I hate, hate, HATE the fact that life exhausts me so much.
We went car shopping today. I managed to look sane in front of strangers. In front of my husband, well, I’m sure I looked a bit more… unhinged.
On Monday night, my husband went online and submitted a request for price quotes from dealers who had the car we are interested in. Six emailed us back by Tuesday morning. Most of the emails didn’t include a price quote and didn’t say whether or not the even HAD the car. I found this troubling and didn’t know how to proceed.
What if the first dealer we talked to was right and nobody had this car on the lot? We’d have to order the car and pay full price. That would not please the people who are paying for the car… namely, my parents. I hate, hate, HATE this process, I kept saying. Buying a car with their money feels very stressful. Maybe it wouldn’t bother others, but if you knew how judgmental my parents are, you’d get it.
--- --- ---
Finally, on Thursday, I worked up my courage and emailed the dealers back. I said that if they had the car and told me how much they wanted for it, I’d come in this weekend and talk to them. I asked them to EMAIL me back.
Three called. One of the callers didn’t really have the car I was looking for, so I made appointments to go see the other two callers today. This morning, we drove out to the first one in the East Bay. We took a test drive and I liked the way the car handled.
It turned out that he really didn’t have the color with leather seats like we were looking for, but everything was pleasant enough. He looked around and thought he could get one for us.
Great, we said, here’s the price to beat.
He beat it.
Great, we said, make sure you can get it.
He got it.
Great, we said, here’s a deposit. We’ll be back to do the paperwork.
No, his manager said, we won’t take a deposit. You have to do the paperwork RIGHT NOW.
Uh… no, we said, we have to get our finances in order and frankly it’s a $30k purchase. We require 24 hours to make sure we’re happy with this decision. (and honestly, we needed to shop his price around a bit and see if we could beat it.)
No, the manager said. Paperwork. Now.
Good bye, we said, and walked out.
--- --- ---
So, we drove over to Target. Where I tried not to have a panic attack about the whole thing. I started in with the familiar negative thoughts:
What if the first dealer we talked to was right…?
Nobody has this car on the lot…
What if we have to order the car…?
My parents are going to think I’m stupid because I can’t buy a car…
I hate, hate, HATE this.
But… one dealer in the North Bay actually READ my email and emailed me back as I requested. He said that he’d be getting the car I wanted in a week and would hold it for me with a deposit. So as soon as I got out of the East Bay dealership, I called him up. Yes, it was the car I wanted. Yes, he could go slightly lower in price than the East Bay dealer. Yes, he’d actually TAKE a deposit (what a concept). Done.
--- --- ---
When we got home, we called my parents to tell them the news. My dad was less than exuberant. “Well, that’s $1k less than the MSRP. But the dealer’s still making $2k. Are you sure he’s not adding on a bunch of extra fees? Make sure he’s not adding a cleaning or polishing fee. And what’s he giving you for the trade in?”
I don’t know dad, I said. It’s probably not gonna be the $6 or $7k you want… the car’s got a small dent on one side. And it’s got 95,000 miles on it.
“Yeah, I know” he said. “These guys are all crooks. If they try to give you less than $5k, then you gotta be prepared to walk outta there and wait for someone else. These slime balls… “
And as he launched into another rant, my negative thoughts came marching in…
What if the first dealer we talked to was right…?
Nobody has this car on the lot...
What if we have to order the car…?
My parents are going to hate me…
“Aren’t you excited about all this?” I heard him say. “You’re getting a brand-new car!”
I hate, hate, HATE this.
*update: right after I finished typing this, I got a call from another dealer. He'll give me the same model for slightly less. Sigh. Now I guess I have to pit him against the North Bay dealer to see who will give me the better trade in price. Oh, that'll be fun. I can see it now... this guy won't want to hold the car for me while I run off and see what the North Bay guy'll give me...
2 comments:
i don't envy you. buying a car with my own money was stressful enough. i can't imagine doing what you are doing. i think you made the right decision by walking out on that guy though - you don't have to do the paperwork instantaneously. they do play games - i read a great article about that where a guy worked as a car salesman for several months at two different types of dealerships and then wrote about what he learned. you can read it here. i think this was the single most helpful thing i read before buying a car. good luck!
I hate the damned unreasonable expectations. I mean, you only have so many units of energy a day, right? Why spend more than the available balance just to make your parents happy with a trade-in price? I know it comes as NO surprise to hear me say it, but they take all the joy and spontaneity out of things.
Rrrr. All the same, I have confidence that you will arrive a the best option. The best option is GOOD ENOUGH. Time moves forward and if you don't set a limit, you will still be shopping for a car in a year and a half.
Try this if they hassle you. Calculate your cost per hour. How much is your time worth? What do you charge for work, for example. Then add up the time you've spent beyond what you think is reasonable for shopping for a car. Don't forget to add in hubby's time, too. In the end, don't spend $2000 worth of time just to save $1000 in trade-in money. Not worth it and I think Dad will understand that.
I think I'm exhuasted beyond recogntion and it's showing in my communication skills. The car thing will work out GREAT. At some point (soon) it will be over and you'll have the car and you won't have to do the fiddly things anymore. Good luck.
Post a Comment