I spent most of my day car shopping, and I can tell you a few interesting things that happened today.

Our first stop was in the South Hills at a Dealer somewhere by Robinson( I refuse to provide advertisement therefore no name dropping).  We were just pulling in, I got out with the kids, and I was headed over to a car to look at it, when I was greeted with a ‘HELLO’.  My husband got out of the car and walked over and the man greeted my husband with a “Hi, I am such and such, what can I help YOU look for”.  I think it was at this point I began to TUNE the sales guy out and just look at what I wanted.  I also had made the determination that this dealership was not the right fit, based on the greeting. PERIOD.  I am not the only person that has this mindset, it is all about the service, before during and after!

We left, and  headed NORTH to look at cars in the North.  On our first stop we met up with a non-pressure sales person who just said they only deal with one price, and that’s the price you see, nothing to beat that’s it. He was super informative and even though the car is too small for what we are looking for , I am partial to buying there just because the SERVICE Was TOP NOTCH.  The sales person paid attention to everything we said,processed it, repeated and showed us ALL the options. He spoke with MY husband and WITH ME! PRICELESS.

Our last stop of the day was a little disappointing.  We walked onto a lot and were greeted by a man who sent someone out to us.  This someone was really not a very ‘friendly’ individual.. with a “what’s up guys” to an attitude about having to get keys so we could actually LOOK IN a vehicle instead of through its windows.  I began to get pretty upset and said I was walking off the lot, and my husband echoed the feelings.  When the sales person came back, he was completely different!

We continued to look but the sales person was short, concise and acted more like we were bothering him and that we were just going to be an automatic sale. Not the case, we may already own one of these vehicles, I am not sold on owning one again!

What I have come away with today, and no it’s not a car yet is this right from the mouth of the sales people:

IF you buy this car it is making this statement about you.

If you buy this car it is saying this about you.

IF you look at this car we can assume that you are doing these things and you are all about this or that.

NO matter who is selling to you, they have already tried to figure you out before they approach.  Most fail to recognize the WOMAN as the driver of the vehicle and sell to the man.  Questions are answered quickly, and if you want detail you really have to ask.  Questions are welcomed but they prefer if you keep them minimalistic and to the point.

I have left with the idea that I want a car that is too small for us but would be partial to purchasing it because the DEALER’s Salesperson was really GREAT!

I do now clearly know the vehicles I don’t want and I will carry on looking for the one I do want.

As usual, if you have questions, please ask me through e mail. Names I will not drop as I am not advertising for any dealer.

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After I wrote this, my e mail was flooded by similar experiences, stories and other oddities that have occurred while car shopping.

I appreciate all the feedback and I am so glad that I am verbalizing for each of you what goes on car shopping and the feelings that you have.

I am trying to work on this whole project as a ‘fun’ thing but each time I try to gain a bit of perspective on it the rug is pulled out beneath me so to speak by something strange that goes on at a dealership.

I had not had enough time last week to write about a different dealerships I had traveled to earlier in the week, but if I had written it would go something like this.

I was in the middle of asking a question about a window and a short-tempered sales person SNAPPED at me for not knowing how the windows worked. I had never been in this type of vehicle before and the windows were different from anything I had ever touched. At that moment (see there are many of these moments when I shop) I shut down and decided this dealership was not the right fit for me either.

In my next segment of Adventures of Pittsburgh Frugal Mom Car Shopping I will present you with what I think should be going on.

Mind you, I am not whining about the process, I am bringing to the front things that happen that should not while visiting dealerships and perhaps there are sales people for everyone out there, but perhaps some of the sales people are there are not for EVERY PEOPLE.  Training, courtesies and explanations on such LARGE purchases are necessary. As I forever restate, an educated consumer is the best consumer.

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Sunday May 27, 2012 @ 7:30PM on Morgan Drive, Mt. Lebanon, PA the Mt. Lebanon Veteran’s Memorial Flag will be Raised! The planning has been extensive and the project has been a two year initiative to honor the men and women veterans who served our country.

Thanks Mt. Lebanon Magazine for Picture 

A driving force behind the project as well as the The Keynote Speaker is Mount Lebanon resident  Rocky Bleier.  Rocky Bleier is a former Vietnam Veteran.  We all know him as our  FORMER PITTSBURGH STEELER: Rocky Bleier.

So much is planned for this night from music to a formal flag raising by the  honor guard from the Marine Corps League.  It is sure to be an wonderful event. Hope to see you there.

Construction contracted through  VENTO LANDSCAPING & CONSTRUCTION

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