Quote:I've bought new only once before that lesson was learned. Let other people pay the depreciation cost. With the quality of cars these days, finding a good used car that will last for years just requires a little research and vigilance.

Agreed.

 

I almost bought a new truck about 10 years ago, but lucked out when the dealership I was working with (now closed) had the truck I wanted.  I went and test drove the truck they were advertising. Everything looked great.  I was in the office doing the paperwork, and the salesman came in and pulled a bait and switch.  The truck they put me in was almost $5k more expensive than the one I was told I was test driving.  Had they simply told me the truck I called about was no longer on the lot, I probably would have considered the upgrade, but they didn't. 

 

When I showed up, they escorted me out to the shiny new truck, I drove it, and they figured they had their hooks in me.  They were wrong.  As soon as the salesman came out and said the truck I drove wasn't the one I'd called about, I got up, asked for the keys to my trade, and started walking to the door.  Between his office and the door, the sales manager tried to head me off to salvage the deal.  At that point, I was as livid as I've ever been in dealing with car guys, and I told that sales manager that after buying a couple of cars from them in the past, I'd be taking my business elsewhere. 

 

My dramatic exit turned comedic when I jumped in the old truck I was getting rid of, turned the key, and a vacuum line blew up on the EFI.  The salesman came out and asked if I'd reconsider, and I told him I'd push the truck off their lot before I'd change my mind.  Unfortunately, it almost came to that.  I rigged it up to get the truck started, but I had to keep the accelerator pressed to prevent the truck from stalling out.  I mapped my course and made it home without ever stopping despite having a couple of traffic lights and stop signs to navigate.

 

The next day, with a better rigging of the line, I went to another dealership, found a year old truck that was exactly what I was looking for with super low miles.  I bought it and never had a lick of trouble with it. 

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