(A little departure from the usual Alpha Doggs research fare….a different kind of research altogether: New car buying research)
I shop for cars a little more frequently than Halley’s Comet comes around, and for the past couple of weeks have had my first adventure in shopping for a vehicle since the Web really took off. Time to ditch my hand-me-down ’96 Volvo wagon, which had failed inspection on safety and emissions, and downsize to a little putt-putt car, the Nissan Versa hatchback for my soon-to-be-shortened commute.
I was actually halfway excited, having heard stories from others about how you barely need to go to the dealer any more. Just go to Edmunds.com or another such site and get all your research and quotes done online.
But as I learned, not so fast.
The research part is great. The getting quotes part is just as frustrating as ever. Straight answers are rare.
I began my search by targeting 4 local Nissan dealers. I sent them each an email inquiry through their web sites during lunch one afternoon last week. They all got back to me within 20 minutes, practically begging me to come in for a test drive (I test drove a colleague’s, so told them I didnt need to).
I got 5 emails from one dealer in the span of 32 minutes who on the phone assured me his only goal was to “make me happy.”
And one of them sent me email that had me double checking on whether I accidentally emailed a dating service. The Internet sales coordinator messaged how she moved to Massachusetts from “the wonderful state of Wisconsin” when she was 7 years old. She loves photography and eating and getting lost while driving, though is doing more walking now since she has a gas guzzler herself!!!
Anyway, I spent the next few days repeating to them exactly the model and options I was after. I told them I didn’t care about the color, just a few options like anti-lock brakes. I assured them I wouldn’t be falling in love with any cars at their dealerships, so they could stop pushing me to come in and take a test drive.
One salesman called me back with “Great News!” He had just the Sentra I wanted.
Versa, not Sentra I reminded him. Oh yes, one of the “rare” Versa, he replied. The rare Versas that all the dealerships I contacted had in stock.
The same dealer assured me it was perfectly fine to drive my Volvo with the red rejection sticker on it, even though the Registry of Motor Vehicles notes that cops can stop and fine you for doing so.
After about a week of back and forth via email and the phone, I got to the point where I asked the dealers to give me their best price. The first time around, only 1 of them could do it. However, that dealer got eliminated on a technicality: He gave me the price for a car I wasn’t asking for.
Finally, one dealer did get back with a price, which was basically what I was looking for. This wasn’t the sale of the century: The difference between the sticker and invoice price on this car is pretty slim to start.
Of course, once I did get to the dealer my head started spinning as they took my trade-in for a song even though I’d been warned over and over not to sell too cheaply (the salesman told me I was “honest to a fault” about the condition of my car). They took it pretty easy on me in the finance office and sent me on my way.
The car is supposed to show up in a few days. My plan is to drive it into the ground and pray that my wife’s car holds out for a few more years.
MORE CAR TALK:
