Yes, those things are sick! Who would have thought that the Escalade would ever come out with a Hybrid? lol. From what I understand, they run completely on a seperate battery power while driving under a certain speed in the city. The when you jump on the freeway or accelerate speed, they convert back to full fuel driving. I think the break even point is rediculous though. Do you realize how long it would take you to break even from the expenses on gas!! It doesn't make much sense to buy any of these hybrids for fuel saving efficiency, unless the vehicle is super cheap. The Escalade Hybrid starts at $77,000!

Not yet. I am waiting until I find the right one online, then I will jump on it. I am really wanting to buy one that is made in 2005 or newer. I found a 2004 model, but I am pretty sure the warranty has expired. They come with the GM factory warranty of 4 years/50,000 miles.

There are a few requirements that I must have for the one that I buy, in addition to the standard features. It must be black, have navigation, the back seat must be the 2 captain chairs (not the bench seat) and it must still have a warranty on it. The tough part of finding one under warranty is that Cadillac dealerships are the only places that can have the vehicle certified. Once a Cadillac is certified, it will have a total of 6 year/100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty on it with no deductible! That is an awesome warranty! I am just trying to cover my [censored] in case something happens to the vehicle. Now that I am looking for something specific, it seems like it's impossible to find.

My oldest son turned 16 about a month ago and I bought him a program Jeep with 2000 miles off of a car dealership on Ebay...the dealership was 400 miles away and they delivered it to my door. There are quite a few Escalades on Ebay right now and if nothing else they have great pictures on there for researching vehicles:
Ebay

Obviously this is very subjective but look at it from your prospects perspective. What image does the Escalade and Denali convey to your prospects about you?

If you are working with well-heeled million dollar home homeowners, of the two vehicles I think the Escalade works fine. If you are trying to help homeowners get out from under a financial nightmare, they may not be as excited to see their agent driving an Escalade. Unless of course, you are doing short sales on million dollar homes. Just my two cents...

p.s. - I drive a 2007 Jeep Commander...also a gas guzzler...but love it.

One of my buyer agents drives a Yukon, and he asked me for an advance on some commission checks so he could fill up his tank... I'm serious! He said he was spending upwards of $300 a week on gas. (That's not counting depreciation - which is nearly as much when you're putting 35,000+ miles a year on a car.)

Despite good deals on SUVs these days, I'd think strongly about buying such a guzzler.

There are some commuting calculators out there that you might want to check on before you buy so you have a better idea of what you're getting into. There's a reason SUVs are so extremely cheap these days.

A Mini Cooper.

Go with the Cadi. Who gives a crap what other people think? I'd never buy a vehicle based on what someone else thought. O dear, they may be behind on their mortgage....I better buy a Yugo. Don't want them to sit up at night thinking about my nice ride! Maybe you can get your "short sell" clients to come pick you up under a bridge so they will feel a little better about their problems. Buy what you want, life is too short. BigC

Broker/Appraiser - Yes, ultimately drive what you want, but a good part of our business is based on perception.

When you are trying to build rapport and trust with someone who's an emotional wreck because his/her house is going to foreclosure, and probably not in a very trusting mood, your M.O. of "who gives a crap what other people think" might be the difference in working with the prospect and not.

All I know is if my home was heading for foreclosure and some slick looking agent that cold called me shows up in an Escalade - my first thought would be does this guy care about helping me or just trying to make a buck.

I'm all for making as much money as I can, but if I specialized in short sales I would be extra careful of how my prospects perceive me. Buy hey, who gives a crap what other people think.

2 SCENARIOS

1. if you business is going under and donald trump flies in (in his personal jet) and then has a limo drop him off at your door are you going to think....this guy is to successfull he sureley cant help me out of this jam >>>OR<<<this is a guy who can get the job done, he LOOKS like he can show me how to run a business

2. your business is going under and a guy pulls up in an old beat up 84 pickup and tells you that he will show you how to run a business because he is great at it....what are you going to think...this guy really looks like he can turn a business around >>>OR<<< has this guy turned even 1 business around (maybee he should be hiring a business coach)

[quote=El Luchador]All I know is if my home was heading for foreclosure and some slick looking agent that cold called me shows up in an Escalade - my first thought would be does this guy care about helping me or just trying to make a buck.
[/quote]

I used to feel guilty about things like that, and thought the same thing. Then, I realized, there is nothing wrong with being successful.

About 7 years ago, I sold a $2 million+ home to a buyer who paid cash. When I found out he was a stock broker, I figured he must be doing something right, and gave him all of my money to manage. I had gone through 6 or 7 stock brokers prior to that, and they may as well have been monkeys throwing darts at the stock section of the newspaper.

Deciding to work with someone BECAUSE they appeared to be successful was the best thing I've ever done. (He's doing just fine for me even with this latest economic crisis too.)

PS, that same buyer was initially hesitant to work with me because I was pretty young at the time.

After I picked him up in my Lexus, and happended to be wearing a watch I used to feel guilty about wearing around friends because it costs more than my first car, his opinion changed of me, and he cancelled his appointment with another Real Estate agent who he was going to interview the next day.

Will everyone feel that way? No. But I'd be willing to bet that portraying yourself as a successful business person will get you more business than it will cost you.

Just my $.02

[/quote]

2 SCENARIOS

1. if you business is going under and donald trump flies in (in his personal jet) and then has a limo drop him off at your door are you going to think....this guy is to successfull he sureley cant help me out of this jam >>>OR<<<this is a guy who can get the job done, he LOOKS like he can show me how to run a business

2. your business is going under and a guy pulls up in an old beat up 84 pickup and tells you that he will show you how to run a business because he is great at it....what are you going to think...this guy really looks like he can turn a business around >>>OR<<< has this guy turned even 1 business around (maybee he should be hiring a business coach)



[/quote]


Your two extreme examples fall well outside of the point I am making. Because I say don't pull up in an Escalade, doesn't mean I am saying pull up in an 84 pickup, or in a Yugo. And of course, if Donald Trump pulled up in a limo to provide salvation damn right I would go with him. But guess what - Donald Trump isn't doing residential short sales - and if any old short sale specialist showed up at my house in a limo, I wouldn't let him in.

Joel - I am talking very specifically about short sales, not about $2 million cash purchases.

I have no problem being, feeling, and looking successful - I am only making the point that when you are dealing with homeowners who are on the verge of financial ruin, and probably not in a very trusting mood, pulling up in an an Escalade I believe is not the best course of action.

they might percieve you as being very competent and able to make a sale in these tough times.

El Luchador,

i understand where you are coming from, but i will tell you that before i drove a decent car there were many a deal i truly believe i lost because i did not appear to be as successful. sure i had a smooth tounge and solid gameplan to get the house sold, but because i did not look like i sold house after house i probably appeared to joe public as a smooth talker who does not back it up with results.