Sunday, October 23, 2005

I Said No.

I had the most wonderful and liberating experience today. I told a car salesman, "no." LOL! I know that sounds funny, but if you had my experiences, and regrets, with car salesman, you'd be celebrating with me.

I really hate that pushy, dishonest mentality. Now granted, not all car salesman are like that, but the ones I've dealt with were. I've been on the bad end of a deal too many times to mention.

This time I went alone, with my mind set on the conditions I would even consider before making a move. I went, I saw the car I've been drooling over for years. (A Toyota RAV 4. My tastes are simple. LOL!) It was even the color I wanted.

So, we sat down. Let's talk numbers. What can you give me for my car? The RAV is used, how much will you negotiate with me? And so forth. I write down info, salesman dude runs back and forth between his manager and me, sprinkling in stories to build my trust. Blah, blah blah.

First round of numbers come back. I look at the figure they're willing to give me for my car. I know the blue book value. This is lowballing. I eye the "nice" little salesman. "Are you serious?" He runs back to the manager.

Sales guy comes back. Then I get this. "We weren't supposed to sell the car you chose."

Okaaaaaaay. Fine. Not my problem.

"But wait." Oh, here it comes. Can you hear me groan? Salesman dude runs back to his manager. I don't understand why the guy is still overweight. If I had to run that much I'd lose twenty pounds.

He returns and shows me the numbers again. Okay, they upped the amount for my car a little. A little. I hedge. He tells me how he convinced them to sell the car "they weren't suppose to sell." He's keeping good faith with his customer. Me. Can you feel the pressure? I sure could. But this time, I didn't let it get to me.

I look at him, I look at the numers. I say the words I've never said before. "No thanks. I'll pass."

Salesdude? His eyebrows went up and suddenly, he wasn't so friendly anymore.

Oh well, I was outta there. I grabbed my bag and left with something better than a car. My dignity. And it felt great.

11 comments:

Heather Diane Tipton said...

good for you!

Unknown said...

GOOD FOR YOU, girl! Having worked in the retail end of the auto industry for ten years, you did the right thing! It's amazing some of the "tricks" they'll continue to try, even knowing that everyone recongnizes it for the "scam" it is! I'm so proud! Of course, you COULD have looked at the numbers the last time, looked at the salesman and batted your long lashes and given him MY PHRASE....LOL

Anonymous said...

ROFL yeah! Should have given Robin's phrase to him!!!!!!

Dineen A. Miller said...

You two are so twisted. But I love yas!

Unknown said...

Then again, had you used my phrase, I probably would have cried tears of pride! LOL

Anonymous said...

LOL Yep twisted. LOL Robin would have cried tears of pride I would have fell over laughing.

Anonymous said...

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!! *grins* Okay, slinking back to my sad little world...oh! I love you!! :-D

Camy Tang said...

You GO girl!!! I'll take you with me the next time I need to buy a car!
Camy

Unknown said...

SO....are you still looking at other dealerships? Or checking them out online maybe?

Unknown said...

Oh, I'm envious! It's usually my husband who gets tired of the bull and gets up to walk out. I feel too guilty for wasting their time.

Lynette Sowell said...

Umm...I hate to say it...but our other car is a maroon RAV4 with a sunroof. It's not really ours, but we're keeping it for a friend while he cruises around the world working as a civilian for the Navy. I had no idea it was a special car. Good for you for saying no! :)