Writing about my experience of tagging along with my brother as he shopped for a Ford Mustang reminded me of my last car purchase.
I had sat through the painful car-buying experience too many times in the past. One experience, in particular, still sticks in my mind. I was younger and married only a few years. It was the middle of another hot Arizona summer and our vehicle's air conditioner had quit. The car was very old and we needed new transportation. My wife was deperate for a replacement vehicle.
We met a sales person and went HALFWAY through the process. Just when we thought we had agreed to agree to purchase the vehicle he brought in a closer. We found out later it is the standard process this dealership uses. The CLOSER did his job but we felt pushed through and into the purchase. Never have I stepped foot onto this dealership again and never will. It's a bad way to sell cars.
It's easy to say we could have backed out, waited and been more patient. I wish we had, in retrospect. But we were young and alot less wiser. And the thought of hopping into an air-conditionLESS vehicle was less than thrilling after spending several hours at the dealership already.
Now, years later, it was time once again to buy a new car. My new game plan?
I decided to communicate with car dealerships via the internet. And I did, with several over a few months. Finally I let one rep know that I agreed to his price - via email.
In the end, I purchased a brand new economy vehicle for a terrific price - maybe the best deal I ever made. I am sure the dealership still made decent money and I am ok with that. But I did my research, got competitive bids and agreed to a price after a lengthy process. Also, I did not suffer through the 2-4 hour car buying process of yesteryear and do the typical negotiation process. I walked in on a sunny afternoon day and in a fairly short period of time drove away in my new car.
What a change of experience.
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