Part 2. Everyone knows the drill by now. (I really should put it in the faq for new readers, huh? Assuming new readers even read the faq. [shrug] That's assuming there even are any new readers. I wouldn't know. I make it a point NOT to look at the logs these days. lol.)

Ok, so anyway, immediately upon getting out of the car, I was greeted by the gentleman. I think I might as well have been wearing a shirt with big letters printed on the back: "I DON'T HAVE A GODDAMN CLUE. PLEASE MILK ME FOR ALL I'M WORTH." I really didn't have a clue. I just wanted to see what they had. At least initially. If I thought I saw something that looked like a good deal, then I would want to talk to a salesman about it.

But no, the interrogation began immediately. "What kind of model are you looking for?"

"I'd just like to look around, see what you guys have."

"What type of car? You looking for a Jeep? A truck? An SUV?"

"I was thinking like maybe a sedan, but really, I just want to look around and see what's available. I'm not interested in buying immediately. I'm just scouting to see what's here." (Actually, that was a lie. I was interested in buying, provided I could find something I was interested in that was a good deal. I REALLY just wanted to get the guy off my back so I could look around in peace for a while. I like to window shop before making purchases, or even polling a sales person for more info. It didn't work, though.)

"You thinking about new or used?"

"Well, I'd prefer new, provided I can afford it, and get financing at a reasonable rate." It attempted to begin perusal of nearby vehicles.

"Well, I can't help me if you don't tell me what you want. I want to help you, you understand? You gotta tell me what you're looking for. What are you thinking?"

Ok, this guy's demeanor was nice and all, but this interrogation was really starting to annoy me. But, I figured that since I didn't have a clue, maybe he would be able to help me find something to fit my needs. I've kind of painted him in a negative light so far, mostly because of the way he just pounced on me right off, and that's NOT the way I'm used to dealing with anything else. In fairness though, he was just doing his job.

But really, think about how you would react if other types of businesses operated in a similar manner. Walk into Barnes and Noble to browse; see if they've got any new O'Reilly books, and immediately upon entering the door, the clerks begin:

"What type of book are you looking for? Computer books? Programming? Well, tell me what language? Oh, you're looking for scifi instead? Well, why didn't you say so? I can't help you if you don't tell me what you're looking for. Maybe I could convince you to read the intro for this second edition? Well look here! This one just came in today. A real beauty, isn't it? Check out those pages."

lol. I mean... the very thought is absurd. It's fucking ABSURD! But this sort of thing is supposed to be considered NORMAL when shopping for a car? Give me a break!

In a normal retail store, the most bother you'll ever get from the employees is a "Can I help you with anything today?" A lot of stores these days don't even go that far. The smart ones realize that if I really need help, I will come and ask them. I get to shop in peace, content in not knowing exactly what it is I'm wanting to purchase before I enter, and if I decide that there is something I want, buying it is a simple matter. Yeah, cars are more complicated than a lot of things, so they would of course require more assistance, but this sort of hounding is insane.

Hmmm... sort of got off on a tangent there. Yeah. Well, after some more "conversation", in which I stated that I'd much rather go for a new model (and that was sure as hell the absolute truth, although given recent experiences, I wasn't sure it could really happen), he showed me to a row of Neons. (Readers who first read the rambling I wrote upon arriving home might recall that I did eventually obtain one of these. I will now allay all fears and state that I liked this model, and eventually did get it, but it was NOT from this dealership. Whew!)

I suppose it could be argued that since I did end up getting sold on that model, the sales pitch, annoying as I may have portrayed it, was effective. I will make no attempt to refute that.

He opened it up, and showed me the interior of a very sharp looking black unit. (My mind: "Damn, I know if the online loan application didn't work before, I ain't gonna be able to get this. At least not without paying some ridiculously high interest rate.") Actually, in my mind, paying a ridiculously high interest rate was a viable option. It would sure beat having no car at all. :)

The interior was very roomy. A big plus. Trunk space: Oh yeah. Aesthetics: Pleasing. (Altough, I suppose any aesthetics would be pleasing to a carless one. lol.) Took a test drive. Oh yeah! Nice kick. Well, it felt good to me anyway. But I would later consult the opinion of "experts" to be certain that it wasn't just me on my "Please I don't want to be transportationally challenged anymore" kick.

I liked it. And I liked the price. :) (Little did I know that as much as I liked the price, it could be bargained down by a much larger margin than I would have thought possible by someone who knows how the game works.)

I told the dealer as much. I'm sure the "ka-ching"'s started going off in his head. I also told him I was really worried about the financing. He told me it wouldn't be a problem. Something could be worked out. They even had a first time buyer program for people with no established credit.

Confession time. At this point in the discussion, I revealed to him what I have not even revealed here until now. My credit more than just not established. It is bad. Yes, I ran quite late on some student loan payments. Let's face it: that eSoft job came just in the nick of time. Or just a little late, depending. Yeah, yeah, x13 before that. Anyone who's actually involved with x13 knows the wages. lol. Anyone NOT involved who has been reading here for a while can probably make a pretty good guess. Those who are working x13 -- if they're doing it for money at all -- aren't in for the short term gains. Yeah.

