A Deer in the Headlights or Buying a New Car....(the final chapter)

So we drove home, feeling somewhat frustrated but trying to remind ourselves that good things come to those who wait. And wait we did!

The next day, we had several conversations with the dealership. We negotiated numbers and needless to say they were not very happy with our bottom line. After all of our back and forth haggling they decided that they just could not sell us this vehicle for what we were willing to pay. So to that we said okay, we will find a car somewhere else.

Within a couple of hours we got a call back asking us to come in because they think they can work it out!

We drove back to the dealership fully confident that we would be driving our new van home. Confidence is highly overrated.

After 3 hours....yes that's 3 as in one, two, three....we were informed that because Brian works so much overtime, it was making it difficult for the bank to verify his income. Keep in mind that they had several pay stubs and the last two years W2's in front of them. This, we determined, was all part of the game.

They told us that because it was Friday evening, and we were facing the weekend, it would probably be Monday before we would know anything for sure.....UNLESS....
we wanted to put more down to prove that we had a sufficient bank account.

Can you say LIVID!?

We were not putting more money down, and I was not going to play this game anymore. We told them that they could either make the deal or we would be looking elsewhere.

We drove home again. This time I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that we would be looking elsewhere. The sales manager at the dealership had other ideas.
Apparently, sales have been extremely slow and this particular automaker has a year's worth of inventory sitting on car lots throughout America. They are actually at an advantage....some manufacturers have three years worth. Needless to say, they really needed to sell us that van.

Saturday came. It was Katy's birthday, so I was busy. I did not have time to deal with ridiculous deal making and I certainly was not going to go sit at the dealership for an extended length of time...again.

Around 3:00, after several back and forth phone calls, we were told to come get the van. I made it perfectly clear that there would be no more negotiating and that I had a total of 1 hour to spare. That's it!

When we arrived our van was waiting for us. It had been washed and was ready to take home. It looked so nice and shiny in the sunlight!

In a matter of 30 minutes, we had signed papers, and were given the keys. I sat in my brand spanking new Nissan Quest and breathed in the new car smell. It was intoxicating. Driving home was like some kind of dream. It was smooth. Nothing was leaking. The kids were constantly messing with buttons and wondering why I didn't come prepared with a DVD to watch.

My van is now parked in my garage looking all new and sparkly. I keep coming up with excuses to drive it. I know it will not look sparkly for long.....did I mention I have 4 kids?

The car shopping experience was not pleasant. It was stressful and full of a lot of bologna! But, if you can get past all of that, now is a great time to buy. Just stick to your guns, and don't eat the hot dogs....I'm just sayin =).