Stupid people...
Ok, I need to vent about my experiences with trying to buy a used car. My credit union offers a car buying service where you tell them what you want and they find it at one of the dealerships they work with and get a discount for buying in bulk. So I find this 2001 Red PT Cruiser Limited Edition for less than $10,000. It's a beautiful car with all the extras (sunroof, power everything, leather interior). So here are the steps in buying a car with this service.
1. Email them your request- This was easy since the car was listed on their website (Friday)
2. Speak with an Auto Advisor and decide if that is the car I want(Tuesday after holiday weekend)- secretary marked the car as sold
3. Arrange for a loan if you need one(Tuesday)- This was done with a 15 minute phone call and a trip to show them my last paystub
4. Email a copy of drivers license and proof of insurance to Auto Advisor(Tuesday night)- This was a little tough since I was planning on going with a new insurance company, so I went ahead and bought insurance for this new car that I don't have yet
5. Call to arrance delivery (Wednesday)- I had arranged on Tuesday for them to deliver it to my apartment on Thursday which is when I was going to sign all the paperwork. However when I called to confirm they had my information my Auto Advisor told me that someone had taken it for a test drive last night and bought the car.
I really did want this car. I was getting it for $4000 less than I could find it anywhere else. Apparently when the secretary went to mark the car as sold she didn't notice that someone else had scheduled a test drive so they get first dibs on it. I knew that something had to go wrong since everything was going so smooth. I mean I was going to go from telling them I wanted it to having it delievered in less than a week. So yeah, now I have paid for insurance on a car I don't own and a loan for a car I couldn't buy. The Auto Advisor is going to do a search and see if he can find another one but the chances of him finding a state red Limited edition PT Cruiser are not that great. He did offer a white 2004 but it looks too bright and would make my insurance jump through the roof. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and he'll find one...
1. Email them your request- This was easy since the car was listed on their website (Friday)
2. Speak with an Auto Advisor and decide if that is the car I want(Tuesday after holiday weekend)- secretary marked the car as sold
3. Arrange for a loan if you need one(Tuesday)- This was done with a 15 minute phone call and a trip to show them my last paystub
4. Email a copy of drivers license and proof of insurance to Auto Advisor(Tuesday night)- This was a little tough since I was planning on going with a new insurance company, so I went ahead and bought insurance for this new car that I don't have yet
5. Call to arrance delivery (Wednesday)- I had arranged on Tuesday for them to deliver it to my apartment on Thursday which is when I was going to sign all the paperwork. However when I called to confirm they had my information my Auto Advisor told me that someone had taken it for a test drive last night and bought the car.
I really did want this car. I was getting it for $4000 less than I could find it anywhere else. Apparently when the secretary went to mark the car as sold she didn't notice that someone else had scheduled a test drive so they get first dibs on it. I knew that something had to go wrong since everything was going so smooth. I mean I was going to go from telling them I wanted it to having it delievered in less than a week. So yeah, now I have paid for insurance on a car I don't own and a loan for a car I couldn't buy. The Auto Advisor is going to do a search and see if he can find another one but the chances of him finding a state red Limited edition PT Cruiser are not that great. He did offer a white 2004 but it looks too bright and would make my insurance jump through the roof. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and he'll find one...