So anyway, my credit was worse than unestablished. It sucked. I figured it was better to be up front with this than have surprises come out when they pulled my credit report. He said he was still sure we could work something out. He also asked whether I would be ready to buy if something could be worked out. Of course, not wanting to be rash, but at the same time being very anxious to have a fscking car, I made a non-committal answer that if they could offer me "something reasonable", I would be willing to deal. (Conveniently leaving "reasonable" undefined.)

True to his word, he was able to get the financing. Can we say, "high interest?" Good. I knew we could. In fact, he said the only reason the higher-ups were willing to deal with me at all was because of the healthy down payment I was offering. Hmmmm.... ;) I said I'd need some time to think about it, and I'd also need to consult my dad. If he thought this was a good deal, I would be back later. I at least wanted to find out what he had to say. (I also wanted some time outside the pressure zone to clear my head before making a decision.)

And here we go again....

"Well what do we need to do to make this deal WORK?"

"Nothing. I just want to think about it for a bit. See what my dad thinks. Maybe come back later."

"Well I'd like to help you get this car, and I can't do that if you don't tell me what you're thinking."

Hmmm. Should I put the above in a for loop? Maybe with an extra variable or two for slight permutations in the language constructs?

Get it through your thick skull, moron. I'm very close to taking your deal, despite these idiotic pressure tactics. I actually LIKE the damn car. I WANT the damn car. Your financing offer even looks acceptable to me, because my credit sucks and was turned down before. I just want to THINK about it, and talk to OTHERS. Is that CRIME?

No, not a crime. We just don't know the meaning of the words. lol.

Yeah, so after a few attempts to get me to tell him what was so wrong with his proposal that I might actually want to go out and discuss it with other people, and maybe run the numbers for myself outside the premises of the car lot, he brought in someone who presumably held more clout within the organization. Rinse and repeat.

This higher level person asked me what I thought could be improved. I again replied that it looked good to me. (It actually wasn't good at all, as I would soon learn from someone much wiser.) I just wanted to go think about it, and talk to my dad. He might even be able to cosign with his credit union to help me with the rate.

Oh, well then they had to go run a whole different set of numbers, presuming that he was cosigning. (How they could do this without knowing HIS credit rating is a mystery. The truth, I think: They just assumed he had a perfect rating, and gave me figures based on that. Idiots.)

Then it was: "Here, if he can come in and cosign it, we'll give you this rate, which is much better." (It actually WAS much better.) But he doesn't have to do it right now. You can go ahead and take the car with you, and have him come back next week, or whenever. He could even call it in.

HOW DUMB DO I LOOK?

No, I didn't say it, but I was certainly thinking it. The image of my mentor came to mind. Yeah. My mentor would've been saying that a looooong time ago. And probably a LOT more, too. lol.

This continued on and on. I finally decided that my style was more along the lines of just letting these people talk until they were blue in the face. Either, a) they would eventually get it that I meant what I said (and I was in no hurry to leave), or b) if I got too bored, I could just get up and walk away. It just happened to be that I wasn't bored, because they had generously been offering me hotdogs, soda, chips, etc, which I had happily accepted. Yummy. Free lunch. :)

Well, eventually he did get it (the higher up had deperted elsewhere), and I said I'd talk with my dad, see what he thought, and possibly be back. I can now say with a high degree of certainty that I will NOT be back there.

Shortened version: I went back to pick up my dad, we went to a nearby library, and looked at all the consumer reports and buying guide reviews on this vehicle. Consistent with what the dealer had said, the reviews were positive. A good value. It had gotten progressively better with each model year. The version with the automatic transmission had some negatives, but who wants automatic anyway?

This is one thing I find odd: As far as I'm concerned, manual transmission is better. You get more control, better accelleration, better gas mileage. And it just feels better. Cooler to drive. But the automatic costs more. Go figure. How convenient! (Here's an analogy: Manual transmission is to automatic as Linux is to Windows.) heeheehee. :)

Hmmmm, yes. That analog really holds up very well. More control. More powerful. More efficient. Cheaper. More reliable. And I'm sure that some pointy haired usability study somewhere could demonstrate without a doubt that automatic transmission is more user friendly. Hmmmm... :)

Gettin late here. And we haven't even gotten to the truly scary part yet: The place where I actually did end up buying the car.

After reading the good reviews, I was even more convinced that this was the one for me. My dad suggested that we look around at some other dealerships and see what kinds of prices they would offer. That sounded good to me. He was wary of the idea of coming off of any car lot on the same day with a purchase made. I was more of the mindset: I want to get this done and have a car, so if a good deal can be found, let's take it. The young, foolish, impatient one. That's me. :)

Swap is nearly full, and Netscape has slowed to a crawl. Coming up next: Part 3.