Another used car sales "rant".

On thursday of last week (24 Sept.) I took my car in to be worked on and while there I got to asking the owner of the business if he still had a (insert car name here) that he's been advertising for a month or more in the local free car trader mag. He did, so with a little persuasion I got the keys and took it for a test drive. It's okay, for a XX year old car, but since my current car has quite a few miles on it (almost 190K), I was looking at it to replace my old car with very little "buy in".

So where does the rant come in? He had the car advertised for $Z,GEE and that included the "doc fee". When he wrote up the purchase order, I found it included a couple of hundred dollars for "vehicle prep"....so, to me, he changed doc fee to vehicle prep and still "added" a few hundred bucks.

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN MY RANT. I thought I might really buy the car last week, but over the next few days I tried to remember what the previous owner (who I actually met at that business) said was the latest problem she had with the car. (It seems she was always bringing it in for something, and I suspected that it had either a cooling problem or a blown headgasket, as she said (I THINK/IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY), that it was losing coolant over time.

Now here's the real rant. Aside from the doc/prep fee...thingee, I picked up the latest issue of the same free car trader mag, and the car was in the guy's ad and it had been reduced several hundred dollars from the price I was going to pay. He had to have know it, too, as it's not like the ad had a very short "lead time". I'm sure he knew WEDNESDAY...BEFORE I walked in, that the price was going to drop by MORE than 12% in a few days. Yes, I realize I was going to pay the "higher" price, willingly, BEFORE I saw that ad, but I thought with all the business I've thrown to this guy, and the 3 other cars I bought from him (overpaying on at least 1) that he could have said something without my having to twist his arm off.

So you overpaid once, kept dealing with the guy, and are pissed (and surprised) that you may have actually overpaid a second time?

Is that what you're trying to say?

Who are you mad at, him, or you?

In general, we are trained in sales never offer too much information. Your seller did that exact thing.

If you walk in asking for the 1991 Miata for $3,000; you would just agree and sell it. (or start negotiating from $3,000)

The seller would never tell you he just reduced the price $300 and start negotiating from $2,700.

When buying used cars I would always ask in the middle of the conversation...."so how much are you asking on this car"?

This was in case he had a new lower price or mixed up numbers in his head. I always knew what the advertisement said....

The "problem" is that I negotiated from a price printed in an ad that appeared in public on Sept. 20th. Before I would even have signed on the dotted line there was an ad being printed that appeared on Sept. 27th that had the "advertised price" as being 12% LOWER.

I felt somewhat lucky, yet angry, that the "doc fee" that was formerly NOT included, was changed to a "vehicle PREP fee" also not included. The printed ad makes it appear that there are no added on fees.

But the real bottom line is that they were selling a car to a customer that had been somewhat loyal for nearly 10 years. I foolishly felt that my loyalty meant something to these folks....apparently not.

he tried to give you the "Hank Hill" deal... can't blame the guy for that.

And the really sorry aspect of this whole saga?

I've always thought, but never said to my father's face, that one of his high school buddies that he has bought more than a dozen cars and trucks from....gave my Dad the "Hank Hill deal". Yeah, one of the better KoTH episodes.