Quote:
Originally posted by lumberjim
Do you think Gil bought the car?
|
I'd have to guess NO. Or, if he did, he paid for it with rolled-up change that smelled like fish.
I had an amusing episode when I bought my Camaro SS. I had been jerked around at one dealership-- probably because the salesman was an old fart and thought I was a kid with no money-- so I was visiting other dealerships in Salt Lake City. I had called one and they had an SS on their lot, so I headed up. Their salespeople and signage made a big deal about how their salespeople wouldn't pressure me, with banners in nice pastel colors to soothe even the panickiest idiot.
It wasn't the color I wanted (it was pewter, I wanted black), and it lacked a couple of the options I'd been hoping for, but it looked nice and the salesman was giving me a pretty good price. I had managed to get a copy of the car's data sheet (I can't remember what it's called, but it has a lt of information from when the car was delivered), and noticed that the car had been sitting on the lot for about nine months, so they were probably eager to unload it. I took it for a drive, and I was thinking I'd go with it. I told the salesman that I was leaning towards Yes, but I wanted to sleep on it first, and I'd come back tomorrow.
"Oh," he said, "that price is only good today." You ever watch the classic cartoon Transformers? You know that sound they make when they transform? I could almost hear that as I watched this nice, no-pressure, pastel-sign salesman transform into a manipulative asshole.
I chuckled, and stood up. "Then I guess I've made up my mind." I stood up and walked out the door. I drove to another dealership, who turned out to have the right car, in the right color, with the right options. I had to haggle on the price a little (they were getting a
nice trade-in, so they were happy to negotiate), but I got it down to about the same price as the other dealership. After a lengthy process of turning down worthless add-ons, I had the car, I drove it home that night.
So the next morning, my phone rings. I answer, and it's the salesman from that first dealship I'd visited the day before, the pastel-transformer-asshole. He says "My sales manager told me to get you back down here, and sell you this car, whatever it takes."
"Terribly sorry," I explained, "but right after I left your dealership I went to another, and bought my car there."
"Oh, you already bought one?" I made an affirmative-response of some kind. After a moment's pause and a sigh, he offered unenthusiastically, his voice dripping with disappointment,"Well, enjoy your new car." Click.
That was a pretty satisfying outcome.