Memorable Car Buying
Memorable Car Buying
Copyright 2018 by Harris B. McKee
Purchasing an automobile is one of those trying experiences that most of us have survived. Perhaps the challenge arises because the size of the purchase is typically second only to the purchase of a residence. There is an additional aspect, however, which is that most of us guys and some gals have almost a love affair with their cars at least early in our lives.
Several purchases of mine are memorable. The first involved a 1948 Pontiac which my father purchased in 1954 to replace a 1940 Chevrolet that had been damaged by teenagers who took it for a joyride through our farm fields while we were at church. The Pontiac was the first car in our family to have an automatic transmission. It also had a state of the art heater which delivered heat under the seat instead of through a small blower in front of the passenger. To make it chicer, I lowered the rear end with lowering blocks and replaced the muffler with a noisier variety. Another first for this car was that my father, for the first time in a car purchase, bought it on time. Unfortunately, a few weeks after we took possession, we discovered that it needed a ring job. The discount on the parts and labor was small consolation.
Interactions with auto salesman are also marked deep in my memory. One of the more interesting ones involved a non-purchase. I had taken our 1963 Chevy II to the dealer for a nighttime repair of the ball-joints while I waited. It was sometime during my army duty in California and we had begun to look at purchasing an intermediate station wagon to provide more space for our growing family. But the looking had only involved paying attention to Consumer's Report and beginning to understand the markup at the dealer. When an energetic salesman came around the waiting room and began to try to interest me in a new car immediately, I decided that talking to him might be better entertainment than the waiting room literature. He asked what I was interested in and I described it; he said that he had one like that on the lot and asked what I would offer for it. I said that I wasn't really ready to buy yet and he asked if there wasn't some price that I would pay now. I said yes there was but he wouldn't be able to sell it at that price. He asked for the amount and I gave him a number that I knew was below dealer cost from my preliminary investigations. He said, money talks around here; are you willing to write a check for that amount? I didn't have that much money in my checking account but figured that at that price it would be worth it and wrote out a check. He said, I'll have to get the approval from the sales manager and disappeared. He reappeared and said that they couldn't do it at that price but would have to have $400 more. I wasn't willing; he then said, "The car is only going to cost you $400! You are willing to pay $2800 so only the difference is really a cost." He didn't convince me; my car was repaired and I asked for my check. Getting the check back helped make the evening really memorable; it was locked in their safe and my salesman claimed to not have access! When I insisted, he relented and got the check; I think that it was probably time for him to go home and he had nothing to show for the evening. I considered it entertainment. He probably did not
My last car purchases have been really enhanced by the salespersons. In both cases, they proved amazingly knowledgeable about minute aspects of the vehicle features. Test drives were like engineering experiments with them showing me features that I had not known, for example turning radius, a "smart" cruise control, heated wipers, etc., etc. I was being entertained and informed. The fact that the Subaru Outback with the features that I wanted was not on the lot but in transit from Japan probably reduced my negotiating power but it had what I wanted and has been a great car.