I would skip going to the dentist, if I could, but a recent incident involving the loss of part of a tooth indicates a regular 6 month visit is probably necessary.
I would skip going to Wal-Mart, if I could, but I haven't gotten comfortable yet with buying my feminine products at Aldi. Meat yes, tampons no. Weird, huh?
But the thing I would skip most of all is going to a car dealership. I hate having to buy a car.
First, let me put things in perspective. Buying a car is a huge expense. I think that is what ruins it from the start. Since my husband and I do not go to the nearest car dealer with a briefcase full of 50s and 100 dollar bills ready to drop it on a Ferrari, the fun in car buying is already diminished.
My husband and I have had some bad experiences with car buying. Once we were strong armed into buying a car after being told we could not leave the salesman's office to even privately discuss our options. If we left - so did the deal.
Once, this hipster couple (before hipsters were even a thing) bought a Volkswagon Jetta we couldn't afford and then, less than a year later, we tried installing our first car seat. I cried when by pregnant stomach touched the dashboard. Bye bye, Jetta.
We have since embraced buying used vehicles and, in a way, that has opened up a world of security. There is not much wiggle room when it comes to price. Kelley Blue book tells you what it is worth and the internet allows a person to research any vehicle, stress free without even setting foot on a lot.
This past Monday, my husband and I began the search for our next van. We had one day to check out a couple options, in person, which means we had to finally do the dance and interact with salespeople.
It started out really well. Our first guy was very laid back. He was older, had a been there done that attitude and pretty much gave us our space. We took a test drive, got some paperwork and bada boom bada bing we were off to the next location. This is where it got interesting.
At our second location we were paired up with the "top gun" of salesman - young, slick and ready to make a sale. He was hungry and wanted to see us drive a van off of his lot. Initially, our interaction was pretty standard - test drive, some talk of figures, financing, but when we were ready to go, it was time to bring in the heavy - a guy who, just minutes before, walked across the showroom blasting "Eye of the Tiger" from his phone.
The boss man was in town, just for the day, and he had a pot of money to throw around as he saw fit. He offered to shave money off the cost of an extended warranty on the van. "But when I leave town tonight I take my money with me." It was like a deal we couldn't refuse. I saw a horse head in our future if we didn't agree to the terms.
Luckily, we saw through the smoke and left on our terms. Ultimately, it was about the vehicle. It was too much like what we already have and what we already have has been nothing but trouble. So we'll bide our time and wait for the van that feels right. The van, which will probably be our last, as our kiddos are growing fast. Maybe down the line, my husband and I will have that suitcase filled with money so we can drop it on our 'empty nester' Ferrari. After putting three kids through college that doesn't seem likely but hey, a girl can dream.
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