One of the things I’ve always enjoyed doing for my kids is helping them find cars.
My middle son does the most driving in the family and by a long shot.
His first car was a 1999 Honda Accord EX I found at Winthrop Motors in Taunton back in 2008.
It had a 3.0 V6 and leather seats; it was a beautiful car.
Besides, he has a son now, so having safe, reliable transportation is very important.
The last vehicle I purchased, not including motorcycles, was a 2018 Nissan Frontier I bought new.
I negotiated a good price and got great financing through the dealer, Coastal Nissan in Norwell.
I don’t drive very much, and it only has just over 13,000 miles.
I initially went searching for a Toyota RAV 4 or a Honda CR-V, both mid-size SUVs.
I went to look at it on a Sunday; according to the website, they opened at noon.
I got there at 11:45 and waited.
There was one other customer sitting in her vehicle waiting.
We both waited impatiently…
When the salesman showed up at 12:30, I yielded to the girl who was there first.
After he put the plate on, I took the Rogue for a spin.
It’s like he read my mind.
He wrote up the deposit on a purchase form and included the agreed-upon price, $12,900…
There was a 2016 Rogue SL at the dealership in Abington that had all the amenities.
It looked like agetaway carthat had been sideswiped a dozen or more times and purchased off an impound lot.
Despite my disappointment, I went inside and had the salesman set me up for a test drive…
When I returned, the salesman gave me a very enthusiastic,“So, what’d ya think?
If it needs brakes or tires, we’ll do it.
And it’ll be completely detailed too!
We went back Monday afternoon, and my son drove it and liked it.
He agreed to do the work without argument.
That’s when we went in to talk to the finance guy.
He didn’t answer, so I left a message.
A few days later, I called and texted, and still no response.
I asked him to email me the P&S…
I called, emailed, and texted about the error but didn’t get a response.
That went on for days before I finally said,“Forget it.
It was just as well that it didn’t work out…
I decided to go to Winthrop Motors, where I saw a couple of interesting vehicles online.
One was a 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which is a legitimate crossover/compact SUV.
He said he wished he could get more RAV4s and CR-Vs because they fly off his lot.
It had low mileage, a moon roof, heated seats, Bluetooth, and all the desirable options.
It was just a big money grab, and all they wanted to do is fleece me.
I decided to take a ride over late in the day anyway…
I was greeted by a salesman who said he’d bring the car around for me.
“That’s when I completely lost it!
If I like the car, I’ll let you know, okay?
And it drove exceptionally well.
I didn’t fall for it.
I went inside just to let that salesman know he’d wasted my fucking time!
I don’t think I’m welcome there anymore…
I left and decided to try CarMax…
Initially, I was impressed by the building and all the vehicles parked out front.
I sat down at a small round table with a salesperson who had a laptop open and ready.
I left in a hurry…
I left with a bad taste in my mouth.
The salesman told me they close at 6:00, so confirm I’m back in time.
It was 5:30 when I left for the test ride.
I got a text from the guy,“We close at 6:00.
“I got back and told him I’d call in the morning.
The report read well, with no accidents reported.
The service record was full of oil changes, dealer service, and tire changes.
I wondered if he could find out more about it… Was it atypoby AutoCheck?
I decided to call the dealership in New Hampshire to find out for myself.
He said if they had done it, it would’ve shown up.
He added that pre-2018 Honda 4-cylinders burned oil, and if they went unchecked, they could fail catastrophically…
I decided to call Honda directly.
He said he didn’t have time to do something like that.
He said if I wanted, I could do it myself… Who knows, maybe they were hiding something.
Either way, that was the last straw, I was done with them…
There was a huge pothole at the entrance too.
The CR-V had a dead battery and no gas when we arrived.
Well, enough gas to go 10 miles.
The guy seemed disappointed when I said we weren’t interested.
I continued my online search… She also said she had a ten-month-old at home.
She was a lot of fun, but the car sucked…
I came across what looked to be a decent RAV4 at a dealership in Seekonk.
I set up a 9:30 test drive.
“Probably some detailing, it should be ready in about 15 minutes,“the young salesman said.
We sat and talked, and he was a nice kid, but I was growing impatient.
That’s when he said he’d check on the vehicle…
The body was beaten up, and the interior wasn’t much better.
They were asking $23,777.
I looked up the original MSRP, and it was $23,845.
The vehicle was battered and bruised, a victim of who knows what, maybe it was anothergetaway car.
One of the doors was wrinkled, and there were scratches everywhere…
He definitely wasn’t on Lupron… We’re-a gonna fix-a everything up, and when we’re-a done, it will look-a great.
You’re a-gonna love it!
“I inhaled her perfume one last time, and then I left in a hurry…
Okay, if you say so…
The exterior was perfect, as was the interior, and the alloy wheels didn’t have anycurb rash.
(SMART pricing only!)
I asked this salesman if he thought Carfax was good for car sales.
He said he thought it was, but then he told me this story…
He’s originally from Tennessee, where guns ‘n whiskey is just part of the culture.
In my next long blog I’ll reveal just how that happened…
