Car Buying
…..is very similar to Hiking in the Pacific Northwest.

1. It takes PLANNING. You can’t go without some kind of preparation; survival is important!
2. You need to know it’s going to TAKE ALL DAY.
3. You need to PACK A LUNCH.
4. You might ENCOUNTER A BEAR…..so watch out!
5. It’s going to TAKE MUCH OF YOUR ENERGY. Prepare for mental fatigue!
6. Carry a “map” because otherwise, you might “get lost” or become confused.
7. Be prepared for the “blood suckers” who try to have you for lunch!

I was considering trading in my ’97 Taurus SHO sedan and buying a Pickup Truck. Now we all know that every guy needs his truck! So this past Saturday, without fully considering points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, my Honey and I went out and began looking for “something” in a pickup, new or used. I bought the morning newspaper and scanned through the big auto sales ads. This might be my lucky day because there are some very impressive factory rebates on new 2006 vehicles!

Ron Tonkin was the first and funniest place we visited. The salesman who came out to talk to me was a young man with little training or knowledge. I asked him the prices for 2 or 3 trucks, as there was no sales sticker on the new 2006 Chevy that set on the lot next to a new 2007, except for the original sticker from a year and a half ago. After inquiring about the price, the young man went in and brought back a #7 who began to ask me what I would pay for it. Then he wanted to know if I would buy it if we agreed on a price. I told him I had two other places to go visit before I made a purchase. At that point, he told me the price would be the old price on the window and walked off. This was the same dealership where I had previously purchased a lease Pickup a few years ago. So much for repeat business!!

Murray Chevrolet in Gresham was the next stop. This is where I had bought the Taurus a few years ago. The same salesman came up to us and asked to help. We found a Dodge 1500 I really liked and took it for a spin around the block. I was impressed. It had a big price sticker on the windshield of $23k. Figuring I might get him to consider a number closer to $20k, we went in and started filling out paperwork. He made a couple of trips into see the “boss”. The “boss” came out and congratulated us on the purchase. I backed him up a few paces and reminded him we were only at the stage where we want to know about “the deal”. He told me the price I see is on the windshield is what it is. So we left. So far we’ve now wasted 4 hours.

The next stop was Gresham Dodge where I drove a Ford F150 and a Dodge 1500. Both were impressive and I decided to go for the Ford. Inside, at the negotiating table, we were served platters of chit chat between the innocent salesman and a #7, until we reached an agreed price AND my frustration limit! From there we moved into a delay mode and I needed to go. Finally, into the tiny office with the guy with the computer who proceed to type up the agreement.

His final thrust was to say that the vehicle had no warranty but that he would be willing to part with a 3 to 5 year warranty at “his cost”. We had already been approved for a line of credit at the Credit Union, so it was only a matter of paperwork. However, his figures of monthly payment were 10% higher than what the Credit Union said and he was very pushy with that; not wanting to budge.

He then suggested that I go ahead and sign the contract papers and then take the Purchase order to my Credit Union and hash it out with them, getting it refinanced in order to decrease my payments. I told him that idea sounded backwards to me! It would be my thought that I “first”, go to the CU and discuss this with them, pick up a check and bring it to the Dealer. He again suggested that I sign the contract. I suggested that we should talk with the CU first because they, apparently, made a mistake, according to him, in giving us the 10% less amount in the first place. He thought we should go to the CU and discuss the loan, but that I should go ahead and sign the contract so we could “have that out of the way”.

I asked if he would allow me to bring the truck BACK to him for a refund if the CU did not want to change the payment amount. He tried hard to avoid answering that question, but on my third try he informed me that he could not do that. (Is this where I say, “Do I look like I have “STUPID” written all over my face, or something”?)

I asked him what he would do if he were in my shoes. He said he couldn’t answer that because he wasn’t in my shoes. I told him I suspected I already KNEW the answer!

So we left. He’s called the house at least twice already asking what he can do to get my business. After such business tactics, I’m afraid to put my business into his hands, now.

I pondered all of this and got to thinking about how “Car Buying 101” would make a great College class! Each week as the class assignment, everyone would have to go to a car dealership and document their negotiating tactics. The “final exam” would be based upon how well you whittled down the sticker price! Perhaps you would get extra points for frustrating the salesman, instead of HIM frustrating YOU.

