Automotive Adventures

[ladysprite]

So I finally got the reimbursement from my insurance company for my poor sad departed little car, and I've been able to back off meds enough to drive a little, so it's time for me to move forward on buying a new car.

And I've done my homework, and narrowed it down to a few candidates, and over the past weekend and few days I've done my test-drives and figured out that, while the Ford Focus is significantly cheaper (mostly due to a current, desperate, end-of-month please get this damn thing off our lot rebate deal), I just like the Honda Civic a lot better in every way.

So now I just need to figure out how to go about buying the darn thing, and getting a decent price. The only problem is that I've never had to do this before.

I haven't bought a car in about 12 years, and I've never bought a car that wasn't a Saturn (not counting the handful of beaters I bought under the table for about $500 apiece when I was in grad school, each of which lasted just long enough until I saved up for the next). And completely aside from being truly awesome cars, Saturn didn't haggle.

I've got a used Civic that I like, certified pre-owned, from a dealer. I've gone to Kelly Blue Book, and so I am at least armed with the fact that the dealer is asking about $2000 more than KBB says the car is worth. And, given the deals that Ford is offering, I've emailed a handful of other Honda dealers in the area for estimates and specials on new Civics, just in case I can start a.... what's the opposite of a bidding war? A discounting war?

Anyway. This is weird, and kind of uncomfortable, and new territory. If there's anything I should be doing that I'm not, let me know? I'd appreciate any advice. And at the end of it, whatever car I wind up with is going to have to forever live in the shadow of its older sister, which is an unfair place to be....

Comments

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

I was actually going to make the same recommendation as 2). First of all, it's a great bellwether of whether you want to work with the salesperson at all. If they know you are buying the car, but they talk to the man you bring with you, you know you want to go somewhere else or work with someone else. And if you only have one salesman to choose from, at least a salesperson's misogyny won't cost you more.

[pujaemuss.livejournal.com]

I would extend this and say that the best thing to do is take someone along to play good cop/bad cop with. If you can acquire a male friend, then you can play the misogyny to your advantage - you can play the eager girly girl who's keen and he can be the big bad grumpy man who doesn't want to be there and doesn't think you should be buying anyway. Your eagerness reassures them that there's a sale here to be had and keeps their interest in the conversation, while the bad cop can be as obstreperous as they want to push the salesman as hard as they can. It means you can threaten to walk away without losing goodwill, as the bad cop is overruling you "unless there's something that can be done" and you get to "overrule them" when the price is right.

It's a little bit taxing to your dignity to play up to the preconceptions, but people are always stupidest when they think they're smarter than you. My wife and I have it down to a tee.

PJW