and i want to ask my own girl i look so good in this car yeah yeah when you do thank you that's when you do but the more important part is it makes you feel really good and i'm not spending a ton of money i'm spending a tiny bit more than i was spending on my my honda ok so you can do that i mean i have friends all the time say to me you know i wish you were somewhere else because i care and want to buy a car from you but i can't afford it i said what are you paying and they may what they're paying and we have cars at every level everywhere of all there's so many different cities or so many classes of of cities and there's none that's the bottom line so people say well you know we really want the bottom line there is no one no it's our savings yeah there is no bottom there is no line has nothing at the bottom there so there's like what's interesting about it is and i didn't know this until i went to see you because i had a situation trying to get rid of another car and i was having some difficulty we won't say and so you taught me couple things number one because they said this buy or lease a loaner car absolutely that would be the best offer togolese all about that people don't know that at mercedes when you come in to bring your car into service there are loaner cars that you get to drive we have about one hundred fifty so you you will both cars eventually have to be sold right we can lease those cars they have miles on them but guess what those models benefit you the customer down you wanna know why the price is cheaper it's way cheaper it's a lot less because that car has miles on it we only sell the ones that have not been in an accident have not been smoked and we asked people not to smoke in the cars of course people sneak into it yeah if there is any hint of smoke and we won't resell it because why should you suffer if you don't smoke why should you have to have the smoke in the vehicle so one for sure you can lease that car for a minimum of what you are at least one that was brand new same model and i had no idea because the other dealership that was that i had a lemon from said oh no we don't you can't lease a loaner car we don't do that i think can i buy a loan at no you can't do that by lease by they had for whatever you want to do whatever you want to do and that greatly impacts the price absolutely and you know you have pre owned as well that's a lot different category so what's the difference between coming in for leasing or buying a pre owned a b m w of someone's on a budget or they've just hired a law hill and hillsborough family  there no difference it's definitely going to be to your benefit to get the loan or first to get the loan or mean it's leaking your hair was perfect like the money the money is so much the the pain is going to be so much less oh yes that's super important because i i walked into that's art that's our tip number one we're going to ask for three tips from you but that's a hugely important tip and i'm going to just say something and i don't know if this is just because it's re catena mercedes or all rece dealerships and you can tell me that because i have a fondness in my heart to make it tina may i say why because seventeen years ago when i had my few mercedes i did have a problem with one car does happen once in a while called you up i go right tina and he said i just want to apologize for that and is everything ok and i'm like oh my god yeah first of all i really believe and secondly i have another mercedes and you didn't even skip a big give me a hard time you know it was like there's a problem with the car that's an anomaly that hardly ever happens race will take care of it then you know what he did he do remember in nigeria who do you know said how about or no that was your idea i think  research it was wonderful and they came and they took photographs of all my artwork in my room and being an interior stylist and everything i talked about the importance of pulling up if if i have to be pulled together in my dress my car has to be pulled together because why are you going to trust me to do your home and the whole article was about mercedes benz is a marketing tool so i get another car i get you as a as a sales person and a friend yes and yeah a friend too and  i get another car so i want people to know out there you know what if you just go to the right people the right things can happen and why shouldn't you feel good about yourself why should your space reflect your personal style and give you that strength and why should that car you're driving i fled your personal style and the way in which you dressed and all of the things you do and that's what i try to tell people it's important the whole package the whole trial absolutely will everything together when you've gone through  transition and you know baby steps but this is one of the really great baby steps to take and and also it looks real good when your neighbors see you the gossipy ones that are like oh no she's saying there's a lot to be said for that actually not that i would ever care about doing something like that but there's a lot to be said yes and i did write about that in my book by the way i'm just saying yes well the number two tip for with specially women because you know the typical top car dealer person experience is pretty hideous i have to say at mercedes it's pretty nice and you're a top you're the cream of the crop but a woman comes in you know everything about cars i don't know anything i don't know jack poop about cars once tip number two to number two when you come into the showroom if you know you want a compact size carton don't let someone talk you into a large size car if you know you want a large size car don't let someone talk you go in there for what you want and say i'll stick to what you want you know sometimes the car might not have the equipment the way you want it you might have to get don't accept something you don't want and you could feel that way at the time you could be feeling like a right she know what but i'm here and i can get on and you can become impulsive right get what you want so a good salesperson would say that you get what you want if this is what i have you want this this is what i have if i don't have it there today maybe i can get this for you you know like you don't have to you know accept what's there we have all kinds of cars that we c people shouldn't feel intimidated about it and they have never had a mercedes because you guys are really all about your like the norse drums of the car industry you know you go into north strums you can bring i can bring this back and say i didn't buy it at nordstrom's but i want fifteen dollars for and they're like ok i kind of feel like that's mercedes in the sense that there's never they don't make you feel ok what did you do to the car you know the other dealership kept blaming me for it being a lemon like but why are you saying are the car i'm just having a car and if it says all wheel drive male function please pull over on the dashboard that is not my fault and i should have to feel like i did something wrong and they should take going to get your typical salespeople and you didn't shove it down my throat because you said to me what do you want and you know i wanted black i want to black interior and i wanted a sunroof i'm all and navigation because i'm directionally impaired and i get  exactly my boy so i said to you and it was funny i said i did i want abrogation and you said gee we don't have it in that car but we could put a