Searching for a New Car

When Dave and I got married, I was working as a car sales person... ya I know right? Me? A car sales person? I don't exactly fit the stereotype of middle aged, balding, overweight, obnoxious, salesMAN. I worked for a Hyundai dealership and actually enjoyed it, for the most part. The particular dealership I worked for had a lot of really nice employees. Really, none of them fit that stereotype exactly. I mean, ya there were a few, slightly arrogant men there would had that "smooth" sales approach, mixed with a few curse words here and there (they tried to watch it when they were near me), but all in all, they wern't that bad. I mean, if I could wake up in the morning, and not dread going into work, then it was a pretty good place to work, considering it was still a car dealership. While I was working there, sold a car to an older gentleman. He was trading in his old Ford Focus for a new Elantra. He was actually really sad to give up his Ford, but the 5 year warranty was up and he believed in having a car under warranty. He didn't drive the car all that much and kept every single tune-up and oil change record. It was a well taken care of vehicle indeed. That old Ford became mine and Dave's first car. I bought it off the dealership for a very minor markup which worked perfectly for us newly weds.

Well, almost four years later, and two adorable kids later, we've (almost) outgrown our little Ford Focus. We know that if we have another baby, we'll need a new car. I'm not making any announcements here, I'm just saying, for the future. Plus, the car IS pretty old and won't last too much longer. So, car shopping we go!

Dave decided that he wanted a Toyota Sienna mini van. He got online and he researched for HOURS! He went on Consumer Reports and looked at the rating etc. He pretty much convinced himself that that's what we were getting. He found a van at a Toyota dealer in Toronto, within our price range, so yesterday we drove all the way there to see this van. Now, before we left, Dave asked me to say a prayer that we would find a good deal and choose the right car. Any way, we get to the dealership (it's some dumpy looking used Toyota dealer) and we take the burgundy Sienna for a test drive. Honestly, I wasn't trilled with it. It was ok I guess, but I just wasn't excited about it. I just had the feeling that the previous owners didn't take the best care of it. There were stains in the seats, some weather stripping falling off one of the windows, and the "conversation" mirror was missing. On top of that, the salesman was, well, I just didn't really like him. When we told him that we weren't 100% sure about buying the van he got kind of mad. He started saying "what's wrong with the van? you're not going to find a better deal anywhere else!" I asked to see an SUV and instead of being excited that we were looking at something more expensive, he started talking to me as if I was stupid for considering it. We told him that we wanted to see another van at another dealership and he proceeded to tell us that we'd be making a BIG and foolish mistake if we did. He was just talking to me as if I were stupid or something. Arrrgggg, why oh why are some people in sales? Why does he have to talk to people like that? He could have said "yes the SUV, with a 3rd row of seats could also work for you. It's a little more expensive, but you can always test drive one to compare." and "just so you know, our dealership has certified Toyota vehicles. We stand behind all our sales. If you don't find what you're looking for at the other dealership, I'd be happy to help you out." Doesn't he know that the "family" vehicle is mostly likely going to be MY vehicle and that he should be nice to me, or lose the sale? When I worked in sales I knew that the wife can almost always get her way when it comes to purchasing a family vehicle. If the wife isn't happy, they'll go somewhere else AND that's exactly what we did. I left the dealership more frustrated than before. I mean, the van was OK I guess, but I just wasn't 100% sold on it. I told the salesman that it liked it a little, but we just started looking and I'm not about to buy the first car we test drive. I said "you wouldn't buy the first house you ever saw, would you? Well, I'm not buying the first car I see, especially when I'm not 100% sure about it."

Alright, on to the next dealership. The next place was some small rinky-dink place and I immediately didn't feel good. The van there was really nice. It was the upgraded model of the burgundy one we just saw HOWEVER, when we went into the office (if you'd even call it that) the guy pulled out a calculator and started working out a deal. He had, what I call "cocaine fingers" meaning, random long fingernails that cocaine addicts use to get their fix. I saw something on TV about that a while ago and the salesman's nails just gave me the creeps! He gave Dave the accident report (which was from some random website I'd never heard of) and at the bottom of the page it said "from Quebec." TOTAL RED FLAG! The laws about reporting accidents and other things are different in Quebec, so you don't really know what you're getting when you buy a used car from Quebec. I quickly said "let's go!" and we were out of there in a flash.

Now I was more frustrated than ever. I felt like we had wasted so much time with lousy salesmen, all the way in Toronto. Man, I should have known this would be the case. I didn't feel good about going to Toronto in the first place. Plus, with my experience working in car sales, and my experience shopping for a car in the past, I should have known what to expect. Good sales people are far and few between, and dealing with a lousy salesperson is more hassle than it's worth.

Aside from all that, I saw a Toyota flyer in the mail and noticed one of the salesmen as someone I worked with in the past. I actually saw the flyer weeks ago and something inside me said "call him." Dave didn't want to buy from a Toyota dealership because he thinks they mark up the cars too high, so I never called. Now after our terrible experience, Dave agreed to let me call him. I called him and he's on the lookout for something good for us. When I called him I felt so much better about talking to someone who is a nice person, and professional in his dealings with clients. I also like that he works for a reputable dealership and sells certified vehicles. Who knows if we'll end up getting anything from him, but at least I feel like I'm dealing with an honest person.

So, Dave wants a Toyota, and I... well... I've been doing some research myself. I like the Toyota, and I don't doubt that it's a reliable van, but let's face it, it's expensive, even used. If we can get a good deal on one, GREAT, we'll get it, but I wanted to explore some other options. I checked out a few SUV cross-over vehicles and found two that I really liked. I like the Mazda 5, six seater, and the Ford Freestyle. Both have pretty good ratings and are MUCH cheaper than the Sienna. Maybe, just maybe I can convince Dave to look at some of those. I emailed a friend that works at a Ford dealership (a really nice guy that I know will treat us well) and he's looking into the Freestyle for me. It's good on gas, the same as the Toyota, and it's an SUV, so it looks cooler than a mini van. I think an SUV would be better for Dave when he drives to see clients and I like being higher up when I drive.

We're going out on Monday to shop some more. Wish us luck!