Crazy, Strange, or Unusual Car Buying Stories

[2Epcot]

In posting about the type of car I have I thought it would be interesting to hear some of the things people did to buy a particular car, or what the experience was like. Also if you have a really crazy car buying story. I don't have any that are so crazy or myself, but it seems it is always an interesting process.

I remember when I bought my first new car, the 1987 Ford Taurus. After visiting the second car lot I finally picked it out, went through all the paper work (by this time it is night). When I they brought the car from around the back it was not the same car. Even in the dark, I could tell the color was wrong. I told them that is not the car I bought. They questioned me for a second, then went back and got the car I had actually paid for.

My sister just bought a car to replace her old one that was damaged in an accident. She had a special editon 96 Toyota Camary with about 125,000 mile on it. Searching online she found one in Washington state, flew there almost immediately and bought it last weekend. She just drove it over a 1000 miles back home to her state. The car was also a special edition just like hers, same year 96, but almost perfect condition with just over 30,000 mile on it. My brother, who traveled with her, told her it was like it had been in a time capsule.

[tink2006]

Sorry, do not have any interesting stories. But some people might think it is strange ... We usually do not even set foot in a car dealership. We usually shop around on line and decide what we want and how much. Then we call our local dealership and they bring it to our house. We test drive (Sometimes it takes us several tries to get the perfect car). They just keep bringing us a car until we like it. Then we let them know that we found a good match and they stop by and pick up a check. The most painfull part of the process is knowing you are spending soo much money on something that depreciates soo fast.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

I guess story could fit here.

A few years ago when I was shopping for a car I went to a dealership and was looking at a 5-speed. That is all I've ever driven. The sales person wanted to tell me about other colors, show me the mirror and an automatic. I told him I'm only interested in a stick.....but he kept wanting to show me the automatic. I left!

Just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I want an automatic, care about the mirror or want some pretty green car. It drives me crazy. It also doesn't mean my husband needs to test drive the car.

[offwego]

two weird ones.

One was with a Mazda (this would have been 88 or so it was smallish but I can't remember the model) Dad got in to see if he would fit was fine..I tried but couldn't touch the pedals with the seat all the way up in any kind of comfort..the sales guy tells me and my dad that won't be a big deal as you hardly use them! Not so much a mazda purchse after that.

Most recently I had wanted a stick and the sales guy kept telling me an automatic was cheaper (not so much as even the incentive was lowered with an automatic) mind you it did become cheaper after that.

[alphamommy]

In fall, 2004, DH had a '99 Tahoe with 120K miles, and I had a '98 Grand Prix with 92K. Since DH had a long drive to work, we decided to get something more economical for him to drive. We were going to trade my Grand Prix, and park the Tahoe to use for pulling our boat.

We took a Saturday and went to several different dealerships. The guy at the Subaru dealership wouldn't even tell us how much the Outback sedan was until he saw our trade-in, which was going to be my Grand Prix (???). He was very rude, and we think that he didn't figure we could afford the car. He also didn't want to let DH test drive it.

We left Subaru, and stopped at a Saab dealership. They were fabulous, and we really liked the car (can't remember which one it was), but it was a little out of our price range.

A few days later, we went to VW dealership, and test drove several different vehicles. We both loved the Beetle, and decided that we would buy one for DH to drive, and lease one for me. When we returned from the test drive, we told the salesman that was what we wanted to do. He was very flustered by this! He asked what color I wanted, and I said, "Orange." He was shocked and appalled at this, and tried to talk me out of it. I had just finished radiation treatment, and was going to have the color I wanted, darn it!

Just as we sat in his cubicle, DD (then age 4) had to go to the little girl's room. As we left, the salesman was telling my DH, "You know, the Beetle is really a woman's car." HUH?

By the time DD and I returned, DH said, "Let's go." The salesman spent the whole DD and I were gone trying to talk DH OUT of the Bug! DH was so frustrated that we just decided we would drive our other cars until the doors fell off.

Little did we know that, two weeks later, we would trip over a great end-of-model year deal on a 2004 Jaguar X-Type, which became my car! That's a different story for a different day!

[2Epcot]

We usually do not even set foot in a car dealership. We usually shop around on line and decide what we want and how much. Then we call our local dealership and they bring it to our house.

That's very interesting. I had not heard or thought about having a car brought to you. When we purchased my wife's car last year we did a lot of research online then bought it as a fleet purchase. You just go in and no haggling over the cost. My wife thought we could get a better deal elsewhere and I told her I don't think so. We ended up going to 3 more places and nobody could touch the deal we were getting on a car with a navigation system included. So we went back to where we were the first time and I bought the car. My wife kept waiting for me to say, told you so.

I just remembered another interesting car buying story. Some friends of ours were recently in an accident and totaled their car. The husband's father found a car in another state that was 4 years old, and brand new, not low miles, BRAND NEW. Apparently it had been put in some building or garage and forgotten. They ended up getting a great deal on this Buick Alero, I believe, that was at least 4 years old. How a car gets "misplaced" I have no idea.

