(NRR) 2010: A Jetta Odyssey
This is a bit lengthy, but I am sure you will enjoy it.
The Collision
Congestion on a highway is no fun. Congestion after a long day at the office -- annoying. But what makes an annoying day turn into a wretched day are the drivers who throw caution to the wind. Let me explain.
A day of teaching in the beginning of the school year, coupled with a visit from President Obama at our school, created controlled chaos. Secret Service, spectators, men with big rifles, and screaming kids endlessly chanting, “Pass this bill!” enveloped the sun-soaked campus, sprinkled with parcels of clouds, caused the staff to be extra attentive to their surroundings, making sure no random act of insanity breaks out. This makes for a grueling day.
After this less publicized event finished, I had two choices to make: should I stay and wait out the crowd of nearly 4,000 until rush hour is at its prime, or with the brief window of opportunity peering right at me, escape from the pandemonium and make it to a safe haven called home? Being a man of action, I jump at the opportunity without hesitation and jump in my good ole 1998 navy blue Volkswagen rust bucket of a car Jetta – a decision my hasty nature regrets.
Pulling onto the on-ramp of 670 East near Columbus State Community College, I notice that it just wasn’t the school that was chaos-congested; it was all of Columbus. It’s fine though; traffic is still moving at a decent pace until – “Sccreeeeechhh!” Brake lights, looking like red ants slowly marching to salvage food, stood right in front of me. Luckily my 30mph-0mph was in good spirits that day to save me from hitting the red ant in front of me. I catch my breath for a brief second, peer into my rear view mirror and see this blinding whiteness barreling towards me with a man desperately trying to stop the car with his super-human nothingness.
The crash was quick and painless. No bodily damage, just a kick in the ass to my 20th century auto. We get out, exchange insurance info; cop shows up, I decide to not report it (nice guy I am), and go on our way. I can already tell the structural damage is worth more than my car – and guess what that means – time for a shiny car! However, to bring down my spirits of actually buying a new car, two things happen, well one thing and the other was just bad news. First, I get pulled over by a cop on my way home. Talk about adding insult to injury. Second, the loser who hit me (and believe me, the guy looked like he wasn’t doing well in life) never did have insurance – it was his girlfriend’s insurance card he showed me. So much for me being a nice guy!
Test-driving cars can be fun. Buying a car can also be fun. Put a month of work into it and attach it with borrowing family member’s cars during the search – not so fun. It took me a little over one month to decide which car I wanted, and to get the best value. But what really grinded my gears were the dirty little tricks a car salesman would do to get you to buy a car. And it’s just nasty.
Deciding to go with a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, a model I am accustomed and a year in which I feel I could get the best deal, I started my search. I made a lot of stops at different dealerships to look at their VWs that they have in stock. One stop I made, and I highly regret, was at Midwestern Auto Group (also known as MAG). The car I felt was the best fit I wanted at 15k OTD (also known as Out The Door – after tax, title, and fees). It was listed at $15,545. When I started a rapport with a nice young salesman named Christian, I felt that I could get my asking price, but eventually things turned for the ugly and Christian wasn’t acting much “Christian” anymore.
Here’s a little secret: if you want to buy cash for a car (which I couldn’t do anyways on this Jetta), don’t let the salesman trick you into believing he can make a better deal with you in this way. They actually make more money off you if you finance it. Christian had me fooled. His manager offered me $15,300 plus TTL (Tax and Title). I countered with what I set my budget at $15,000 OTD. Maybe there was some misunderstanding, but when I communicated that to them, they said it was a deal, then they proceeded to show me what it would be after TTL (16.3k I believe). With no deal done, I walked out still confident I would find my emerald in the sand.
The following day I get a text from the dealer saying they that if I don’t buy the car now, it will go to auction the next day. Really? The car has been sitting on the lot (and still is) for four months, and just now it is going to auction. BS. He text back again, the day the car was supposed to be going to auction, saying that if I get the car today, it will be $15,600, but if I wait until tomorrow, it will be $16,000 OTD. Um, whatever happened to the auction? I respond, and I quote from the text, “Whatever happened to the auction?” Let’s just say his sales practices were shoddy at best and he kept trying for several more days; therefore, I reported MAG to the Better Business Bureau for dishonest sales practice. That felt wonderful.
After that disgusting taste of salesmen out of my mouth, I moved on, and because of my resiliency, I stumbled upon http://www.cars.com, quite possibly the best filter to find dealer or personal cars for sale. Why didn’t I find this before? I found a 2010 VW Jetta at Byers’ Dublin listed for $13,900. I went in there, test-drove it, and had relatively the same amount of miles as the Jetta at MAG had. I talked to the dealer, said I would buy it now for $14,000 OTD, they countered with +$400 more, and said sorry (they were looking to meet at $14,200 OTD); however the car just came in five days prior and still was not detailed. They asked if I would take it “as is,” and I said, “Just give me the keys.”
Paying Attention to Detail
When you start the car buying experience, buy what you like and what you feel comfortable in. Take my wife’s advice, “Don’t just settle on a car because it might be a good deal. Find a car you will feel happy in 10 years down the road.”
Be wary of the sales tactics from salesmen. Just because they say it will go to auction, the price will go up tomorrow, or if someone is looking to buy it too, don’t get too hasty. They want you to buy their car and will lie, cheat, and steal their way to get your business. Know what your price is and be firm with it. And remember, there are plenty of fish in the sea. So if you do lose out on a car, don’t be discouraged.
Remember this too: at the end of the month, dealers may be needing to meet a quota, and they are willing to lose some of their profit that month to reach the number of cars sold.
I recommend when you go look for a car, start off by using http://www.Cars.com. Like I said before, it is a great filter to look for new or used cars. Do your homework, see how long the car has been on the market, and ask yourself why.
I also recommend getting your car detailed. When I bought my 2010 Jetta, it wasn’t detailed yet from the dealer and I bought it as it was. It needed some professional cleaning so I turned to a long time friend from high school that specializes in interior and exterior work. Curtis, and his business CarsbyCurtis made my car sparkle like a newly polished emerald, and for the price he asks, it is a great value. It can cost in upwards of $150 for a car to be detailed – while Curtis charges a mere $75, and his attention to detail is spotless.
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