The Car Saga Continues…and Ends
Woman in the Middle | February 27, 2016After walking away empty handed from “Fartax,” after they sold the car we thought we were going to buy to someone else, we were forced to wait, in the hopes that their promises were true and another red Dodge Dart was on its way from Denver, Colorado. On Monday Youngest Daughter got a call. The car had arrived. It just had to be looked over before it could be released for sale, which should only take a day or two, the salesman said. It took two days, but I will give them a pass. Just as the car arrived the unthinkable happened. A salesman hopped in a Corvette to allow someone a test drive and the driver sped off, lost control of the car, ran into the tree, and killed the salesman. This happened at the dealership we were dealing with. That may have slowed things down for a day or so. Understandable.
We got the call on Wednesday that the car was ready. However, we couldn’t get there until Friday afternoon. We arrived and walked to the red Dart, full of anticipation. On the way there we noticed they had a Dart in Navy blue, How nice. Didn’t know they were made in Navy blue, we said.
Then we saw the car we had come for. As I like to say, it looked like it was rode hard and put away wet. It only had 11,000 miles on it but they were 11,000 difficult miles. Let me count the damage. A stained front seat. A melted spot on one of the inside back door handles. Glass in the trunk from a broken window (presumable the back window of that car, although it had been replaced). Last but definitely not least, major scratches and gouges in the paint on back bumper that could only be fixed by repainting.
Youngest and I were underwhelmed. Youngest was definitely disappointed and I was getting bad vibes from all over that poor car.
Not sure what to do, we decided to take the car for a test drive anyway. The salesman drove us and the car to the office and left us for a few moments while he went in to run her license. While he was gone I mentioned the navy blue Dodge Dart we had seen. While not as thrilled with the navy blue as she was with the red, Youngest agreed that we should take a look at it. When the salesman returned, we told him we wanted to see that one before we test drove the car from Colorado.
We walked back to the blue car, but it didn’t have a price on it. The salesman looked it up on his phone, but couldn’t find it. He left us to go determine if it had already been sold. A long fifteen minutes later he returned. The car was available, but had just come in, which was why it wasn’t in the system yet. It had 3,000 less miles than the car we had originally wanted to buy and had the back up camera, which the original one didn’t have. But it was the same price. Cheered by those facts and that the only flaw we saw was a small scratch on the trunk lid which could be easily buffed out, we decided to test drive it. It was fine and as we returned to the car lot I asked Youngest if the blue car suited her. She said yes it did. I turned to the salesman and told him, “Your long nightmare is over!”
We drove to the office and I remembered we hadn’t looked in the trunk. Remembering the glass in the trunk of that other Dart, I said to the salesman, “For kicks and giggles, could you pop the trunk?” Youngest and I held our breath as the lid popped open. I turned to her and said, “We better make sure there aren’t any bodies or pools of blood.” She giggled nervously. I lifted the lid and saw…nothing! just a clean car trunk!!! Praise the Lord!
We bought the car. I had to drive our car home so Youngest drove her new car home by herself. As she pulled out of the parking lot there was just enough light to see her face. I thought she might look a little grim, driving a strange car and all for the first time, one she paid for herself. I was totally wrong. I will never forget the beaming look of joy and happiness on her face! She drove out of that “Fartax” with a smile on her face a mile wide. She had a new car!
Meanwhile, I was pretty darn proud of myself. What started as a few visits to dealerships by Youngest and I before we brought Hubby into the picture, ended up being just me guiding Youngest through her first car purchase when Hubby became overwhelmed with work. I guided her through the whole process, dispensing car buying advice along the way. I figured out if cars were a good price. I checked safety ratings. I dealt with salesmen. I read car reviews. I helped her try to get car loans. I dealt with a pretty torturous process after the car we wanted was sold out from under us. Yep. I did it. I am woman. Here me roar after showing my daughter women can by cars, all by themselves.
BTW, Hubby said he was proud of me, as well.
Image courtesy of Dodge
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