The opinions that I received were so powerful that I decided to do nothing for a while - for four months, actually, until after I got married (and after all of the requisite wedding planning had been conducted). Though I still haven't completely made up my mind, I decided recently to start test driving new* cars. (*If anything I plan to purchase a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle, so these cars are only "new" to me.) I figured it'd be a nice personal research project to get me through the fall months, and if I found a car that "Wowed" me so strongly that I couldn't refuse purchasing, I could tell the story about what a gullible sucker I was.
So far I haven't been that much of a sucker, which doesn't surprise me as I'm typically very frugal and hate buying new things. Back in my salad days as a college student, I was an early adopter of the iPod - since then, I've never been an early adopter for any other product. So, part of my motivation in test driving these cars is to ease myself, over the course of weeks and months, into actually buying something nice for myself. I'm treating it the same way I'd treat a training program for a road race; incremental baby steps should lead to a relatively painless purchasing decision.
Speaking of baby steps, here are my self-prescribed ground rules:
- I will never test drive cars on consecutive days. That's right, I'm giving myself Joba Rules*. (Sigh. I should explain this. Joba Chamberlain is a Yankees relief pitcher who, infamously, was given special "Rules" for his use out of the bullpen during the 2007 regular season. One of these rules was that Joba couldn't be used on consecutive days, and yes, it didn't work out well. I can only hope this works out better for me.) As you already know, I hate buying things, and the bigger the purchase item is the more I hate buying it. By giving myself at least one day between each test drive, it'll be more likely that I will be physically and emotionally ready for each experience.
- I will research each specific car online, and then reach out to the dealership electronically in order to schedule a test drive. I like this method for two ways. One, since there's no way I'm going to sit down and discuss purchasing any of these cars the same day that I test-drive them, I'm giving the appearance that I'm more serious than I am. That way I don't completely lose the salesman's interest until late in the test drive itself, when I confess that I am still comparing models. Two, it gives me some heads-up insight on how car dealerships treat the customers who reach out to them (more on this later, as well).
- I will stay in the same price range (about $25,000 sticker price) across each brand that I test drive. Given the car brands that I plan to test drive (BMW, Audi, Lexus, Acura, etc.), I know that I'm small potatoes. Even if I walked into the dealership backwards with my legs spread wide, eager to purchase at any price, I don't think any luxury car salesman wants to spend too much time on my purchase when a heart surgeon could walk through the door the next instant looking to spend $90,000 in a heartbeat (get it?). So, in the same vein as point #2 above, I want to understand the extent to which each dealership will put effort toward understanding the needs of a small-ball customer like myself.
- I will be consistent in my conversational style and bring up the same questions to each salesperson. This is only because I want to hear the opinions of different brand representatives, since each of these companies (in my mind at least) occupies a different space in the luxury market. I'm testing my own hypotheses as we go along.
I'll tell you about my first two test drives below, but first, a brief treatise on my (small amount of) sympathy for car salesmen*. (*Let's call them what they call themselves these days - corporate terms like "Client Advisors" or "Sales and Leasing Consultants." Actually, let's not, because those phrases are stupid. Let's call them salesmen - even though women can and do sell cars quite often.) Sales in general is a very tough profession, and these particular salespeople work very long hours for a very low salary and commissions that vary based on factors they cannot possibly control. They have to deal with all sorts of different people, and - because they are car salesmen - they often see the worst of these people. They tend to do this for a flat commission (my understanding is this is typically 20-25% of the profit made on a car, which is sometimes as low as $100, depending on the automobile).
Now, I like to negotiate, and I personally never feel that the first price a salesperson offers for their services is the best price that they can offer. However, I've never understood why people speak so proudly of their experiences yelling, screaming at, or berating car salesmen in order to obtain a relatively small savings (let's say an additional $200 off the already-negotiated price of a car). I realize that some car dealerships engage in shady practices, and I'm trying not to be too liberal-sappy here in my defense of car salesmen (of all people), but if I can make an honest living doing what I do, shouldn't a car salesman be allowed to make some profit when selling a car? I just don't feel that the poor schmuck deserves to hear me yell at him or her for a measly $100 or $200.
But, given this, how much is too much profit? Thankfully the Internet provides insight (some of which is insight that I, the consumer, have to pay a small fee to obtain). Through these means, it's possible even to estimate what the dealer spent on a CPO car. CPOs are interesting because the dealer is making their second round of profit on the car; they've already sold/leased it new, and now they're looking for more profit from the second owner. Given this, an educated consumer should be able to leverage this information and obtain an easy 10-20 percent off the sticker price of a CPO car (all other factors aside). We'll see how that goes in practice, if/when that happens.
