Sarah and I have been on the never-ending quest for a 2007 Flint Mica Toyota Yaris, 5-Speed, with Cruise Control, the Power Package and the MP3 hookup. Apparently, it’s an almost-impossible car to find in this area of the states. But we got a phone call today from a car salesperson who said “I have the one you want, but it’s a different color, but the Flint Mica is on its way here right now.”
Deciding this could be our chance, we drove up to the Mall of Georgia, up I-285 and I-85 during rush-hour, hoping that the car was actually there. And it was. But it was an ugly color – Sarah called it an “old person’s color.” But we loved the way the 5-Speed rode, so we said we wanted the Flint-Mica car and asked when it would be there. Our salesperson said “It’ll be here soon.” Then she said, “If you put a $500 deposit, the car will be yours!” Then she said, “You will definitely get this car this month, with the $500 down.” Then the closer guy came over and said, “You put this money down, and we’ll try to get the car for you.” Then he said, “I think we could get this by the end of the year.”
Car salespeople suck. If you really can’t get it until the end of the year, then just say that. Don’t play me. That’s lame.
What’s lamer, you might ask? How about the car-selling advice the salesman gave us? He said they would only give us $500 for a trade-in of my 1992 Subaru (even when the Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Value is $850). The car is worth more than that, so we said no, but that’s when he decided to give us some advice on how to sell our car. Here’s what he said:
“So, here’s what you do…do you have any of your ads up in laundromats? Well, that’s what you do. You go and put some signs up in some of your local laundromats, because you know all those Spanish people are there, and they can pile a ton of them in your wagon, they do that you know? And they’ll pay you cash right there on the spot.”
At that point, Sarah gave him a look. He said, “What? I’m serious…”
So, there you are. Car-selling advice from one of Georgia’s finest Toyota employees. At first, I thought it was extremely offensive, but then I thought it was pretty cool that there were some Spaniards living in Decatur…