The New Car Nightmare - The Finale!

So, after nearly six weeks of searching, researching, test driving and fending off rude salesmen, I made my decision: the Honda CR-V.

I decided that Les, the first Honda salesman I had met, was the best of the breed: no hard and obnoxious sales pitch, he responded whenever I had a question, kept me informed of specials and deals at his dealership, and was just generally a nice guy. He was getting my business.

I couldn't decide on the color - it was either going to be black (which my RAV4 was) or the navy blue. I made an appointment with Les for the afternoon of March 2 to look at both of them up close and personal. He had the two colors parked side-by-side, which made the decision a little easier: blue. Blue with gray interior. Leather interior, mind you. After committing to the color, it was time to decide on 2WD or AWD. I've only ever needed AWD twice in my life - once last February when my Reno buddies and I got stuck in a snow storm in Truckee, CA and once a couple of weekends ago when I had to cancel a trip to Nevada City to see Ruth and Adrienne (my cousin and goddaughter) because of snow. The difference in price was only about $1100, but I convinced myself that I could use that $1100 in Reno or on gas in the future, so I went with the 2WD.

I didn't think I would purchase that day because my bank was holding up my funding - I had deposited a rather large check on February 25. Because it was an 'out of state' check and for such a large amount, they were holding the funds and releasing it in stages: $100 on 2/26, $4,900 on 3/3 and the remainder on 3/11 (hey - that's today!). When I explained this to Les, he said that they would work with me - I could give them a portion of the money right then, and then they'd hold a post-dated check until 3/11 for the balance. I was surprised but thrilled at the prospect that I could be driving home in a new car that afternoon! I told Les - let's make a deal!

The excitement began. Les had my RAV4 appraised and made me a trade-in offer which was less than $2,000 from what Kelly Blue Book rated it - it was the best trade-in offer I had received so far. While he was working on that, I was seated in a nice area with tables and chairs, and he gave me a book that contained options that could be added to the car. He said "take a look at these options and let me know if there's anything you'd like to add - I can get you the price before we install anything to help you decide." What? No "you need to add this to your car..." talk? I was liking Les more and more.

After a while, Les reappeared and I told him that I really wasn't interested in any of the add-ons and he was fine with that. He said that I should take the one I was buying for a test drive one more time before I make the purchase; he said he always recommends you drive the one you're going to take home just to make sure you're comfortable with it. I thought that was very reasonable; when we got it in, it only had 4 miles on it! He said that the mileage was from the technicians who test the cars when they come in. It hadn't even been test driven by other customers - talk about a new car!

When we returned from the test drive, Les gave me some paperwork to sign, and told me he'd be back shortly - he was going out to have the car cleaned and readied for me to drive home that evening. By now, my heart was pounding and I thought I was going to pass out from the excitement.

A short while later, Les returned and took me in to meet Ace, the financing guy who was going to help me fill out all the paperwork for the purchase and the DMV. Ace was a young guy, but very polite and very knowledgeable about cars, the DMV paperwork and the workings of the dealership post-sale. I think I must have signed my name about 100 times in that 30 minutes. But, when it was all done, Ace stood up, extended his hand to shake mine, and congratulated me on becoming a part of the Honda family. I thought that was a very nice touch.

So, back to Les. He said they were just about done with the car, and it was now time to clean out the RAV. He was going to get the CRV from 'the shop' and pull it next to little RAVie so I could transfer my stuff. This was the last interaction I'd have with my friend of 7 years. I methodically found the 'trash' to be thrown away, and moved the important stuff from RAVie to the new CRV (which needs a name). When I handed Les the key (and he handed me the new keys), I cried because it was like saying goodbye to an old friend. Of course, I felt like a ding-dong crying over a car, especially when I had been a tough, hard sell bitch for the duration of this process. Les said not to worry because many people cry when they trade in their cars. That helped a little.

So, after about 3-1/2 hours at the dealership with my new best friend Les, I happily drove home in my new 2008 Blue Honda CRV EXL!

Now, I'm just having way too much fun driving around. Too bad gas has gone up so much....

Until next time,

Kel

The New Car Nightmare - Part 3

The Test Drives

So, I narrowed down my choices to the Saturn VUE, the Mazda CX-7 and the Honda CR-V. I decided to start on a Friday night with the Honda dealer closest to my office. I e-mailed the internet lead I got from them, Les, and made an appointment to stop by on my way home for a look-see and a test drive.

Les was very pleasant when I met him in person. I discussed the CRV with him, and the fact that I was just starting to investigate and probably wouldn't be ready to buy for another month or so (it was still late January at that point). He offered to take me for a test drive, and while we were out, he explained about the CRV in detail, as well as talked about himself, asked questions about me and my driving habits, and just generally chit-chatted. I really liked the way it handled, enjoyed all the bells and whistles it had to offer, and was starting to fall in love.

When we returned, I thanked Les for his time, talked a little more about my plans for buying, and I told him I'd be in touch with him soon. He thanked me and gave me a brochure on the CR-V, then introduced me to his manager, who asked if I was satisfied with the level of service I had received so far. I told him that Les was a very professional salesman who listened to what the customer wanted and could actually follow directions by not calling me and hounding me about coming in to buy the car right away. I told him that I was leaving without the feeling of being unnecessarily pressured into buying when I wasn't ready and I appreciated the way they did business. We all shook hands and off I went.

On Saturday morning, I called my partner-in-crime and number one passenger Joyce to ask her if she wanted to come along on the test drive field trip for the day. She had been with me when I bought my RAV4 and is great to have along for a second opinion and some grounding. She decided to join me, so off we went to the Saturn dealer.

