dirty dealers...

It has also been a week of car shopping. I have visited many car lots and been exposed to a slew of those dreaded car dealers. You know the ones - "what is it gonna take to earn your business" and "if we can agree on a price today would you be willing to make a deal."

Uggghhhh to the millionth power!!

Something just plain sneaky and dirty about a car dealer. i don't trust them and I feel dirty after a day of speaking with them - I need a shower just thinking about them.

Anywho, I visited Honda, Chevy, Nissan, Ford, Toyota, VW, Hyundai and even slowed down by a Mazda dealership. It has been a long process as I had not done the research prior to jumping in.

Normally, I would spent two to three months scouring the Internet to zero in on maybe one or two cars I liked. i would schedule a test drive, consult with my bank and compare prices to Internet and other dealers. i do not have the luxury of time to complete a typical type a search so I go to plan B. I visit everyone and look at everything and narrow the field by a process of elimination.

So we come to the last day of the month - they day deemed the best day to purchase a car. A day where any offer will be entertained by the greedy sales managers and customers walk away happy.

I narrowed my selection from four to two by lunch. I had a lovely lunch at Chili's which included a few rounds of beer and I was finally prepared to do battle with the negotiation process.

I decided Toyota had the car I wanted most. The 4runner was to be my next car. I drag a friend along and thankfully the process did not take that long. Toyota was not budging on the price more than a few hundred dollars. i thought WTF? The economy is in the toilet and here I am with cash to spend and they don't budge.

Okay, I will take it in stride and head to the Honda dealer and pick up the 1st runner. This made my third trip to the Honda dealer and they recognized me right off the bat when I came strolling in. Sadly, the salesman i had been working with was with other customers and they stuck me with someone else - I did not like the guy. This process was very short! He had the prices wrong and Honda did not want to budge more than a couple of hundred. Fed up with the process - I said No Deal!

Bottom line - I wanted a car, had cash in hand but returned home with nothing, nada, zilch! The next step - I am unsure.

i want to see if Honda or Toyota calls back over the next few days. If not, then come Monday I start all over again and this time consider buying a used car.