I am in the market for a new car. I currently drive a minivan and although I have loved the space for the family, it is now time to part ways for something smaller. Gas is just too expensive. It has served its purpose well for our family. I will miss the ease of putting my road bike in and out; believe it or not, more than keeping the kids separated on those long haul trips.
I hate to say this, but as a woman, I loathe buying a car. It is almost as painful as getting the oil changed. A guy never has to endure the same thing we do when it comes to mechanics or salesman. Now, don’t get me wrong, I realize that it is not every mechanic and salesman, but it is pretty darn close. I cannot stand when the oil change place wants to call you in to the shop to “show” you what’s wrong or what they need to work on. I don’t need to see it. Just do it.
A few years ago with two toddlers on my arm, I had such an experience. The kids were tired and hungry and in desperate need of a nap. I thought I would be able to zip in and out because there was no waiting line. Well, after waiting for 30 minutes, the technician came in and asked me to “come on out and I can show you what we did”. My reply to him was “No, thanks.” He looked back at me with a perplexed stare and repeated himself. Again, I said no and “Really, I don’t need to see it. If you are done, then I’m ready to leave.” My kids were starting to resemble gremlins with tearing through the coffee service station and I let them! Normally I would have tried keeping them out, but it was just one of those days and by this time I needed a nap too! The tech was so surprised by my “no” rather than the canned “OK, sure” that everyone always does, that he just went through the door, got in my car and pulled it out of the work station bay. From that point on, “No” became a magic word in that scenario and works to this day.
As I said, I am in the market for a new car. I have been doing my homework for months now trying to narrow down what I want and what will fit our budget. My husband just went through this process a little over a month ago and bing, bang, boom within a day had a car. We got our quotes from a few places and when it came down to the sale he got a little bit of a dance; the back and forth with the manager to see if our offer would be acceptable. Another dealer about 45 minutes away was quoting the price we wanted. We began to dicker over $300.00. When our salesperson came back, I finally said, “Listen, you can sell your car to us right now, or we can drive to the other dealer and get the price we want. It does not bother us to leave and drive the 45 minutes.” They sold us the car and 2 hours later we drove it off the lot.
Today, I had an appointment to test drive a car. My experience was completely different. I walked into the showroom and barely got a hello. I was seated at the salesperson's “desk” and he proceeded to take phone calls. The last call he had was finished with a “yeah, I have a customer here and I gotta go.” Once he said good-bye to his phone friend, he asked, “So, what am I going to sell you today?” Well, let’s get through the test drive and we’ll take it from there, shall we? My reply “Since I am testing two different vehicles, let’s see which I like best and then we can talk.” We test drove the first car, which he sat in the backseat, not offering anything other than turn right or turn left. Talk about a backseat driver! No info on what model I was driving, what options came with it, nothing. I only knew by seeing an info sheet that he threw onto the passenger side floor. We got back to the lot and he went inside to get the key for the second car I was testing. He left me standing in the parking lot holding the license plate waiting. OK, enough was enough. I walked into the showroom and found him chatting with the customer service girl…”oh, are you ready to go for your test drive now?” No you big Yahoo, I want to stand in the middle of the parking lot waiting for you. I politely handed him the plate and said “thanks for your time, but I think I’m all set.” Apparently, he didn’t need to make a sale today and another dealer in the area will reap the benefit of his mistake.
So, my quest continues and hopefully I will soon have new wheels to bring me from point A to point B without having to break the bank or my patience.
GOOD FOR YOU!
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