We did it. We bought a new car.

It was a frustrating experience. First, most of the salesmen we encountered were pushy, ignorant (or stupid), and unethical. Second, the pricing was opaque and deliberately confusing, which made it difficult to know whether we were getting a good deal. And finally, there are dozens of moving parts in the negotiation, so constant vigilance was required to prevent getting screwed.

Once we settled on a Subaru, we visited two dealerships.

The first, Dan Perkins Subaru in Milford, was a little shady. The salesman had originally quoted us $6,500 for our used cars. We returned the next day and the figure magically came down to $2,000. I protested, but he blamed the “used car manager” and said it was “us against him.”

He then advised me to make a counter-offer, and maybe he could help me get a little more. I said, “OK. Counter-offer the price you quoted me yesterday: $6,500.” He apologized for the incorrect quote, tried to explain it with a complicated pricing formula he had intended to use (before he was foiled by this incorrigible boss of his), and then made several comments about how poor he is.

That’s right: in the face of unethical behavior, he pleaded poverty! So I guess that gleaming gold watch is a fake? And all that fancy hair gel is actually just some cheap knock-off brand? Unbelievable.

So I instructed the salesman to go back to this used car manager, and tell him that I’m willing to negotiate, but not from such a lowball offer. “Tell him to make me a real offer, not to insult my intelligence, and I will work with him on the value of our used cars.”

The salesman returned immediately, and said “no dice.” He was calling my bluff. I got up and left.

The second dealership, Georgetown Subaru in Norwalk, was far superior. The salesman knew his product and he wasn’t shady. Of course, I immediately told him that I had been jerked around and I really didn’t want to play games. But that probably wasn’t necessary. He was great. Throughout the negotiations, he suffered through my number-crunching, and even pretended that it was totally normal for a customer to whip out a laptop during the back-and-forth. (If you’re in the market for a car, drop me a line and I’ll give you his name)

In total, we saved at least $1,000 by walking out of Dan Perkins Subaru in Milford and heading to Georgetown Subaru in Norwalk. And we got the exact car that we wanted, without all the annoying extras that the Dan Perkins people tried to force on us.

It’s a shame, too, because the service department at Dan Perkins is amazing. My mother has serviced two Subarus there and we used them twice in the past few weeks. They’re competent, straight-forward and efficient. I really wanted my dollars to support a well-run business. But the shady sales practices were just too much.  (Do you think they’d have treated me differently if they knew I was the genius behind Herbietown?  Hmm…)

Anyway, enough about our ordeal. Check out some pics!

New Car!