On Buying a Car
When was the last time you bought a car?
If it has been a few years, your next purchase will offer some surprises, mostly positive.
Last week was car-buying week in the Smith/Savalli household.
Frequent readers may remember me writing about my 2014 Mustang convertible last November, how it was time to let it go.
I said then I would replace it in the spring, with something equally fast and impractical, but with an automatic transmission so my dear Carla could drive it.
Well last week, having resolved our 2021 tax bill, I started the search.
Surprise No. 1:
There are no new cars in the market. None. Yes, you read that right. For all practical purposes, the international computer chip shortage has reduced new car manufacturing to a trickle. The dealers I checked with had no new cars on their lots, were selling only used cars and when they do get a new car it is pre-sold. The wait on a new car can be six to 10 months, longer for some models, we were told. And you pre-buy sight unseen.
If we were going to buy a car this spring it would be used.
Surprise No. 2:
To buy that used car, there is no need to leave the house, no need to cruise the dealer lots. I chose to shop using Auto Trader, the highest rated of the auto shopping apps. After I input a few criteria, from preferred models to preferred prices and financing options, the site listed used cars for sale in this market. In total there were hundreds. But I narrowed my search considerably with my listed preferences.
A single click on a listed vehicle provided an enormous amount of information. A click on the Carfax link provided even more, including details on previous owners, on vehicle maintenance, and on reported damage ranging from minor to devastating. Another link provided a Kelly Blue Book estimate of the car’s value and indicated whether the listed price was too low, too high, or just right.
Over a couple of days, I tracked six or seven cars and used the Auto Trader information to generate additional research, including Consumer Reports reliability indices.
I have never begun a car-buying process with more detailed and helpful information.
Surprise No. 3:
Almost all dealers operate by appointment now. We were able to contact selected dealers via email and schedule an appointment to see our selections. That cut down needless cruising time.
In the end we made three Saturday appointments at three dealerships.
Surprise No. 4:
By and large, there is no more haggling on price. I cannot remember how many cars, new and used, I have purchased through the years. The give-and-take with sales staff was always stressful.
Way back, one dealer accused me of trying to leverage my job as a reporter to get a better deal. He threatened to call my boss. Car buying as extortion.
That was my worst car-buying experience, but not by much.
Times have changed. Buyers now know far too much, one dealer told me. They know everything about the car, including its value. Many dealers will list a car for a documented value plus reasonable mark up. When you buy from them it is one-price, take or leave.
That has changed everything.
Surprise No. 5:
Instead of fighting with our dealer, we knew at the beginning the deal details. And using Auto Trader we had pre-arranged our financing. We ended up chatting about the weather, about cars we had owned, and about kids.
I am not certain any car purchase can be a pleasant experience – there is too much money involved. But at least this process was not painful.
Surprise No. 6:
In the end, I never felt I was in a race with the dealer to see who could be most unethical.
Last fall, I had considerable trouble with the online company that purchased my Mustang. It was a terrible experience and put me off online services that buy or sell directly. Online, it is possible to buy a used car from anywhere in the country and have it delivered to your door. But given my earlier experience, I have to believe it is best to at least see the car, inspect it and take a test drive.
Last Saturday, within a few hours of arriving at the dealership, we left the lot with our new used car.
Now I said at the beginning that the goal was to find a car to replace my Mustang. But I have to be honest. The car we bought was not my first choice or even my second. It was the first car we looked at and as soon as she saw it on the lot, Carla declared it would be ours.
In the old days of haggling, her jumping up and down and yelling “I want it, I want it” would have compromised our bargaining position. Not a problem in the current environment.
So that was the car we bought. Carla loves it and has immediately taken steps to customize it to her liking.
She says she will drive it to work occasionally, that she is more than willing to share with me.
I adore my wife. But I know better.
The new car will be more hers than mine in the end. I will be driving our old Toyota RAV4. It is getting along in years, is creaky, with a few scratches and dings. It makes funny noises, sputters and coughs. The brakes are soft.
All the same can be said of me. So, it is a good match even if not the muscle car I had been hoping to buy. What can I say? It is as comfortable as an old shoe and at my age that will have to do.
