The Stupid Car Issue

I would like to preface this blog by saying this: looking for a car is much like looking for a house. Do you want new or used? What features are you looking for? What is your price range? Can you afford the car/house you want? Very similar and VERY stressful and frustrating.

So here is the REAL reason the weekend was kind of a wash. I need a new car. Well, new USED car that is. I am now driving a car that is technically my parent's car, that was given to me to get me through college. I commuted so I had a very nice hand me down 2001 Mazda Tribute. This car and I have been through an awful lot but alas, I'm ready to drive it off an effing cliff! It has, since January of this year, been breaking once a month, sometimes TWICE a month. It is for this reason and this reason only that I will NOT be buying another Mazda.

Now I have never owned anything other than an SUV and it pains me severely to know that I wont be able to get what I REALLY want which is a Honda CR-V. You see, I have done my research, ohh have I done my research. The first and most important piece of research I did was reliability ratings because I need a car that is not going to break on me like this one is. This narrowed it down to a Honda or a Toyota. Next I needed to find out what I could afford and what I liked. I called my bank and took car of financing NOW I just needed to do some test driving to see what I liked.

I walked into a Honda dealership with my two partners in crime last week, Jackie J and Mary K. The poor sales guy. I told him I wanted to drive the following cars: a Honda Fit, a Honda Civic, and also, if he had them, a Toyota Matrix, Corolla and a Camry. He had the Hondas, no Toyotas. I then proceeded to test drive the fit and the civic with Jackie and Mary testing out the back and Jackie taking VERY helpful notes based on HER opinions (pros: "blue lights" cons:"big nobs!" and "Mary can't see out her window"). I found very quickly that I liked the fit, HATED the civic. It was like driving a go-cart especially after driving SUVs and trucks my whole life.

Next was a stop at the Herb Chambers Toyota in Auburn. The guy at the Herb Chamber Honda set this up for me. but the "rule" was I could buy a new car from them but if I bought a USED one, it had to be from salesman #1. "Why?" "Cause I said so". HAH! Yeah. ok buddy. I made an appointment to test drive some cars the next day, Friday. I was pretty far beyond annoyed when I showed up and said cars I had been expecting to drive were not waiting for me and I had a salesman who had been given NO information on what I was looking for. We walked around the lot aimlessly. No I had no intention of buying a car from them. This was research. I needed to know what I liked and what to cross off the list. MB showed up and the FIRST THING THE SALESMAN SAID was "are you willing to give this young lady some money to get her in the car she wants." :O I almost effing hauled off and hit him. I puffed like a frickin' blow fish at that. How DARE he have the audacity to ask him such a thing?! He officially lost me there. MB just smiled and said "we'll see what she likes and then we'll talk about it." :) Playin the game, I love him for that. I ended up HATING the Yaris before i even drove it which was sad cause I thought I was going to like the hatchback. It looks like a bubble.

The problem here was the salesman did not listen when I said I was just test driving and I made the mistake of telling him I was looking for a used car under a certain amount of money. If I had NOT shared this with him we could have test driven some new cars, found out what we liked, and been on our merry way. I test drove a '05 I think it was, corolla and instantly knew the Civic was now out for good because it drove so much better. There were no used Matrixs for me to drive which I should have insisted on driving a new one just because, and then came the Scion. Salesman #2 REALLY wanted me to buy this car. It did help me realize that I really wanted a hatchback. A separate trunk really doesn't do it for me. So I drove said Scion, really liked it, MB liked it (from the backseat anyways) and then they were closing and salesman #2 panicked. He told me he would get me good deal. I said I'll do some research and think about it. It was supposedly a 'smart price car' which I didn't know at the time. They were asking a new car price for an '08. I did some research, had nightmares about cars, and called them the next morning.

I asked to speak to THE sales manager, I got Omer instead. "I'm not coming down there and wasting my time if you cannot get this car under $13,000. It is NOT worth near what you priced it as and I'm not paying it." "you come down I take care of you." HAH!

So there we were, wasting all our damn precious time Saturday morning at a dealership with a bunch of sleazeballs. I swear they all go to sleazy idiot class together. Once again, here is where they make their mistake though. They take one look at me and think 'nice girl, easy sale'. Then I whip out research, and stats and THEIR OWN INVENTORY and throw it in their face and they turn white. I am probably the farthest thing from an easy sell. MB sat back and watched all this with mild curiosity. I made it through salesman #2, Omer and then I got manager #3. He was as laid back appearing as Omer was obnoxious. "I can't sell it to you for that much. BUT I have a car that meets most of your criteria." It was a 2 door black yaris. "Oh my god are they kidding, don't even drive it Linds" MB said. I amused them, then came back and laughed in their face and told them it doesn't meet ANY of my criteria expect the price. Come to find out, the issue was they had bought the damn Scion on trade in for more than it was worth! So I basically did more research then they did and they didn't like it. There were a lot of, over the head, behind the back deal attempts going on but in the end, I refused to pay and they refused to budge.

NOW salesman #2 was really panicking. He was trying, he really was, but I was becoming less and less interested. He then made the mistake of insulting me. I had to leave, I had WASTED my entire morning, a fact which made me very ready to effing strangle stupid Omer for (I'm blaming him for lying to me), and I need to be at my best friend's baby shower in 2 hours. I was turning things down left and right. I wasn't buying a car that day ANYWAY but this did not deter salesman #2. "Well you have champagne taste on a Budweiser budget so I think your going to have to reconsider your options." I turned and glared at him. I was done right there. I wanted to point out to him that I in fact, probably spend less money on my weekend bottle of cheap champagne then anyone does on a 6y of Budweiser but I kept my mouth shut and left.

This, right here, is what I have been wasting all of my precious time doing. Looking at fricking cars and talking to slimy, stupid salesmen. Monday I had had it and MB and I trotted over to Barnes Auto nearby who MB had been pushing me to all along. They have a good reputation and they aren't pushy. In all honesty I never intended to buy a car from a dealership but merely test drive them but I know I'm looking for very difficult things to find. The two cars I really want haven't been on the market long enough to find used ones. We spent MAYBE 30 minutes at Barnes. We told them what I was looking for. They only sell a few cars and they buy them at auction. So now, after all the time I've wasted, at least I know what I want and I have someone else on the hunt for me.

What have I learned? That I AM, in fact, as formidable as I delusion myself into thinking I am. ALL dealership car salesmen are COMPLETE idiots, cannot be trusted and are very slimy, but really this was just a confirmed fact, I did know this already. and finally, I am not wasting any more time LOOKING FOR STUPID EFFING CARS! It's wasting my time I could be spending my my lovely house and THAT just cannot stand.

NOW, lets see if I ever get a car.