We spent a good part of the day test driving cars: 2007 Toyota Avalon, 2007 Toyota Highlander, 2006 Honda CRV, 2007 Toyota RAV4, 2010 Honda Pilot, 2010 Honda CRV. All had their ups and downs. And the 2007 Lexus LS 430, which we didn't drive, was almost awe-inspiring in its luxury. I had good reason to buy most of the cars. But I didn't.
Why?
Because cars are not worth what they want you to pay. They cost too much. Especially considering the fact that dealing with the people who are selling them makes me feel unclean. I'd be willing to buy a car, even if it cost too much, if I felt like I was not getting secretly screwed in the process. It's nasty, dealing with these people. A fellow blogger once wrote something that describes perfectly the feeling I have when dealing with these people; I'll paraphrase, since I don't have his original post. When I deal with car salesmen, I feel like I'm getting some embarrassing disease: "It feels vaguely disreputable, like something you'd contract by consorting with the livestock."
I thought fixed-price, no-negotiating protocols would improve the process. Dealing with the used-car salesmen was an improvement over dealing with new car salesmen in the past, but not by much. I don't trust these snakes as far as I can throw them.
I know I cannot keep the Blue Bastard forever. This weekend, it started making horrible crunching noises somewhere between the engine and the front left tire, tire, you know, the nether regions like the area between one's thighs and belly-button. But I just cannot stomach dealing with car salespeople. I get sick to my stomach and almost gag. I'm sure there are good, honest ones out in the world; they just don't happen to work in the Dallas area. They wouldn't last here.
I've almost come to the conclusion that, if I want a nice new or nearly-new car that is equipped with specifically the bells & whistles I want, I'm going to have to find it and then arrange to steal it or have it stolen. Risking prison isn't so bad, at least not compared to interacting with snakes who sell cars.
There, it's finished. My daily surly rant is done.
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3 comments:
Oh, definitely have it stolen, as opposed to stealing it yourself -- I've heard they don't let you blog from The Big House.
Ellie
Why not find a car you want that is in another town [there MUST be good salesguys SOMEwhere], and then take a trip to get it. You can find cars online.
Or, pick a nice small one-car dealership town, somewhere that you'd like to visit, and then drive to it and pick out your car.
Syracuse is nice.
;-)
I'd buy it online. That's how I bought the van that I drove to Arizona this winter. Got a great deal on it from a dealer who sells on ebay and has a high satisfaction record. I got it for a fraction of what I would have paid up here and it's been checked out by several mechanics and they all think it's a gem. Just put over 8300 miles on it in three months and the only thing that has been wrong with it in that time was a burnt out tail lamp bulb, and the right front power window motor wasn't working right, so I had it replaced (cost of 130 for parts and labour). It drives like a dream. I paid a bit over 5K american for it plus shipping into Canada (about 2500 to have it shipped in). This place sells all kinds of vehicles - not just vans. Anyhow, it's a thought.
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