Negotiating a Deal.

The journey for a new set of wheels continues...

I sat down today with a local salesman to discuss some numbers on the Nissan Rogue. It's a great vehicle with a lot of potential, but the price for it seems to differ wildly from dealership to dealership. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy with the initial price that I was given. Per what the salesman said, the price he offered on this Rogue only included $100 in profit for him. Because the exact vehicle I would want is located in Charlotte on another dealer's lot, I was told that the price would be higher. Of course, I was not comfortable with the initial offer presented. In response, the salesman made a pitch concerning the same model on their own lot, just in a different color -- dark grey. On this vehicle, he presented an offer that was two thousand dollars less than the previous. Though, it was still higher than what I want to pay for a vehicle. Considering there are similar competitor vehicles available for a few thousand dollars less (specifically the Jeep Cherokee), I am under no pressure to purchase the Rogue.

My logic on the matter is this -- if I'm going to spend $25,000 on a vehicle, I at least would like to get what I want. Why spend that much money on a vehicle I don't really want?

In this instance, I wanted a blue Rogue SV with a moon roof and fog lamps.

What irks me the most is when salesman say that white, black, grey or silver are the best colors to buy. They claim that they retain the highest resale value and look the best when dirty. I wonder... have these guys ever seen a dirty white car? A dirty silver or black car? They look terrible! Not to mention, why not drive something with a little bit of color? Has humanity become so dull and lifeless? They might have a higher resale value, but is it because dealerships keep telling us that this is so? Talk about controlling the narrative. Shoppers need to show a little more originality when buying a vehicle. Refrain from conforming to the accepted norm. Do what suits you! Want a yellow convertible? Go for it. Want a pink station wagon? Lovely.

Not to mention, where did all the station wagons go in the United States? That's a whole other gripe of mine.

The next time you get on the road, I want you to take notice of the private passenger (non-commercial) vehicles that pass you. Spend a few good minutes watching the colors of cars that you see. You'll notice a trend -- most cars on the road are not a color, but a shade. White, black, grey and silver are the most popular paint jobs on vehicles. You might see the occasional red vehicle, maybe a blue. Green, orange or yellow? Maybe one or two in an entire day. And don't even get me started on poor old purple (my favorite color). Auto manufacturers are racist as hell when it comes to the most royal of colors.

One of my dream cars - a purple 1950 Studebaker Champion. I have a thing for a bullet nose on a car. 

Back to the events of today...

Before I left the dealership, the general manager came in to negotiate. He offered to get the blue Rogue in Charlotte and sell it for the same price as the one on the lot. Suddenly, the Rogue in Charlotte was worth two thousand dollars less. How quickly the story changed in just a span of half an hour! Add on top of that offers of zero percent financing (which I don't need because I already have cash and financing) and free regular maintenance -- they thought a sale was certain to be made.

Nope, I walked away and said I had to think it over for a day.

Seriously, consider this for a bit -- if there were two thousand dollars worth of wiggle room in a vehicle that's not even on their lot, how much actual wiggle room is there on the vehicle that is on their lot? At the end of it all, I still don't want to spend over twenty grand on a car that isn't what suits me. This holds especially true when I can get a similar car for less with another manufacturer.

At this point, I'm half way tempted to just buy an old car and have it restored for half the price of what I'd pay for a new vehicle. That's what I really want to do anyway!

The quest will begin again tomorrow!