Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Cars

There is no better way to title this post... Except maybe adding a "shopping" to it. But then I dont know why I thought that would be lame!

Anyway, so I have finally started one of the things on my to-do list for this year, which is car shopping! So far I have test driven 2 cars, both very colourful episodes :P

Car 1 - 2001 Hyundai Accent (red)

Somebody I know here was thinking of selling their hyundai car at a rate that was affordable for me. And I was super excited about it. I had almost decided that this was the car for me. Affordable price, not driven excessively, fuel efficient. Cool. So on the day of test drive, I get a call saying a mechanic is here to fix some sensor in the engine and that I could come and ask this mechanic for an opinion on the car. First bad sign - an engine full of rust. But then I was told, never mind that, its because the car used to be in Wisconsin that its so rusted. With some difficulty, I swallow that story. And I decide to take this car for a long drive to test it out. I ran two red lights that day... not because I am in the habit of breaking the law, but because the car doesn't seem to like to brake for the law :-\ so here i am, trying to pump the brakes, but the car happily cruises past the red ligh. Oh the horror! When asked about it, the owner tells me, "I just had the brakes changed! They work really well!"

:-\

Try telling that to the other poor souls in the car who had come on the test drive with me. We are all happy to have escaped with our lives!

Car 2 - 2002 Toyota Corolla

I was really happy to see the ad for this car on the internet. They had posted tons of pics of the car, it was a reasonable price, seemed well maintained and good to go for atleast 2-3 years. And thats all I am looking for. So I drag my friend to go see this car. We drive on to the address given, only to land up in a warehouse that looks very shady. I call the seller and ask him if he is sure he gave me the right address coz all I can see is a warehouse with no apparent way to get in. Not that I wanted to get in. I felt safer just sitting in my friend's car. He assures me its the right place and a few seconds later, the door of the warehouse opens and he walks out... did I mention the area seemed shady? Remided me of CSI. Inside the warehouse are a minimum of 10 cars, all of sale, all look like they've been stolen. I am pretty sure they were stolen. But of course, the owner insists they are all legitimate and leads me to the Corolla. Oh the horror... it didn't have a license plate, the state inspection was due really soon and it didnt look like it might pass the inspection. The tires were balder than Lex Luthor's head. Erm... dude, this car doesn't look like the one in the pictures. What's going on? :-/ Lets get outta here!

Car 3 - 2007 Honda Accord

Now, you'd expect this car to sell at a price higher than $15,000. But the quoted price was $3000. I swear, I thought the guy dropped a zero by mistake, but he hadn't. And it came fully loaded with an in built GPS navigation system, awesome audio system, all the works. So I create a bogus email account for myself and email this seller asking why he is giving away this car for such a small sum. I get a reply saying he lived somewhere north and that he is in the marines. He is getting shipped to Afghanistan (WTH??) soon and he needs to leave some money with his wife and three kids. The "forth" kid is on his way. He tried to sell the car on eBay with the buyer protection program (huh?) and shipped the car all the way to Alaska to the winning bidder only to find out the dude didn't have enough money. If I had 3000 on me, I should send it to eBay and he will ship the Honda to my place of residence. All I need to do is give him my address :-/ Yeha right! No wonder the car was going at 3000! :P :P :P :P Seriously, when people told me anything can happen in the US, I didnt fully prepare myself for that! Found two such similar deals online. One of them said he is going to Iraq and the other to Cuba. They all have wives and "forth" kid coming along. And they've all been duped by the eBay buyer protection program and need my address to ship brand new cars to me :P

Car 4 - 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse

I am going to test drive this on Friday. I can't wait! Found this ad here on campus so I am guessing it will be from a decent person. She is French and leaving back to France real soon. So she is trying to get rid of her car. I really hope this works out! Its super affordable and its a good car. Best of all, I think I qualify to buy it, based on the ad she had posted.... :P

Mitsubishi Eclipse for sale. If somebody is interesting, please call this number

Just hope I am interesting enough! ;)

4 comments:

simplime said...

hahahahahaha enjoyed reading ur post man!!

doublehead said...

First of all "you get what you pay for" is correct when it comes to USED CARS, ooops sorry "PRE-OWNED CARS", see how that already cheat you with this kind of jargon.

There is no such thing as "fully loaded car in excellent conditions with low mileage" for "cheap price". Good cars come with a good price tag.

Although a used car dealer can in principle sell you a "lemon" they will not sell you a "stolen lemon". You can be sure of that. So it is better to go with a car dealer than with a CSI Miami style warehouse dude.

Certified cars are more expensive simply because they are certified, it is as simple as that. Certification helps in ascertaining the condition and performance of the car. It gives you a peace of mind for additional few hundred dollars.

Used car sales person uses a lot of jargon and sales pitch to sell a car. It is their duty and profession. You have to be smart enough to test drive, inspect, get CARFAX opinion, bargain to get a good car. Remember no one is twisting your arm to buy any car, it is your decision. You can always walk out of the car dealer any time.

Learn to drive a hard bargain with the car sales person before you drive a car. This is important. Do not show too much of affection or attention towards any car, however much you might like it or fall in love with it. The car price will go up proportionately, deeper the love the more expensive is the car. Keep a poker face on the sales office, even some disinterest. Love at first sight is always costly, more so in car sales.

doublehead said...

PS to the previous comment:

When someone already had 3 kids, naturally the fourth one is "always" on the way!!! This should n't come as a surprise, surprising enough to sell the car. hehe

soleil said...

Looks like you're chasing cars =p
It sure sounds MUCH more fun than shoe-shopping. May you find your dream wheels soon and tell the French girl if you REALLY like her car, "B'cos justice is justice and France is France!" *wink*