5-Speed Pragmatic

Inspect 'er Closer (2)

I am human. I'm not going to lie to you, dealing with car salespeople makes me anxious and stressed. I fear that in every interaction, I will be like a zebra on the African savannah, running to escape a lion. If I trip up on a rock or a tree stump, even if only for a second, the lion will advance on me rapidly and maul me horribly until I am mutilated carrion, meat for the vultures.

Ok, I don't know where vultures fit into this metaphor (nor do I know off the top of my head if they are even endemic to Africa) but the fact remains that I, despite all my bluster and general confidence in dealing with people, am still susceptible to the worries of every other car buyer.

Picking up from where I left off in my previous blog entry, The Good, The Bad and The Used, I had enjoyed a solid test drive with the automotive object of my attention last Monday. The dealer offered to shave off a not-insignificant $600 off the price, and I told him I would get back to him.

On the Friday, I followed through. I told him, like any savvy used car buyer, that I would not plonk down a significant amount of money on a used car without having an inspection done first. RACQ, for example, offers a thorough car inspection service that is reasonably affordable, especially if you are an RACQ member. They check all aspects of the interior, exterior and mechanicals, take it for an extended test drive, you name it. However, they offer two different types: an inspection performed at a special inspection centre, and a mobile inspection done on-site at the location of the car. The mobile inspection is only slightly less thorough and only slightly less expensive. Having spoken to an RACQ guy on the phone earlier that week, I was informed that a mobile inspection was pretty damn good so I didn't completely rule it out. My plan, though, was to march right into the dealership and tell the dealer I wanted a full inspection done.

...and so I went. First, he kept me waiting in the office as he yakked away on the phone. I kept my cool and waited there, maintaining my confidence, wearing dark sunglasses and flicking through a magazine on the coffee table. When he finally ended the call, he hemmed and hawwed and told me he wasn't willing to send one of his staff members all the way out to the nearest inspection centre (10 minutes away in light traffic). So I acquiesced and suggested a mobile inspection. He said he would get back to me because, see, there was another prospective buyer. Oh, but see, this other buyer has questionable credit.

What a load of crap. As my friend Alessandro said, "If there was another buyer, the dealer would try to sell you another car on his lot". I think this theory has a lot of credence, seeing as he has an almost identical car on the lot (different colour and transmission, but otherwise the same).

Notice, also, that this other buyer has questionable credit, thus leaving the door open for me.

So he said he'd get back to me later that day. He didn't. I heard nothing from him over the weekend, either, nor did I hear anything from him today. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to make me sweat.

He's an older, experienced car dealer with his own business. He probably knows every trick in the Used Car Dealer Handbook, and I'm not going to fall for 'em.

So, I didn't try to get in touch with him later on the Friday, or on the weekend, or Monday morning. I waited until Monday arvo, and gave him a call, subtly chiding him for not getting back to me sooner. He tells me he won't know for sure about the phantom prospective buyer until later today. I tell him that's fine, and that, "Oh, I want a full mechanical inspection done. Would you be willing to send a staffer to drive the car to the inspection centre and back?"

I'd already asked him that last Friday, and gotten a "No" for an answer. Today, after letting him wait days before I got in touch with him again, his answer changed: "Well I guess I'm going to have to." And I told him he has my mobile number and he can call me back later today so that I can arrange an inspection.

Yes, I did a little victory dance. To utilise a new metaphor here, the car buying process is a lot like a war. And I had just won one of the battles. I'll be getting my full inspection. It'll probably tell me the car is fine, maybe a couple of minor problems I can use to help haggle down the price. Even if I get an excellent report from the inspector, though, I am still going to try and haggle at least $400 off the price, minimum.

If I do that, I'll have won this war.

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