Selling the Drama June 27, 2006
Posted by manovermatter in Knocksense.trackback
It has been quite a while since I’ve smeared my thoughts across this virtual paper and it is time once again to start ignoring those insightful voices in my head telling me to keep my inner thoughts private!
I have been car shopping for weeks now and run into a few hitches (hmm, I’ve discovered car puns are not as funny as body part puns). The most notable of these setbacks are the two cars I came within a midgets small person’s reach of purchasing. The first was a saturn from a small dealership and an even smaller salesman. This guy reeked of not-quite-successful salesperson, it was written on his sweaty forhead. He reminded me so much of Ol’ Gil from the Simpsons that I would have laughed on sight…if he didn’t make me feel so terribly sorry for him.
After thorough scrutiny of the car all seemed well, except for some evidence of minor repairs to the drivers door. I was assured that the carfax was clean and so I made Ol’ Dan’s day by shaking hands and putting down a deposit. After almost a week of dealing with banks and insurance companies I had a non-negotiable loan in my hand and car insurance for THAT saturn, and on my way out the door to buy I decided that (thank you for prompting me Ashley) $25 getting my own carfax account might be money well spent. Boy was it ever. I dont know if Dan is aware that 1) “Accident indicator” on a carfax does not mean it is clean and 2) lying to customers makes you a jackass. So I got the deposit back and walked away.
The second and much more recent wacky adventure in car buying came about from a friend of the family who was trying to get rid of their car. It was a nice 2003 Hyundai Elantra, dark blue with the sports package, not a bad car. I was very excited at the inital price and wanted to high tail over there and grab it the hell up. Before I could even get out the door, however, the phone rang. You see the husband apparently spoke out of line, as they tend to do. I was told the the initial price was not even close to what the wife wanted to sell it for. This was understandable as it really would have been the deal of the century. I journeyed to their house to see the car and participate in what I THOUGHT would be a price negotiation. She quoted me a price, I made a counter offer of what I could afford (mind you, it was pretty close), and she said “we’ll see, I’ll let you know tomorrow.” The next day I strutted around thinking that FINALLY I had purchased a good car for a price I can afford, or was at least a few hundred dollars away from closing the deal. But I’m a dummy, so I really should learn not to strut. The following night I did hear…and it was “no.” No talk of counter offers, no hints of renegotiations, just no. I believe the proverbial spikes at the bottom of this pit was not the money but the inter-cunnubial drama forged from the husband making a decision before consulting his wife. I walked, nay ran away from this deal as well. I think we can all learn a valuable lesson from it too!
Its time for CHOOSE YOUR LIFE LESSON! yay!
- If you are a woman proceed to, but do not read beyond Life Lesson # 1
- If you are a man skip right to Life Lesson # 2
- If you are a dork move all the way to Life Lesson # 3
Life Lesson # 1: Husbands should ALWAYS consult with their wives!
Life Lesson # 2: Never, ever get married.
Life Lesson # 3: Don’t strut. You’re making things worse.
Word of the Day:
Brobdingnagian
brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\, adjective:
Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.
This is what happens when I have no internet access for 2 weeks. Rob gives his blog some love. Yay!
In regards to life lesson #1 (being that I am a woman), damn straight! Regarding the word of the day, Brobdingagian was a good choice. I believe it comes from Gulliver’s Travels? The land of Brobdingnag? Maybe I’m imagining things.
I’m sorry to hear you’re running into so much drama with your car buying, or lack thereof. I will keep fingers, toes, arms, and legs crossed that you find something soon.
You’re limb crossing I think has paid off, I am purchasing a 2003 Saturn Ion, I’ve got all the paper work with the bank and insurance sorted out, now I just have to pick up the car tomorrow morning. I’m hoping that no furthar drama comes bounding in at the last minute cause I didnt even write about most of the crazy obsticles I’ve run into car shopping. Thanks for the good luck!
That’s excellent!
What the hell, haven’t these people heard of haggling?
“I will give you this car for 1 million dollars”
“That car isn’t fit to be jumped over by Bigfoot and I will give you no more than 5 cents for it out of sheer pity.”
“You are insane. This car already comes fully equipped with a sticker of calvin peeing on a Chevy. $500,000 and not a penny less.”
so on, etc. until you meet up at like $5,000.
Speaking of blog love, Sonobovich, where have you been these 5 months? Also, it looks like my Korean cartoon was the only one submitted. Does that mean I get a floral basket or well shaped cucumber?
Yes, my blog is a time capsule, and yes, you will get your floral basket and well-shaped cucumber. I’m still looking for the perfect cucumber. The problem is that I dont have Internets access at home! The bastards at Verizon still haven’t installed their fiber-optic fibers to deliver all manner of Internets and telegraphs and whatnot.
I was wondering why you had not yet succumb to the addiction that is WoW.
What’s with those Verizon bastards? Don’t they realize that people are trying to telegraph you?
Yeah, I have been amusing myself with lesser, passing addictions. But still, deep inside, I want to get +40 or even +50 to something. Damn you, Verizon!
Oh yeah, do you have a car yet? If so, use it to drive to Delaware immediately.
Don’t forget to stop in Virginia on your way.
I do have a car now. But I also have a job that I can’t take off from unless I scheme ahead of time.
That’s how the man puts you down.
I feel you. My job definitely needs to give me more vacation time. I’ve never had so little free time! Being an adult is great and all, but there are certain things about it that SUCK.