Car shopping
Yep. We're going to need a new one (or a new used one). I think we might be able to make do with my car for a little while, but my husband's car? Nope. We'd have to move both front seats all the way forward in order to get two baby carseats in the back. And even if that works, fitting a double stroller into the back might be problematic. Pretty sure it will fit in my car, but if we need to pack anything else, say like a suitcase for a weekend trip or anything, we're going to have to get creative.
So, car shopping we are going. We looked a little last weekend. I'm incredibly resistant to the idea of buying a mini-van even though I know it's the practical thing to do. But, really, a mini-van will never feel like my car. I'll feel like I'm borrowing my mom's car to drive around town in. Still, I decided I'd at least try one out.
We went to a used Toyota dealership because they had several vehicles we wanted to look at. Unfortunately, this means we had to deal with a salesman, a salesman who pretty much fit every stereotype out there. He was tolerable at first. He made small talk then asked what we did for a living. Car salesmen always ask this, not because they care, but because they want to know how much money they can get out of you. When I'm asked this question, I usually answer that I don't work, but Trey absolutely hates it when I say this. We don't have kids yet (T minus 5 months) so it makes me sound like a total loser. So, against my better judgment, I told the guy, "I'm a writer."
The inevitable response: "Oh, I have a story for you! A great story! A long story!"
I bit my tongue and focused on not rolling my eyes. The last time I told someone I was a writer, they spent almost twenty minutes talking about how great their story was and how it needed to be told. Fortunately, that guy had been giving my grandmother a manicure, not me, so I could mostly ignore him, but still. Even when I stress that I write fiction, not memoirs or non-fiction or whatever, I usually get a response like this. It's just easier telling people I do nothing.
Anyway, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when car salesman dude refocused on selling us a mini-van. We tried stressing that we were just beginning to look at vehicles and were still trying to decide what type we wanted to get, but he just would not let us go. And he almost had us. He was trying to sell us a $22,000 2008 Toyoto mini-van and I basically said, "Okay, we'll buy it for $17,000." He was playing with numbers this whole time, going between 18k and 19k and we were pretty much on the way out the door.
He said, "You'll buy for 17? I'll go check with my manager."
I hate it when they "go check with their manager." Such a waste of time.
Anyway, he comes back with the number, "We can do it for $19,400."
Trey and I are both like, "Hell no," though we didn't say it like that. I'd been out for nearly 8 hours that day, which is twice as long as I'm usually out so Trey politely asked for his keys because I was hitting my exhaustion threshold. I was okay with the car salesman up to this point. I mean, I know he needs to sell cars to make money, but when he says, "Fine!" stands up from the table, turns on his heel and storms off? Uh, no. Any chance he had for a sale either that day or any day in the future vanished. I don't make deals with people who throw hissy fits. Plus, Trey and I were very clear from the beginning that we were just starting to look. We hung around there longer than we should have.
But we still weren't able to leave. The salesman was practically holding Trey's keys hostage. We waited for him to bring them back. And waited. And waited. I've been pretty mellow during this whole pregnancy thing* - no major mood swings or anything - but I was exhausted and about two seconds away from going Psycho Pregnant Bitch on that guy. But then he returns with his manager.
Ugh. I could have been a bitch with just the salesman, but I still didn't have it in me to be mean/abrupt with someone I just met. So, we had to listen to the manager for a little while.
Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, we escaped without buying a car. Turns out all the salesman was doing anyway was tweaking how much they were going to pay us for our trade-in. They really weren't moving on the price of the car that much. Even if we decide to buy a vehicle exactly like the one we saw there, I'm not going back to that place. The car salesman's behavior totally lost him a future customer.
Now, contrast this to the behavior of the sales lady at the Kia place we went to the next day. We explained we were just starting to look, she showed us cars, let us test drive, then when we were ready to go, she handed us her card and said to give her a call if she could help us in the future. If we buy a Kia, I am definitely giving her my business.
* Other people's opinions may vary. I will, however, admit to being especially needy/whiny these last few months.