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Test Drive #1: 2008 BMW 328i
I start off with what feels like an easy one, because I can't really see myself driving a BMW. I tend to dislike how BMW drivers drive, and I'd sort of hate to be lumped into that particular crowd.
I find an online specimen at a dealership conveniently located during my drive home from work, and E-mail the dealership asking them specifically to reach out to me via E-mail and let me know if a 5:30 pm test drive that day would be possible. Within five minutes of sending this E-mail, I receive a reply back from a human being confirming that indeed, this would be possible, and the name of whom to ask for at the front desk. That level of responsiveness is nice.
That evening, I steel myself and enter the BMW dealership. I find it remarkably understated (the salesman I end up working with sits at a small desk without cubicle walls, made of fake wood and with a chip in one side) and relaxed. The salesman is at the front desk waiting for me, and after some small talk, I get to see the car in person.
From the outside, BMWs are beautiful and alluring automobiles. They are sleek, shiny, and the bodies are designed in such a way that you would know, even if all identifying information were ripped from the body, that it was a BMW. Inside, however, the 2008 328i is cramped and confusing. The driver cockpit is barely adequate for a man my size (I am barely six feet tall and weigh under two hundred pounds) and the controls are vague and plastic-feeling. The seats in this particular car are not real leather - they're a vinyl derivative called "leatherette." I can't tell the difference between this and real leather, as my parents drove Hyundais when I was a child, but I'm sure it's obvious to some people.
The seat controls were manual and difficult to use. The side mirrors were extremely small, and the view out of the rear mirror was partially obstructed. It felt like blind spots would be significant. However, fit and finish was beautiful, with a sturdy-feeling dashboard, comfortable arm rests, and a nice walnut accent.
Performance-wise, upward of 30 mph, I'd say this car was exactly what I'd expect from a BMW. It absolutely hummed, and I was trying to be restrained with my driving style (since I figure that if you break it, you buy it). However, my base model 2009 Civic is faster off the block (up to 30 mph), which made me wonder if something might have been wrong with this particular car. If so, that's a huge red flag because the car had under 40,000 miles on it. I was generally disappointed in the performance.
The salesman was low pressure and not at all "sleazy", which was nice for the first car that I test drove. I leave not thrilled about the BMW, but encouraged that the process may not be all that painful.
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Test Drive #2: 2009 Acura TSX
I did not want to like the Acura TSX either, because it seems that everyone I know drives one, and I like to stand apart a bit from the crowd. While the specific dealership experience I had was less than perfect, I ended up really enjoying the TSX.
About five minutes after E-mailing the dealership asking if they could reply back (via E-mail) to set up a test drive appointment at 10:00 am on Wednesday, I receive a phone call from the dealership. I don't pick up. The next day, I get home from work to find a second phone call from the dealership. These folks must really want to make a sale, I say to myself as I walk into the Acura dealership.
I mention how impolite it was that I was called when I asked to correspond through E-mail to the salesman, and he asks "Why don't you like to speak over the phone?" My response should have been: "Because I'm the goddamned customer, and if I want to communicate with you via carrier pigeon and the Pony Express, you're going to have to tolerate it!" That'll be what I say next time. Instead, I make up a stupid lie about having a bad throat infection and finding it difficult to speak for long periods of time.
Compared with the BMW, the Acura TSX had better acceleration, smoother pickup and braking, more amenities (e.g., heated leather front seats and driver memory seats), and better fuel economy (roughly 30 mpg on the highway). Additionally, being of Japanese versus German make, I'd be less likely to see the inside of a repair shop with the TSX.
However, the fit and finish lacked the panache of the BMW - it reminded me quite a bit of my Civic, except it had more buttons. The dash felt a bit like plastic, and the driver's console was one tone (a dark gray, sort of uninviting).
After the test drive concluded, I explained to the salesman that I had no intent to purchase but would like to keep his card for my records. He said sure and invited me inside to obtain the card. He then disappeared and I realized about 15 seconds after this that I had no business being inside the car dealership at this point; I grabbed a business card off the guy's desk and bolted out the door.
Three steps from my car, the "Sales Manager" introduced himself.
"Is there any price we can offer you in order to sell this car to you today?"
Had I said "Sure, one dollar!" that would sound like I wanted to buy the car, so I said "No, but thanks" as I was getting into my car and pulled away. Tough dealership; like I said before, I'm sure they wanted the sale. They just weren't going to get it from me.
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As I test drive more cars, I'll likely update the blog with my experiences and possibly my final decision. If anything, someone out there with similar tastes may be pondering a similar decision; I can maybe help him or her out.
Go Yankees!
