Soft Shake

I generally go by the old adage, "You can tell a lot about a person by their handshake".  Well, I think so.

So, we actively started the process of looking at a second vehicle.  Well, technically, we started it a while ago.  There was a Passat by my place of work that was listed at a good price, so we tried to see it.  The greasy guy said that he had taken it to get the headliner replaced, and it should be back the next day after 4.

So, we went back 2 days after.  It wasn't there.

He said, the guy installed a black headliner for grey interior, to see if he liked it.  He didn't, so he made the guy replace it.  It would be ready in another day or so.

We went back another day.  Still not there.  But the next day it should be done.

We never went back.  Anyway, I think the VW symbol on the back was red.

Yes, that could be a deal breaker.  I am pretty particular about certain things.  Like I like the black and silver VW symbol, why would I want a red one?

Anyway, today we drove pretty far to look at a fairly low priced Mini Clubman at a shady dealership.
When we got there, we talked to Big Al.  Yes, "Big Al".  He showed us the Mini.  It was on the rack.  He handed me the keys and told me to go ahead and take it for a drive.

I looked at him quizzically.  He then asked if I would like for someone to take it down from there?  I said yes.  So he had some guy do it.  Guess he didn't want to.  Then he told me that he didn't have the dealer plate on it, so just drive around the neighborhood behind the dealership.  So, we did.  There was nothing wrong with it.  It handled like a Mini.  It had a few paint scrapes and it smelled like smoke.

So, we went back and started talking to Big Al.  He took my info to run a credit report, and then he handed us over to Martin.

Martin of the soft handshake.  So soft hand, and soft handshake as well.  He was one of those pale Cubans.

Maybe I'm being prejudiced here, but soft hand, weak shake, pale latino... I don't trust it.

And I didn't trust him.  He told me what the monthly payment would be.  When I asked for a breakdown of the total price, he wrote a number on a post it note.  The number of the base price, without, tax, tag, title, interest and warranty.

They talked on the phone to the "GM" and they were willing to waive the $1000 extra for not being a cash sale, and they could lower the monthly with some magic they performed to shave $20 off.  They explained that since it was the end of the month, they were giving me a deal to get rid of inventory.  So if I went back tomorrow, the offer would be null and void?

I told him I had to think about it, and maybe look at these other two Minis which were similar in price.

Finally, the FP suggested that we would get lunch and then go back and talk to them.

So, we went back and told soft shake Martin that we couldn't do it.  I asked him the total again, and it seemed to be $1000 less than what he had told me when you figure out the math.  I didn't ask him about it.  Because, clearly he didn't want to show me a simple printout of the charges.  He wouldn't even let me look at the computer screen.

Anyway, I'm thinking about buying a new car now... we shall see....