Friday, September 24, 2004

Today Niel and I had both had this Friday off and we decided to go car hunting. Niel got a local paper and circled some cars he wanted to see.
I understood that buying a car meant a lot of research about cars and looking at them, but I forgot the part about having to speak to a sales person. Ewww.
Dealing with car sales people is disgusting. The ones we have met are so aggressive. They are such leaches. I totally understand their livelihood depends on a sale, but for the love of God, no means "get the hell away from me until I need you." We've had salesman (they have all been men) get angry at us, call us clueless and fat. Do you think we are going to get a car from you? I don't think so buster. This makes us not look forward to house hunting, which won't be for a while unfortunately and thankfully. Hopefully we will get a car soon and get this ordeal over with.

After going to four different places we decided to treat ourselves to a movie, Shaun of the Dead. Everyone must see this movie. It was so funny and sweet. I know its a strange thing to say about a horror flick but if you see it hopefully you'll understand. It's about these two British guys in the U.K. and a few friends who have to deal with a virus that is making people zombies. I am so buying this film when it comes out on DVD.

I discovered that a Michaels craft store will be opening in Queens. I was a little bummed when the Michaels in Forest Hills closed down a few year back, and now to have another Michaels in Queens will be so much easier than shlepping out to the island when I need something. Woopie!!!

The latest issue of Real Simple has a good breakdown about both presidential candidates. Unfortunetly there is no link to it so either pick up an issue or I can fax you a copy of that article. Just email me with your fax number. Maybe it will get some people to go out their and vote.

Last but not least Niel and I will get to meet our friends Jennifer and Renzo's baby girl this weekend. Can't wait.

12 comments:

Peruby said...

Before I realized there were such hideous crimes as child abuse and other monstrous people, I used to believe that hell saved the hottest spots for car salesmen. I hear you sister.

Peruby said...

Sorry, somehow I always end up posting twice. I am not impatient. I don't keep hitting the refresh or post button.

foodiechickie said...

Don't even know the half of it sister. Saturday was one of the worst days of our lives.

Mike said...

Geesh, you guys are making buying a car way too hard. I told Niel a few months ago about negotiating online, it's much less stressful. That's how I purchased my last car. Once you guys narrow your search down to 1 or 2 cars, go to www.carsdirect.com. From there, you put in the information about the car you want. Make, model, trim level etc. Then you put in your zip code and it does a search for car dealerships that carry the car you want. Then you choose which dealerships you want a quote from. Cardirect tells you the invoice price of the car (what the dealership paid for the car) the MSRP (sticker price) and what the average person in your area is paying for the same car. Then in a few hours you get an e-mail from an internet sales manager from various dealerships in your area. They will say I have the car you want in these colors, it can be had for $xxxxx.xx. From there, you can get the dealers who reply to compete against one another. If one tells you the car you want is $14,500 and another says $15,000. Tell the one that offered you $15,000 that you got another quote for $500 less to see if he will come down. You should never pay more than $500 to $1000 over invoice. Especially if it's an American made car. They offer factory incentives to the dealerships because the foreign cars tend to sell faster.

Mike said...

Do your homework, learn about the car, pricing etc or the sales people will tear you apart. The last car I bought was a pleasant experience. I got a price from 5 dealerships, got the dealership closest to me to offer the car for $300 over invoice. I went down, test drove the car. And told the sales guy I would be in touch. I e-mailed him that friday and told him to have the car ready for me Saturday. Went down and signed the paper work saturday and was out of there in about an hour with a new car.

Oh and lastly, DO NOT BUY THE EXTRAS THEY TRY TO SELL YOU. They will tell you all these bullshit about acid rain, and road tar and how you need your paint to be sealed and protected and your interior to be protected etc. It's all BS.

Peruby said...

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. I have purchased cars for 25 years and it would be difficult for me to purchase on-line, but may be the way to go for you.

Here are some hopefully helpful sites for you:

http://www.kbb.com/
kelly blue book (car info)

http://www.kiplinger.com/spending/
tips on buying cars and homes

http://www.dmv.org/lemon-law.php
lemon law

http://www.mycarstats.com/
cars with the most recalls/complaints

foodiechickie said...

Mike why do you think we haven't done any of that?

foodiechickie said...

Thanks Peruby.

Mike said...

I don't know all of what you've done and haven't done. I just hear what you and Niel say on your blogs and on an AIM conversation with Niel. I've heard you guys mention reading news paper ads, and test driving a few cars. And from my past experiences, newspaper ads are a bad approach. Since I've bought and leased a few cars, I was trying to offer some helpful advice. Your results and experiences may be completely different. For me dealing over the internet was the most pleasant buying experience. But it may not be for you guys. It's amazing what some dealerships will do for a sale. Did you guys complain to a supervisor about the sales people who called you names? That's completely out of line.

foodiechickie said...

I thought research would cover that. We've gotten a lot of good advice. Most we did and others we learned. The managers do not care. Wait till you hear about Saturday's experience. Uch.

Mike said...

Perhaps you should go car shopping with Dave and Holly. They took care of "bidness" in one weekend :-).

foodiechickie said...

That is great if they were able to do that. But just cause its not on the blog doesn't mean they didn't take a while to do research and look at various placed? I don't write everything on my blog. Sometimes I sure would like to.