[DisneyDudet]

Mind you, I bought this car on Friday...

I went to the dealership for a car I thought I might want. Its a Scion, and they do no-haggle pricing. Basically, what is on the sticker is the price. So, I knew what I wanted, drove it, and fell in love with ti. That was it. Bought it then.

Probably the easiest car you could buy!

Its a good deal for all the things you get on it!

[Tinkerfreak]

When I am shopping for a car the worste thing a salesperson can do is to ask me if I need to talk to my husband. That's it, sale over, I leave.
OK you will all laugh about this next thing.
One thing that is very important to me in a car is, don't laugh, but cup holders! They have to be the right size, in the right spot and just convenient. I have had salespeople laugh at me until they found out I was not joking about it. When I sit in the car I always check them out right away. If I don't like the set up then I don't buy the car. Anyone who drinks as much coffee as I do will understand this. If I am going to drive the car every day while drinking coffee then it has to be easily accesible. I need to be able to reach it easily so I am not distracted while driving.

[crazypoohbear]

When I was car shopping 10 years ago I knew what I wanted and what I was going to spend.
We would go into dealerships, I would do all the talking while DH sat there (If he even came) and watch the kiddies. Inevitably they would address their answers to my DH. He told them to talk with me as it was my car. One dealer asked me "honey, what color car do you want" I replied, "well, honey, what color is going to keep it from breaking down or make it go faster??""
His jaw dropped.
another dealer I told him that my DH was there to watch the kids he needed to talk with me as DH "didn't know nothin about vehicles"
(DH is a truck driver/mechanic/auto body !!!)
I really hate when I get the condescending "little woman" garbage.

[alphamommy]

The stories about women buying cars reminds me of another incident from before I met DH. I had been working for a large American car company for about 5 years when this happened.

I decided that I wanted a small pick-up. I searched around at several dealerships, but couldn't find anything on the lot that I wanted. One salesman offered to locate one at another dealership for me. When he was filling out the paperwork, he asked, "So, is there a <company name> employee in the family?" I answered, "Yes." He leaned over the desk, cocked his head sideways and said, "Is it your daddy?" I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and said, "No. It's me." He gasped, fumbled with his pen, and finished the paperwork.

Needless to say, I didn't get a truck.

Tammy

[meldan98]

We purchased a car in '03 when I was almost 8 months pregnant. We went to the dealership and knew what kind of car we wanted. We even knew the color. They had on the lot with all the features we wanted and it was on sale. The only is was, it was the wrong color. We asked our sales person if they had it in the gray color we wanted and he said he didn't think so, but he would check. We wandered the lot with him looking and couldn't find it. We were just following him around. I finally wandered a different direction, and low and behold, I found it. He kept insisting it wasn't the same car. He walked us back to the sales office and he ran to get his supervisor. His supervisor mentioned that the car I found wasn't the same car and told me we would have to order the car and have it delivered from a different dealership and because of that, we couldn't get if for the same price as the car on sale. We went round and round on this. Finally, they caved and gave in and we could get the car we wanted. My husband told them I needed to eat and we had to leave. They then told us that all negotiations were off and that if we left we couldn't get the car. So they brought me stale popcorn and a 7-up. I told them fine, let us sign the papers and get the heck out of here then. We walked back to the finance guy and they presented us with the papers and they provided a different price than the sale price. They then had the nerve to tell us that there is a higher price because the color is an upgraded color. That's when I blew my top. Trust me, don't get a hungry, very pregnant woman angry. Buy the time we left, we got just above low blue book on our trade in, free window tinting, and below the sale price.

By the way, this whole ordeal lasted 7 hours. That was the last time we ever stepped foot into that dealership.

[Gooftroop5]

When I am shopping for a car the worste thing a salesperson can do is to ask me if I need to talk to my husband. That's it, sale over, I leave.

I thought you were my mom well up to the coffee anyways. My mom which is 5ft 3inches walks in with my dad 6ft and they want to deal with him. My dad wears hearing aids and can't hear very well anyways. My mom told the car dealer that this was what she wanted. He only wanted to talk to my dad my mom said fine and got up and left. She was going to buy the car that day too they had a really great deal on the car she wanted.

I haven't bought a lot of cars in my life usually had hand me downs or used that my parents bought when I still was in school. When we bought our current car we went with my parents and dh's parents and we each bought a car from the dealer. They let dd run around in the back of the brand new pick up I was afraid she was going to scratch it up. They didn't car they had 3 new car sales that day.

We almost bought a used minivan a couple years ago the guy was so pushy and so upset/rude when we decided we didn't want it that we haven't gone back and refuse to go back to the dealership. They are the closest one for the van we want too. I will drive an hour away to get it when we are ready.