Did you ever buy a car and pay the sticker price just so you wouldn’t have to go through all the hassle?? It's TEMPTING!!

Being raised on a 360 parcel of land in NW Arkansas in the 40's and 50's, money was scarce and making a living meant hard work for everyone in the family. We rode the school bus several miles to school everyday, often having plenty of time to notice every detail along the dusty roads in our community. As soon as we were off the bus, we were running down the lane towards home, eager to see familiar sights and to tell Mom about our day at school.

The day was not over and we had tons of chores to do around the farm. We had animals to feed and water, cows to milk, eggs to gather, lawn grass to mow, rocks to pile and garden work of weed pulling, tilling and watering. It seemed never ending. Over the years the lawn kept getting larger as Dad would clear another portion of the brushy areas and make it into a lawn.

After milking the cows it was almost dark, or after, and time to go in to eat supper and take our baths. We bathed in a small round, galvanized wash tub that only a kid could get into. Mom would boil water and mix it into the tub with cold, well water. Three of us boys would use that for bathing. We never realized the importance of “going first”. In fact, we used to say things like, “No! Let him go first!” Looking back, if now I was to bathe in the same water as two other boys, I would certainly want to be first! Ha! But, I guess that’s the mindset of kids!

Following baths, we would do our homework if we had any to do. In the farming community there was probably less homework to do than in the city. The farm kids had so much to do after they got home and the teachers were encouraged to avoid taxing us with too much, as it took away time from our chores and other work. In fact, as I recall, school was out for the summer around April 20th. There is always much to do on a farm.

I was about 7 or 8 when we got electricity in our home. That was nice! The Coal Oil lamps we used, otherwise, put out a dim yellow light that we had to read by. The smell of burning oil was something we were used to. You can imagine how your family dynamics would change if you did not have electricity or batteries to use! We were no different, except that much of what’s available today was not around in the 50’s. So we never missed what we didn’t have.

We raised much of what we ate. Our garden was large enough to produce enough food to sustain our large family of seven. Mom and Granny spent many summertime hours preparing foods for canning into quart jars that would be put away in the old log house on shelves for our winter supply. We didn’t eat meat like we do today. We had a chicken on Sunday once in a while, especially when we invited someone over for dinner after church.

We did eat wild Squirrel and Rabbit in those days. To us kids, it was very good and we always found the time to hunt for our food. Dad was out of the area working as a pipeline welder, putting in Natural Gas pipe across most of Arkansas during those days. He would come home on the weekends and spend time with the family. Saturday was the day we would drive into town and do our grocery shopping for staples like flour and sugar, coffee and such. We rode in the back of Dad’s pickup and that was fun! We would always stop by our Insurance Agent’s office to do business. He was a very nice old man who always came outside to see us boys and talk to us. He kidded with us for a while then would pull out a plastic coin purse from his pocket, carefully squeeze it open and search for 3 dimes. As he removed the coins, he would ask, “Have you boys had your ice cream today?” Naturally, all three of us would say “no” at the same time, and he would hand us each a Mercury Head dime. We would be very shy but grinning like a ‘Possum in appreciation. This happened EVERY time we went into town and stopped to see him. I didn’t realize until years later, how much of an impact he had on my life! That is probably the single most act of kindness that has caused me to be generous to kids in my life today.

The reason I write this down is because I wanted to record something I had almost forgotten. During one of Dad’s Rabbit hunting trips, he took me along as a “helper”. I was just a little guy, probably 7 years old. It was winter time and we were dressed as warm as we felt like we needed to be. We were out much of the day and I was carrying the “game”, until it got too heavy, then Dad would take it from me for a while. We stopped near the old homestead property to rest. I began to get cold and shivered a few times. Dad rubbed my head and asked if I was cold. I told him I was. He removed his warm coat and put it around my shoulders. When he zipped it up, I was like toast!

I’m glad I remembered that about Dad. He passed away in 1975. Like anyone, I like to recall the good memories and bring them in for a closer look. It’s just part of the goodness we found during hard times, that we didn’t know were hard back then.