Chris Farnham (3193) passes away, 3/8/15

tomo366 said:

Which Dealer?

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Radley. They ended up being OK, but I was enver as comfortable as chris. They are good for a VW dealer I guess. Took a long time for trade appraisal. One round of negotiation got what I wanted for trade.

Still we got there at like 1030 ish. Maybe 11. Didnt get out for 4 hrs. makes for a long day and I don't like that sort of thing. I'll give them all 5's though, becasue I know what VW CS standards are like, and they did do well. Car should have been thru delivery faster (detail, fueling, etc) but it was a damn Noah's ark level deluge yesterday, so I dont really fault them for it.

Finance guy was NO BS. Manager was low BS. Sales guy was low BS. Got a good deal on the car, told them what I'd pay, and what id take on my trade. Got the car price without hassle (my price was a hefty discount, but doable). Were were $500 away on the trade at first negotiation. I would have absolutely walked over that $500, and I think the manager sensed that. I can't fault him for trying to make a bit of money I guess.

I ended up getting 10K trade for my 2011 JSW with 116K on it. That was my minium. Dealer has to make money too, and the car DOES need a timing belt to sell on a dealer lot (I wouldnt buy a car at 116K that needs a $1200 service in 4k miles, would you?). Car was in good shape, couple chips in windshield and a scracth on left side from some idiot in a parking lot I guess. Could I have sold the car outright for 12K? Probably, but dealing with craigslist flakes and used car buyers isnt worth 2K to me.

All in all? I'd recommend them. That being said, Id neer recommend going to ANY dealer without laying the ground work first, and talking to a manager before you show up...... Unless of course, you were dealing with Chris Farnham.

I saved my old paperwork with his signatures on it. I missed buying a car from him. Really, I did.

ETA - Stohlman didnt have the car I wanted. And when you arent dealing with a guy like Farnham, you have to take what's on the lot to get that price. So - its all about having the car. Thats where YOUR power in negotiating lies. They gotta have the car.

nice work, had a dealer offer me $7k for my TDi cup car because of a eraser size mark in rear lower skirt, ya ok. thanks.

Chris didn't really like dealing with trades because he couldn't control what you would get and it handicapped him.....

He handled my trade well

Amazing guy he had a product that sold itself but he was a terrific guy anyway
Whoever tries to take over for him will have big shoes to fill

Mr. Annoying said:

Amazing guy he had a product that sold itself but he was a terrific guy anyway
Whoever tries to take over for him will have big shoes to fill

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The other guy posted here a couple of times but has made no further attempts.....I doubt if we will hear much more from them (Burlington VW)

That's very sad!
I bought both my Jetta and Passat TDI from him. Now, who's the best dealer to go for?

vlsi54199 said:

That's very sad!
I bought both my Jetta and Passat TDI from him. Now, who's the best dealer to go for?

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I will not endorse any dealer....

tomo366 said:

I will not endorse any dealer....

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Exactly this.

Just belatedly learned of Chris' passing. RIP.....one of the good guys.

tomo366 said:

The other guy posted here a couple of times but has made no further attempts.....I doubt if we will hear much more from them (Burlington VW)

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One of my neighbors is considering a Passat TDI. I mentioned to her that Burlington VW always had great deals in the past, but Chris had passed away. I remember seeing a post from someone at Burlington VW about still working with the folks here for great prices on TDIs. I searched to see if there were any updates/posts but didn't find anything. Sad.
Eric

Shenandoah said:

One of my neighbors is considering a Passat TDI. I mentioned to her that Burlington VW always had great deals in the past, but Chris had passed away. I remember seeing a post from someone at Burlington VW about still working with the folks here for great prices on TDIs. I searched to see if there were any updates/posts but didn't find anything. Sad.
Eric

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Chris was the Internet sales guy and he specialized in selling TDI's.....I don't believe any other person would take the same time and pride as he did....I love my Jetta and cherish it! as I know it was one of his last sales..... Think about My friend all the time!!

tomo366 said:

Chris was the Internet sales guy and he specialized in selling TDI's.....I don't believe any other person would take the same time and pride as he did....I love my Jetta and cherish it! as I know it was one of his last sales..... Think about My friend all the time!!

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While the folks at Burlington will help someone buy a VW, Chris was irreplaceable as a salesman and just all around helpful, friendly and honest guy.

My two month long purchase process with Chris was tedious as we were looking for a hard-to-find and late-in-the-year Passat color combination. At first we had the car and then we didn't. I eventually settled on the second choice and had to meet him on a Friday night after a business trip to Ohio.

It was a major PIA to get to Philadelphia, and I never really got there having to rent a car in D.C and drive for 4 hours in heavy rain. 30 minutes before I arrived at the dealership, the "my new to be" car was totaled on the Burlington lot after Chris had it detailed and waiting for my arrival (hit by a Jeep being test driven). Chris couldn't tell me the bad news when I called from 30 minutes away that night. All he said was "we may have a sight problem when you get here".............

Ever see two people in shock? (him and me)! Well, we ended up getting the first choice through his magic personality and determination to make things right. Then we worked a deal for me to help him make a trade to get the original sought after car Saturday afternoon. I drove the Dealership's Jetta "trade "to a Maryland dealer to make the trade for the Passat and used the dealer plates to drive my new Passat back to Texas. We did the paperwork after the fact.

I don't believe any other salesperson in the world would put out the effort that he did to fix a problem. Chris and I had a lot of laughs after that sale. Nothing is forever, but the Club has lost a good friend and a person who would do anything to help members here.

I know that! but this man was 44......I guess the man above needed a great Car salesman....

My last interaction with him was getting a sanity check on a local dealer's quote on a Passat TDI. He could not beat or even meet the price and told me so flat out. At that point I was certain that the local dealer's quote was BS and later I confirmed it as such...

It is a great loss. RIP Chris

I bought 3 cars from Chris. He will be missed. He was always up beat with a smile on his face. He was also great with my 3 kids.

I will miss Chris. Bought my Jetta TDI from him in 2009. What a wonderful guy! So easy to deal with and explained everything in a transparent manner. Picked me at the Airport, had the papers ready by the time we arrived at the dealership and I drove off with the car. Just logged on the forum looking for Chris to buy another TDI, when I learned about his passing away. RIP my friend

I have been MIA from the forum for much of the past year...just came across this thread.

Oh my.

I forced myself to read the entire thread....and I certainly echo every positive statement made regarding Chris as a person and as a Salesman.

We were looking for a new '12 Touareg TDI in late'11. I had several dealers in the Houston market that had made quotes. I had heard about this guy Chris in Philly and thought I'd give him a shot at my business.

Wow, he blew the others guys out of the water, and not just on price! He was responsive, friendly and a straight-shooter.

We were in VA visiting family for Christmas and made a side-trip up to Philly to pick up the Touareg from Chris. I can honestly say it was the only time in my life that I had fun buying a car! Chris was a hoot!

I knew he had some health issues, and had hoped that he received the care and motivation needed to buy him many more years, but our days are known and numbered.

As has been said numerous times, we have lost a true friend in the business. God broke the mold when he made Chris.

Rest in Peace buddy. I pray you are in the arms of the One who can truly heal.

Tim

Happy Birthday Chris from all your friends at TDIClub. Rest in peace.

I went to Chris' FB page to wish him Happy Birthday and stumbled across a post where I got to learn that Chris had passed away.

Never met him or purchased a car from him but communicated with him a few times and as everyone else knows, he was awesome.

May he rest in peace!!

Purchased my first car from chris, as others have said he couldn't have made the expierence any better. I live in PA where no front license plate is required and my car came from a Maryland dealer where a front plate is required. It never crossed my mind but when he first contacted the dealer he ensured they hadn't already installed the plate holder and wouldn't do so before transporting the car. Its those kind of things(and the pretzels haha) that made him a great guy. He will be missed.

Sent him an email several months ago that went unanswered. I came on the forum tonight because I need to buy an extended warranty and wanted to give the business to Chris. I had a gut feeling that he had fallen ill or passed. I bought a 2009 Touareg from him. All the local dealers lied to me and told me that VW only made white Touareg TDIs that year because they ALL only had white ones that they wanted to get ride of. Chris said: "they all lied to you - what color do you want, I will get it for you." When my 2006 Jetta TDI was totaled last October I drove 2 1/2 hours and stayed overnight in Burlington just to buy the car from HIM. Price was the same as a dealer close to home but I only trusted Chris not to pull a fast one at the last minute. Great guy. Honest as the day was long.

It's incredible to read all of these posts and to think about how many lives a car salesman in New Jersey touched.

I remember my visit to the hospital to see him after he had his heart attack a while ago. He was weak and couldn't talk because of the tubes, but we still had a great conversation through scribbles on a pad of paper. I spent about an hour and a half there before he was tired and needed a nap. I'll never forget that trip.

I wish other car salesman would read this thread. It should stand as an example of what being honest can do for sales. They should take note of how many people drove long distances or flew to him, just to make a deal with HIM because the buyer knew he wasn't trying to pull the wool over their eyes...

