> Eventually I realized I had to be as good as possible, and as responsive as possible
The first time I was car shopping, I was appalled at how unresponsive some car salesmen could be.
It was 2003. I was 20 years old, looking to buy something used in the $3-7000 range. I didn't have my heart set on any specific car, I just knew I wanted a 4-door sedan with air conditioning, and that I cared more about fuel economy and reliability than performance. I mean, I was only making $11/hr, and was probably going to be moving out of my parents' within the next year or two, so needed something that wouldn't cost me a ton of money.
I told each dealer that, and most of them took me to cars that met the criteria I was looking for, but one of them started off by showing me a $12,000 Pontiac Sunfire Convertible and started raving about the incredible Alpine stereo heat unit. 2-door, no A/C, and way above my price range. I was like "Uh...no, not at all what I asked for" and re-iterated my criteria, and added that while a nice stereo is nice, I'd also not spend the money on that right now. He then tried to sell me a PT Cruiser, which again was way outside my price range. I said "Thank you for wasting my time" and left.
I have no idea what that guy was thinking. My brother sold cars for a short period of time and said that either he thought "Psh, this guy is 20 years old, he doesn't know what he wants, I'm gonna sell him something he thinks will be a girl magnet", or it's possible, though very unlikely, that they didn't actually have something that fit what I wanted.
The dealer I eventually bought from, after telling him what I was looking for, asked "Manual or automatic?". I said I didn't care, and he showed me two cars that fit my criteria, test drove one of them, and drove it home.
The first time I was car shopping, I was appalled at how unresponsive some car salesmen could be.
It was 2003. I was 20 years old, looking to buy something used in the $3-7000 range. I didn't have my heart set on any specific car, I just knew I wanted a 4-door sedan with air conditioning, and that I cared more about fuel economy and reliability than performance. I mean, I was only making $11/hr, and was probably going to be moving out of my parents' within the next year or two, so needed something that wouldn't cost me a ton of money.
I told each dealer that, and most of them took me to cars that met the criteria I was looking for, but one of them started off by showing me a $12,000 Pontiac Sunfire Convertible and started raving about the incredible Alpine stereo heat unit. 2-door, no A/C, and way above my price range. I was like "Uh...no, not at all what I asked for" and re-iterated my criteria, and added that while a nice stereo is nice, I'd also not spend the money on that right now. He then tried to sell me a PT Cruiser, which again was way outside my price range. I said "Thank you for wasting my time" and left.
I have no idea what that guy was thinking. My brother sold cars for a short period of time and said that either he thought "Psh, this guy is 20 years old, he doesn't know what he wants, I'm gonna sell him something he thinks will be a girl magnet", or it's possible, though very unlikely, that they didn't actually have something that fit what I wanted.
The dealer I eventually bought from, after telling him what I was looking for, asked "Manual or automatic?". I said I didn't care, and he showed me two cars that fit my criteria, test drove one of them, and drove it home.
Owned that car for 13 years and 120,000 miles.