J and I went for a walk yesterday. Although still chilly, the air was too fresh, the sun too sunny, to remain inside with a clear conscience.
But first we decided to go for a little drive. To a friend's house to drop off our first payment for playoff tickets and a Jordan Staal bobble head doll. Then to a used car dealership, to take a look at a 1999 Porsche Boxster that caught J's eye earlier in the week.
We walked into a nearly empty showroom, the majority of the staff gathered around a desk talking. The salesman who rose to greet us was an older man, nicely dressed in a well pressed polo shirt and crisp pants. On first impression, he appeared to be the standard equivalent of the modern day used car salesmen.
Upon further interaction, we learned that this man was the sales equivalent of the anti-Christ, coming on smooth and sophisticated while simultaneously attempting to sow discord. His technique consisted of the full press hard sell with a combination of insults, flattery and transparent attempts to play J and I off against each other.
I did the only thing that I could under this assault. I played the dim, whiny and much beloved wife.
I snuggled up to J and carefully fixed the collar on his coat and the scarf around his neck. When the salesman asked me what it would take for me to “let” J have the car, I said he would have to teach me how to drive it, then complained that he had not taught me how to drive his Miata. Sensing an opening, the salesman asked if J intended to teach me to drive. J said “no”.
While J talked engines and spark plugs I went over the car, opening every possible door, sitting in the passenger's seat, running my hands across the body and frame and peering into the two trunks. My inspection of the car (which was in excellent shape) made the sales guy uncomfortable to the point that he started closing trunk lids and doors and moving both of us away from the vehicle, into his office for further discussion.
In the office, the salesman returned to J's refusal to teach me to drive. He said HE could teach me in fifteen minutes, he had a guaranteed system. J tried to contain his laughter as I enthusiastically thanked him for his offer. As the conversation turned to finances, we learned that we could not get an estimated payment unless we agreed to buy the car.
After much coaching, J was able to convince the salesman to write down some rough numbers. As we were leaving, I was asked if I thought J would purchase. Still in character, I smiled sweetly and told the man that since J had “let” me buy the car I wanted, I certainly was not going to stop him from purchasing the Boxster, but that the decision was ultimately his. We shook hands and left the showroom.
Off to Oakland we went, for a walk around the urban neighborhood, with several stops to take photographs of some of the new murals. Pictures coming soon.
"we learned that we could not get an estimated payment unless we agreed to buy the car"
ReplyDeletethis is asinine, and the whole experience sounds just plain awful. do you really not drive the miata? this was a very entertaining story. i hope you're not actually planning on going back to that dealership, they sound like complete asshats that don't deserve your business.
Dealing with car salesmen is brutal. One time my brother in law and I went to a Mazda dealer to look at the new Miatas. He has an older Miata and always wants to see the new ones.
ReplyDeleteThe sales guy pointed to the two power window buttons on the center console thing near the gearshift and said "Oh, this one has a power roof." I asked him if one of the switches opens the roof and other own closes it. I just looked all confused and said "I guess so." LOL Goober.
Great story, Jenn! Reminds me of the time I bought my first "very own" car while I was in law school. The salesman would not tell me the applicable interest rate until I agreed to use Nissan financing. When I proved reluctant to commit to the deal under those circumstances, he called my Dad (having seen him listed as a co-signer on the loan application) and tried to convince him to make me buy the car.
ReplyDeleteThat phone call, made to the father of a feminist girl in law school, lost him the sale. I took the proposed price, went to another dealer, and said, "I'll pay this if you can find this particular car for me." THAT was the most satisfying car purchase I have ever made!
Frank - Jeff still drives the Miata during the summer months. He wants to upgrade to a higher end roadster and sell the Miata, and he settled on looking for a used Porsche. We are not purchasing anything until after the Volvo is paid off, so we have another year yet to look.
ReplyDeleteJay - Miata's have power roofs? That is news to me! What a stupid dealer.
Lisa - I had a similar experience buying my first car, in graduate school, except the sales manager told me I could not purchase the vehicle because I did not have a NC driver's license. I ended up buying a used Protogee from my Insurance agent (of all people!). With my PA driver's license.
The day after I closed the deal, the dealer (a woman) called back and informed me that they had worked out a way to get me into the car. She was stunned when I said no thank you, that I had a purchased a vehicle elsewhere.
The real irony in this recent story? If the dealer had been less of a jerk, we very well may have walked out with that Porsche, as it was in excellent shape, had low mileage (50K for a 9 year old car!) and a great price tag.