Truly one of a kind cannot be replaced....

tomo366 said:

Truly one of a kind cannot be replaced....

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I concur with this statement. However, it would be nice to see someone truly try...

mishkaya said:

I concur with this statement. However, it would be nice to see someone truly try...

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Wouldn't it.
I've met one other salesman ( a FORD salesman, before I turned to VW ) that was close. Followed him through 4 dealerships in 2 different states and bought 4 cars from him. Buying a car can be so stressful because dealers are generally so deceptive. When you find a guy like Chris it just removes all of the stress and allows you to just enjoy getting a new car.

rsiegfried said:

Wouldn't it.
I've met one other salesman ( a FORD salesman, before I turned to VW ) that was close. Followed him through 4 dealerships in 2 different states and bought 4 cars from him. Buying a car can be so stressful because dealers are generally so deceptive. When you find a guy like Chris it just removes all of the stress and allows you to just enjoy getting a new car.

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So true. I wish I'd had the opportunity to buy from/meet Chris.

RIP

ez

Very late to this, but just learned from a friend of Chris's passing. Between my friends, family, and me, we've purchased 7 cars from Chris. He was truly a one-of-a-kind. Despite my dad working for a Porsche/Audi/VW dealer for over 30 years, I gravitated to Chris after finding him on TDI Club way back when I was looking to trade my '05 New Beetle TDI for a '08 R32. Chris was hilarious, he knew nothing about the R32, almost literally. What he did know, however, was how to get a deal done and do so in the most professional and expedient manner. He actually connected me with a buyer for the '05 NB TDI in California who wanted all the (significant) mods I'd done to the car, which helped me fetch a pretty penny for the car.

After about a year and way too many miles and way too many tanks of gas (I was commuting about 100 miles/day at the time), my budget just couldn't justify the R32. I was upside down on the R32 and Chris crafted this amazing scenario that enabled me to trade it for my '09 Jetta TDI. Basically, I found a private buyer for the car that would pay off the loan balance. Chris worked his magic so that I could trade the car in (and receive the sales tax credit) and get the new owner of the R32 financed, all in one fell swoop. It was amazing.

Get a little older, make a little more money, and I decided to trade the Jetta on a BMW. I remember I was picking up my friend from Langhorne VW only a couple days after I got the BMW. Chris was outside having a smoke while I was picking her up and he was checking out my new ride. He was only mildly impressed. As we were pulling away he motioned for me to stop. I did and he came over to the driver's side, told me what a piece of $hit I had, and then informed me that one of the tail lights was out. We had a good laugh.

Fast forward a couple years and decided I wanted to hop into a Jetta Hybrid SEL Premium (I'm a sucker for the gadgets). Again, Chris knew nothing about the car, but man did he work hard to get the deal. And, he got me exactly the car I wanted...as he always did. That was the last car I bought from him, and I traded it about a year ago because there were strange problems creeping up that the dealer just couldn't fix, despite recognizing that they were problems. Chris had no qualms about reminding me I should've gone back to a TDI. It's amazing how he could tell you that you're a schmuck and never make you actually feel that way.

Chris and I spent hours gabbing about TDI Club, VWs in general, and he was always fond of making fun of my encyclopedic knowledge of VWs. For many months in a row, he kept referring his curious customers to me for VAG-COM help and such. It was a fun time and he was always incredibly appreciative of my help.

A friend that purchased a '07 GTI from Chris was looking for a new car back in early March and she of course reached out to Chris, but got no response. I thought that odd and so I reached out to him personally via every method he'd given me (personal cellphone, personal email, etc.) and also received no response. I found it so odd that was the case, and I suspected then that he had moved on or his health was faltering. I had a hunch he may have passed, but had hoped it wasn't true at all. I am incredibly saddened to learn of this, and am not afraid to admit I shed a few tears. There aren't enough people in this world made like Chris, and he truly will be missed for many reasons. I've only encountered a salesman of his caliber one other time in my life, and that's the smart salesman we've dealt with twice at smart center Germantown in Germantown, MD. Two niche cars. Two niche salesman. I only hope Langhorne VW and Burlington VW can aspire to keep Chris's reputation alive. My fiancé and I were just talking the other day about possibly moving back to a TDI for our next vehicle when one of our vehicles comes off lease. I'm going to feel quite guilty about giving our business to another salesman. So sad.

Funny I got the same Grief about my Jetta Hybrid from him....he said I hate to tell I told you so....I am so glad I got to see him and buy 1 more car before he left....