On the Verge

We are biting the bullet and diving in, head first, into parenthood. We are on the verge of buying a minivan. We knew we needed one when we were unable to bring back everything we got for Christmas and through the after-Christmas shopping. With the addition of a pack-n-play, it's going to be a tight fit. We've been looking at all the different places, Carmax, used dealerships, but haven't found the right car for the right price. That is until yesterday. So, here's a little tour of how everything took place.

I walk in and have two cars in mind. I ask for the sales guy that I am supposed to be meeting. After 10 minutes or so, another guy comes up and asks for me, he has been sent by the original salesman. He takes me outside and begins the normal spill of how fabulous their deals are and he believes they have the right car for me. I pull out my research containing two cars that they "supposedly" have on their lot along with the trade-in, private party, and retail values of the van, as well as comp prices of similar vans at other dealerships. He says, "Oh, you must already have something in mind." I show him the more affordable of the two and he gets the keys.

He tells me the other van is at the other dealership down the road, so we drive down there, only to find that it is no longer there. Ironically, no one seems to remember this van at all ... hmmm. I'm pretty much like the cheaper one, because it has all of Abbey's requirements, extremely low miles, and as an added bonus, a power lift-gate.

I tell him, that I hate the garbage of "what's it going to take to put you in this van?" So, I told him to appraise the Highlander and come back with a price. After a long while, they came back with, "We really like your vehicle, and because we know we can sell it, we're prepared to offer you top dollar. We'd like to give you $1.00 for your trade." Well, it was higher than that, but it was hard to notice.

I went into my "I told you I hate this garbage, so go back and get me the best price." He came back and said, "We really want to make this deal, so now we are going to give you $1.50." Once again, it was higher than that, but didn't feel like it. I put on my coat and told him goodbye. He said, "Give me a chance, tell me what you want." So, I did, and he went back in and came back a lttle higher than I asked, but I had not told him I was putting cash down, so that made the deal work. I think. We'll see today when we go to sign the papers if they were able to find $20,000 worth of unexpected costs.

So ... my friends, family, and blog-enthusiasts, Abbey and I are on the verge, the verge of a Babymobile.