Schmuck or No Schmuck

If you read the title of this post you are probably wondering what in the world I am talking about.

Last week Phil, Hayley & I had the privilege honor horror of shopping for a new vehicle.  In early Spring our trusty 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan decided to remove it's presence from our family.  We always said we were going to drive it until the wheels fell off of it.  However, we didn't think that it would happen so soon. 

To make a very long story short we were having a wonderful family day out.  Traveling to Pennsylvania for a quick shopping trip before heading to West Virginia to watch our beloved Wheeling Nailers hockey team in the playoffs.  Without a warning as we were heading to the arena for the game, our van decided that it was going to act "funny".  When I say funny I mean make a strange noise and then barely go forward as we were trying to go through a stop light.  We made it to the parking garage where Phil proceeded to tell us to just go enjoy the game and we would deal with it later.

Our prayers after the game were to make it to my mom's (about 1 hour away) nice and safe.  And God does answer prayers!  As we pulled into her housing development the van would no longer move forward without the law of gravity pulling it down the hill.  It also decided to perfume the neighborhood with a horrific odor while polluting the environment with billowing smoke from the front end.  Yes, we blew up our transmission.  C.O.M.P.L.E.T.E.L.Y! 

Thanks to Mom & Dad Money we were able to have a vehicle that we could all fit in for a few months as we decided what on earth we were going to do.  (You see being a family of 6, you can't just fit into any old vehicle with 4 wheels and drive down the road.)

So, we started out on our  journey adventure trip-through-h*ll car shopping early last week.  (Let the game show music begin now!)

Now mind you we had done much research prior to our journey to "car dealership ______" (you fill in the blank.)

A few days prior we drove through several establishments to "window" shop.  And on Monday we took the plunge and drove in while they were open and met our first Schmuck (ooops I mean, Salesman) of the journey.

Of course the vehicle we saw on their web site was "not available", but they had several others that would meet our criteria.  We looked at a bunch, drove a few, and decided to bring one home for the night to have it looked at and see how we liked it.  Would you believe that when we returned the vehicle the next day NOT a single one of the salesmen we had talked to were available for us.  And they have NEVER called us to follow up.  NOT.DEALING.THERE.

After dropping off drive home #1 we went a few more places and my husband decided he wanted to have some "fun" at the next place.  We are standing in the lot surrounded by VANS when another one appeared.  (Schmuck/salesman....you get to choose this time.) 

"Can I help you?" he asks. 

My husband replies with, "I want to buy a van."

While Hayley and I began to melt (because it was literally 90+ degrees) we had to wait for him to "get information" not once but TWICE and then he still never gave us the information we originally asked for.

Lots of looking a trip around the block in one and we were off to get us some dinner. S.T.R.I.K.E. 2!

Not wanting to strike out a 3rd time, I wasn't sure what we were going to do short of driving what we already had and sweating through the rest of the summer with no air conditioning.

A few more Internet searches and phone calls.  And we actually were able to walk into a place that treated you like you were somebody.  They had a product knowledge like no other.  And a vehicle that had more options than what we were looking about for about $3,000 LESS than what we were looking at else where.

Patience is the lesson we are still trying to learn.  However, I was glad that we were able to hold true to our values throughout this process.  These people are "trained" to make you feel like you "need" this-or-that-or-something-else.  They are trained to make you commit to something that you aren't ready for.  They are less prepared for you to be firm such as not making a decision the night of the test drive or not paying retail for something.  But I encourage you, if you are in the need of a different vehicle make some decisions BEFORE you head out to the lot.

Here is glimpse of what we do:
1.  We will never commit to a sale the day/night of looking at vehicle.
2.  We need to be able to have it inspected by someone of our choice for maintenance concerns.  (Trust me we have learned the hard way on this one.)
3.  Never pay retail.  There is always some wiggle room in the price.

Have you had to make a large purchase recently?  Did you have to play the Schmuck or No Schmuck game?  What are some of your rules before making large financial decisions?

(Pics will come later...I have dusty new van from a trip to the Amish Farm this week....)