chip in yep so that's the point about you saying that you can alter the package right because  you put the chip in and i have your cars complete is your blade that's it and that's the point and then another thing you did i think you should let people know about this is when i was trying to trade in my other car i mean even though you guys would do this but you  did the you take the trade ins but you also for me did the carfax check yep tell people how important is to ask for that yes if you're buying a pre owned vehicle anywhere first you should go to the if you're looking specific brand go to that may factor to buy the the car right whether it's for sadie's or any other brand right reason being those cars are going to be certified not in an accident not a car that has a repeat that problems they have the problem because we can't guarantee that car we only sell cars we're going to guarantee and that's the huge point that if you and you guys out there you think you're going to get a better deal use car use car lot it's not you really you're going to get stuck how and so i was delighted so anything that goes wrong right and then i get that loaner car that somebody may want to buy again or i want to buy in three years exactly so i think it's important for people to know about the loaner car thing and asking about the carfax not only did you do that for me you guys printed it out you pay for it cost money it's like thirty bucks to do it you gave it to me he goes you said here's everything that happened to your other car  there hadn't been any axes and accidents or anything it just became a lemon when i got it oddly enough but the point was you did the research for me sitting there and then when we weren't sure if we could even get a mercedes you know you were like trying to give me other ideas going to find the car you want and whatever the end it is right for me mercedes yes whatever brand it is yes find what you want that you want that you will be happy with that will make you happy and you know do a little investigation you know well informed buyer is the best buyer true and ask questions when you go into the deal so don't be afraid to ask questions don't let someone tell you something tell you you have to get this no this is all this is now ask the questions this is tell them what you want and then get what you want and have them do the work if you don't if you if they don't have what you want to you have time like if your car has that if you're in the least your car is to go back tomorrow you're very limited on time then you can't order a car unless you want to rent a car for three months so i mean there's options there's always wa there's always seem to be and they always are ways but get what you want get what you want you only live once yeah i get what you want what puts a smile on your face what makes you happy to get that car those are the small things in life when you add up all those things that really become special for somebody again like me who doesn't know anything about cars if they have if they're like a another tech you can tell people who are listening that maybe a question they would normally ask when they go into a car dealership about about the car i mean i don't know if it is do you say look this is what i do for a living for instance i travel a lot of or i don't travel all that oh it's important i go in the mountains a lot so if your romance is right you go off ro where there's snow then maybe an s u v is a better pick for you there is all those small medium large extra large s u v s sedans that are all wheel drive if you need more space or seven passenger vehicle what would be like one two or three depending on what you think red flags when someone walks into a dealership and they talk to a sales person that you would go oh my god run that you know like run from that sales person if they're if they're doing what you think is you're someone who doesn't know a lot about cars if they're trying to do what but if you're a woman and you're coming in to purchase a car and the sales person says well where's your husband oh my god that out don't have a husband or i don't you know right you have his own car i'm going want so that's that right there that's greater by what about you have a second record i soon as you come in the first thing they say to you is are you buying today so they're all over you yes no maybe i might be beyond but you know you that's not the first question you want to ask someone so first question you ask first thing how can i help you how can i assist you what can i do for you  that's it because we're here to say you're here to get a car what can i do for you to put you in that car how can i fish do the of a surge like red flag or no if you if you asked to test drive a car which everyone should touch on the hour before you buy it drove the car and we all are also happy yes driving driving driving you have to test drive by you have to because you know when you get home it's morning when you sign everything and you're driving down the road you're like oh my god you know when i dial what time and you know you need to drive it yeah that's really important very that's very true and i also found like also going to you guys and i've gone to other dealerships what i love about ray catena addison is you have like twelve receptionists like you walk in how do you who you are to see is she expecting you or not if she's not to go find her if she is let me give her a call what can i get you anything while you're waiting i walked in and it was what can i do for you and not just one person these lovely young receptionists that are so eager and happy to be there the manager after we did the purchase came over and in front of you like and said how is everything and i'm like  she's the best everybody was involved i've gotten so far three phone calls i've gotten a survey to take all of this cool stuff has happened since i bought the car just to see if i'm happy right they want to make sure you're happy and if you're not we need to know about it so we can make you happy yeah that's that ray could he not only does it that way the only way he will do it it's very true well i think that you gave a very good tips that mercedes are number one really affordable do not be intimidated by anybody or anything especially if you want a mercedes and especially if you drive to edison new jersey and seamlessly and if you prefer working with a female or male say that when you are good point people are afraid they're like oh i didn't know there was a woman here when you go  the good idea i work with a woman is there a woman here can i work with a man no problem it's just know whatever you feel comfortable working with require request i know that anywhere you go requests that i will get it right these are all good tips so you know what i'm going to mondays when monday tuesday wednesday friday saturday we're open until a pm my phone number seven three two five four nine six six zero zero the e mail address if you want to e mail me at any point is fact now you know how to find my friend melissa only and i am closing now and i am saying thank you for watching jodi toeplitz we don't need divorce decor warehouse becomes a home and one other thing right because they look like tire treads and they look like when you get in your sadie's you hit the road running when i put on the shoes i hit the road running these are in honor of you my friend melissa lee beautiful and welcome think you all right thank you everybody thanks for joining me by