That Damn Car!

 

For about a year, we have been down to one car (another debacle I won’t discuss here).  The car prices were insanely high, so we decided to wait before buying another car.  It will be Barbara's car and she has spent considerable time researching various makes and models in our budget. Last week we visited several local dealerships to get a sense of the market. 

Early in the afternoon, we arrived at a local dealer.  We test drive two cars, one within our budget and one well above our budget.  We had been working with a salesman.  We indicated that we were paying cash for the car and did not have a trade in.  

Just as we were finishing with the salesman, his sales manager came in.  He says “my boss tells me that we need to sell 6 more cars before the end of the month” (it is the next to last day of the quarter).  He then presents us with an offer for the car we didn’t think we could afford.  It was a really good offer but would be a stretch for us.  We wanted to talk it over, so we decided to get some lunch.

At lunch we agreed to go to one more dealer before making a decision.  We test drove another car, talked with the salesman and his sales manager.  Their car was very nice, but the deal was nowhere close to the last dealer’s.  At this point we were exhausted and decided to go home.

We got home and started talking about the day.  Barbara thought the first offer was so good that we should go back that evening and close the deal.  I commented that the deal sounded too good to be true.  We should call the sales manager to check his numbers.  He called back and said that his numbers were right.  So we drank some caffeine and returned to the dealer that evening.  

After signing a bunch of papers and refusing a bunch of last minute offers of enhanced features and service agreements, we needed to meet with the finance guy to finalize the deal.  Just before we met the finance guy, Barbara turned to me and said, “I feel rich, I didn’t think we could afford a new hybrid SUV.”

After meeting the finance guy, we signed more papers and refused more add-ons.  Finally, we got to the end.  I asked how much to make out the check for.  He points to a number.  It’s $10K more than the sales manager’s offer.  We say this is wrong.  The finance guy says this is how much the car costs.  Barbara brings out the sales manager's offer.  The finance guy says he needs to get the sales manager.  The sales manager made the offer assuming that we had a $10K trade-in!

Argh … Instantly we went from the rich people who could afford the car to the poor people who couldn’t afford the car.  Furthermore, we were going to need to buy a car for $10K less, it would seem like a disappointment or let down compared to the car that we thought we were buying.

Rationally, my mind knows that it was an honest mistake.  Somehow the handoff from the salesman to the sales manager got bungled.  In the long run it won’t make much difference.  We’ll end up buying a car that fits our needs and in our budget and we’ll forget all about it.  However, whenever I think about it, all rational thought flies out the window, my emotions take over and I get mad.

About 4-5 days later I drive home and look around.  The people across the street have a new car in their driveway.  From the same dealer …  the same make  …  the same model  … the same color!  Crap!  They bought the car we thought we were buying!  Every friggin 'time that I leave my house, I’m going to glance across the street and see that damn car!  Unbelievable!

A few days after that I’m playing disc golf with a couple friends.  We finish our round and return to our cars.  Right next to my car is a new hybrid SUV (different brand) in the same color as “that damn car”.  We’re out in the middle of the woods, it’s the only other car within eyesight!  What are the chances of that?  My friends burst out laughing.  “For the next 6 months, Steve’s going to see that damn car everywhere he looks!”

Grumpy Steve