I got a new car! About This Page:

[CinderAbby]

I know some of you remember my car woes - although in the long run they really weren't all that bad. It needed this, then it needed that. I forget how long ago now but I was told the end of the car was starting to rust away and one of the last times my car was looked at, I was told I might end up with a Fred Flintstone car (meaning no floor). I wasn't overly concerned but a couple of weeks ago (I can't remember now if it was before or after Disney) when I asked how soon that might happen my mechanic basically said "one day it'll be there, the next it'll be gone." That concerned me. Not enough to do anything at the time because they (mechanics and service writers) said it was okay for now. Fast forward to this past weekend when Lenny and I did groceries. On the way home, we passed a small car dealer that had a Santa Fe (the type of car we had in Disney this year that we both really liked) so it got me to thinking. What is going to happen this winter with ice, snow, salt and sand? Is my car going to make it? I went online to see what I could find out about the car just to look. I ended up finding another one with just as many miles but three years newer (a 12 versus an 09) and not that much more money. I started crunching numbers and while I didn't have 100% of what I needed, the rest wasn't impossible to come up with.

After I got out of work on Sunday, mom and Abby went with me just to look. I hadn't fully decided whether to actually get it or not. After driving it and talking numbers with the salesman, we came to a total I could do but I wanted my mechanic to look at it first and they were okay with that. Monday was a Jewish holiday and I didn't have to work so I took the car that day for an "extended test drive." There were a few problems with it - two mismatched tires, the rotors were bad, the oil was overdue and a few other straight maintenance items. The tires and rotors to me were a sticking point so I took my estimate from my mechanic to the dealer and basically said "what are you going to do for me." I will make a long story short but basically they weren't going to do anything for me - and they cut my trade in value in half to boot . After something like two hours of going back and fourth (but most of it with mom, Abby and I sitting at a table by ourselves) they refused to do anything acceptable and I literally told them "you forget, I do not need this car. I have one that still runs. I am not getting this car" and we walked out of the dealer. I didn't have my heart set on the car so I was perfectly okay with it and had absolutely no regrets about walking away.

Yesterday morning, guess who calls me while I'm at work but the salesman. All of a sudden, they were willing to work with me on the tires and rotors but not the trade in value. I told him "let me think about it and I'll call you back." I didn't want to say no right away but I did have every intention of calling and saying no. What I did instead though was call mom - and again, long story short - everyone at the station ended up in a pow wow about me and what I should do The consensus was the car is a really good one and at the original price they quoted pretty much a steal so it would be a shame if I let it go. After talking with mom, then the mechanic and then mom again and then spending like 10 minutes hearing mom say "hold on, they're talking" she finally said hold on and then the station owner came on the phone. He said what I already knew - if I let the dealer do the work, chances were pretty good it wasn't going to be done right and I'd have to put more work and money into it. What he suggested was to ask for more than what they had originally quoted me for my trade in and tell them I will get the work done on my own, they wouldn't have to, and see what they came back with. If I could do it, great, if they weren't willing to work with me, then walk so I took his suggestion.

I called back the dealer and said "I heard what you had to say, now this is where I stand. I'd like 2500 on my Malibu and I will assume all responsibility for the rotors and the tires and all the other things on the Santa Fe. You will not be responsible for fixing any of it." The salesman groaned when I upped the value of my car but he said he'd get back to me. About 30 minutes later, the sales manager called me back instead saying my car wasn't worth it but they'd give me 1500 for it." My response? "I'll tell you what, why don't we meet in the middle. You give me the 2000 I was originally promised sight unseen on my Malibu bringing the total back to what was agreed upon on Sunday and I will take responsibility of the rotors and tires, etc on the Santa Fe. You won't be held responsible for any of it." He said let me put you on hold for a minute. I wasn't even on hold 5 seconds and he came back and agreed to those terms. So after all is said and done, I know own a new to me Santa Fe. I know it doesn't seem like I made out by having to put work into the car but in a way, I did.

Had I agreed to their terms - they do the work and only give me half the value on my Malibu - I would have ended up spending more money in a couple of months to redo what they didn't do correctly (I and the station owner where I work have no doubt they would have taken shortcuts). With the way it worked out, I got the original price agreed upon with the knowledge of what work is needed. Most of it is regular maintenance that is by no means urgent so it's stuff I would have to do anyway and when it comes to the tires and rotors, I'll get my employee discount and it shouldn't cost me too much more than the $1000 the dealer tried to take away from me. Either way I was going to pay that amount somehow but at least this way, I know the work will be done right the first time and I'll even get a 3 year warranty on all of it to boot.

Why do dealers have to be that way though? Every time I've been to a dealer, I've had a bad experience and things eventually work out but what does it have to be so hard in the first place?

Thanks for listening to me though. I know it ended up long.