Upon arrival at the Saturn dealer, we were greeted by several vulture-like salesman who were hovering just outside the main show room. I asked for Sherman, the gentleman I had been corresponding with, and one of the guys said "Oh, you must be important because he's the manager!" Well, I told Joyce, I don't know how important I am, but I want to deal with this Sherman guy and not one of the vultures. So, Sherman came out and introduced himself to us - he seemed like a good ol' Southern boy, very polite and charming. He asked one of the 'vultures' to take us for a test drive. I never did get the guy's name - English was definitely not his first language and he mumbled making his accent even thicker. The drive was ok; I wasn't overly impressed with the VUE. There wasn't much chit-chat with the sales guy, especially since he was hard to understand. When we returned to the dealer, I thanked Sherman for his time and for allowing us to take the test drive. He gave me a VUE brochure and off we went.

As luck would have it, there was a huge Honda dealer just down the street from the Saturn dealer. Even though I had test driven the CR-V the night before, I wanted Joyce's opinion. When we arrived, the place was hopping! I had never seen so many people (and salespeople!) in an auto dealership in my life! We were met by a gentleman in a suit, who's nametag identified him as a manager, who quickly found a salesman for me. It turns out the young man, Will, was one of the internet sales people. Well, I can tell you, young Will knew his stuff. He took us out to a CR-V, then started an in-depth tutorial on everything you could possibly ever want to know about the car. The test drive was uneventful, although I found out more about Will personally than a priest taking confessions. Sheesh! What a chatter box. When we returned, he started to fill out paperwork and was shocked when I stopped him and told him I was not there to buy, but just to 'window shop' and needed time to think. He e-mailed me a quote; when I asked if I could have a brochure and his business card, he scrambled, and never could find a brochure for me to take home. I thanked him politely and we left.

Of course, by now, it was lunch time, and we needed food. So we stopped along the way for lunch and discussed the VUE and CR-V. At that point, the CR-V was winning and I had definitely ruled out the VUE.

Stop number 3 was the local Mazda dealer. I had been e-mailed with a guy named Phil, who, buy the way, couldn't follow directions and kept calling me and leaving messages about their one day only specials and that I should hurry in and purchase while that pricing was in effect.... When we got there, the only people in the place were the salesmen. Not a single customer. I looked at Joyce and we both agreed that this wasn't a good sign. I asked for Phil, who came out and immediately rushed us out to a waiting CX-7. Before he could let me drive it, he had to put gas in it, so our first stop was a gas station. I loved the way it handled and it was very very comfortable. During the test drive, though, I felt like I was playing 20 questions. I had to keep asking him questions about the features and bells and whistles. He was not forthcoming with any information. It was like pulling teeth. The only information he kept repeating was asking me why I wanted an '08 model - they had plenty of '07s on the lot and he could discount an '07 by $5000 for me. I want an '08. Deal with it.

When we returned, he, like Will, started filling out paperwork as if there was a sale on the horizon. I explained to him once again that I was not in a position to buy today, but would like some ball park figures to work with. He disappeared and returned with Moe, his manager, who sat across from me and with the slimiest of grins on his face and he said "what can I do to get you into a new car today?" I thought Joyce was going to sell tickets for the smackdown that was about to occur. As politely as I could, I explained to Moe that this was a shopping trip and there was absolutely nothing he could do to get me in a new car today. I'd like a ballpark estimate of cost and a brochure that I could take home and study. He couldn't deal with it. He kept pestering me about how much money I had in my budget, why I didn't want an '07 to save $5000, why I would turn down 3.1% financing (I told him I was going to pay cash for the car), etc., etc. He wouldn't shut up. They of course couldn't find a brochure, but agreed to make me a copy of their desk reference slick; 10 minutes later, I was out the door.

Even though I liked the CX-7's performance and style, I was very turned off by the guys at the dealer.

Fast forward to Friday the 29th. On a whim (and because I was bored), I decided to go to one more Honda dealer because I had found out that AAA had a car buying program that you were supposed to get a better deal through. I showed up and asked for one of the two salesmen that were listed on the AAA information; as it turns out, they didn't work there any more. I was assisted by a guy named Sal. Once again, I explained that I was window shopping and what I was interested in. I told him I had already test driven the CR-V, but had never seen it in the navy blue or black exterior "up close and personal." He took me out to their storage lot, where he had a blue one. By now, of course, it was getting dark and there were no lights in the lot, so it was hard to tell if I really liked it or not.

When we returned to the dealer, he started filling out paperwork and asked for the keys to my car so they could take a look at it. I gave in, figuring it couldn't hurt to see what they would offer me on a trade-in for the RAV. After a few minutes of sitting alone in a rather dimly-lit office (during which time I noticed that I was the only customer in the place), Sal returned with pricing on the car and my trade. I immediately became annoyed when he automatically added in an extended warranty (for $2300) to the price and was even more annoyed when he said they'd only give me $3500 on my RAV - less than half the blue book! I thanked him and told him I wasn't ready to buy but that I would take what he had to offer into consideration. He started questioning me about what was holding me back from buying the car, what if he could get me more for my trade, why wouldn't I want the extended warranty, etc., etc. I couldn't get him to understand that I wasn't ready to buy at.that.moment! His last pitch was how it was the end of the month and how he was trying to make his sales quota and how this sale would help him out - umm, this is my problem why? In a last-ditch effort, he got his manager to come in and plead with me, which of course, pissed me off royally, especialy when he started in on me about how it was the end of the month, blah, blah, blah. Again, this was my problem why?

Overall, it wasn't that bad an experience, except for when they got pushy. Joyce said she enjoyed watching me stand my ground with them and proving that you can't take advantage of a single woman when trying to sell her a car....

Up next: The Purchase!!

Until next time,
Kel