Car buying … not for the faint of heart.

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but buying a car is tantamount to a trip to the dentist.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been leisurely (read: obsessively) looking for a car.  Thankfully I’m under no immediate pressure to buy, but it’s time, I’m ready and I’ve done my research.  And, by research I mean I’ve scoured the pages of Consumer Reports, checked out Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds, and I’ve run various scenarios to see if I can truly afford what my heart desires.

That being said, no amount of research prepares you to sit face-to-face with the sales people.   First stop tonight: Bill Ray Nissan in Longwood, not because I enjoy sitting in traffic driving 30 minutes in the opposite direction of home, but because I researched their Web site, saw a car I liked and wanted to take it for a spin. Maybe they sized me up from the word go or maybe my “I’ve done my research attitude” was written all over my face … either way, they obliged me with a spin around the block, but didn’t humor me an ounce on the negotiation I was so well prepared for.

Stop Numero Dos was completely opposite. The folks at Classic Nissan were not only well-informed, but they actually tried to talk me out of buying a new, more expensive car and into a year-old SUV with slightly high mileage. I’m not sure if my communication skills need polishing or if their ears needed de-waxing, but no amount of “I’m not buying a car tonight” could convince them. In fact, an hour later I was still trying to figure out their strategy of selling me the used car. I suppose, as they said, there’s a high demand for the new ones so they’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of the old ones even if Clark tells me otherwise.

Speaking of doing “whatever it takes” … maybe I’ll go here next.