Car Shopping: A Consumer’s Musings

Introduction

Last time, I was a little tough on dealers.  I stand by the post, but I want to be clear that this is not all dealerships.  I know, the old lawyer joke that it is the 99% who give the 1% a bad name.  Honestly, I have met many people in dealerships who have treated me very well and have really worked with me.  My problem: I am not settled on what car I want.  So, there is truth to the Seinfeld, “It’s not you, but it’s me!”

This is the place where I can see that dealerships get frustrated.  The sales team answers questions, works with people, and then they tell you they are not interested.  Now, I do thank the sales team for their time.  I also tell them that I am at the stage of tire-kicking.  I don’t want to be deceptive, and I don’t believe it is right to ghost people.  So, I will tell salespeople that I am moving onto another brand or car and assure them it was not because they did something to scare me off. 

Now, if there is an individual who is just a pushy, obnoxious dill weed…. Well, I don’t feel bad about ghosting them.  I know that if I pick up the phone, they will just yell at me and try to get me to come into the dealership.  Really?  Do you guys think that works?  I guess it works on some people, but if I catch a whiff of saying what needs to be said to close the deal, then you will never hear from me again.  I won’t be rude.  I just won’t buy from you. 

My Go to Tools

AutoTempest is the tool that I open every morning.  This is a great search tool to find a car.  I plan to do a review of it in the upcoming weeks.  It seems that the more I use the tool, the more features I discover.  I would not rate it as the most intuitive, but once you start playing around with it, you stop going to all the other sites. This tool will search CarGurus, AutoTrader, Craigslist (Regional or national), and Facebook Marketplace.  It is amazing.  You enter the search parameters once, and it will do the work for you. 

Caredge is the other tool that I have been using.  Their AI negotiator is really cool.  I jumped into the program when they were offering the year subscription for 75 bucks.  I plan to do a review of this service as well.  The AI tool is totally worth the money.  You enter the VIN of the car you want to buy, set your goal price, and the AI tool does the work for you.  I can go back to work and check it every couple of hours to see what has happened.  Total time saver! 

I am not affiliated with either of these services.  I would certainly love to partner with different services, and these would be services that I could endorse.  So, I am endorsing them for free.  They work really well. 

The Cars in this Process

The Miata is high on my list.  I have driven an NA, NB, and an ND Miata.  The funny thing is that I keep looking at NC2 Miatas.  The reason: there are many of them out there.  If you search nationally, there are a lot of options for very reasonable prices. This is where the Miata just dominates the toy car market.  Mazda has been building an incredible enthusiast car for years.  As a result, if you want your gateway drug into the car world, you can find a Miata at every price point.  So, I hope other car companies notice that there is a benefit to perseverance.

The Toyburu BRZ and the GR86.  I really love the lines of the BRZ from the side.  I do like the duck bill on the GR86 as well when looking at the rear.  In fact, I think that Toyota and Subaru did a great job on these cars.  I don’t know if I like one more than the other.  I have watched probably every review on these cars on YouTube.  My advice: drive one!  They are amazing.  The first generation felt really cheap.  This car is not Porsche quality, but it is a substantial improvement over the previous generation in every way.  Toyota and Subaru need to keep developing their step-brother relationship because I only see a bright future for this joint venture. 

These cars are winning out over the Miata because I have always wanted a flat engine boxer like in the BMW R series bike.  The motor is the quiet kid in the corner.  You know the quiet kid in high school that everyone ignores.  Then you get assigned to do a project with the kid.  You dread it only to discover that this kid has gained a bad rap for some reason.  You end up becoming friends when you realize he’s a pretty cool dude after all.  The boxer is that kind of thing.  Quirky yes.  Ignored sure.  However, when you give it the chance, you start appreciating its contribution.  Not to mention that they really sound cool with the right exhaust system. 

The WRX is an honorable mention.  They are great cars, but still too practical.  They are still on my radar, but I am looking for non-turbo fun.  Although the turbo lag in the pre-2023 is kind of fun.  I like a car that seems somewhat docile and then turns into a raging homicidal maniac that is trying to murder you.  The car has its own way of making you laugh, but it is sort of like the Corvette, where you are 0 to jail before you realize it.  

Conclusion

I am busy working to discover these services and learn to use them.   It is hard to find a toy that makes sense, but still has enough absurdity to keep the passion alive.  I am getting to the answer, but I feel like I am on lap 3 of 5 in the cyclocross race.  Yes, I will meet the goal, but the conclusion of the journey is still a little foggy.  In the meantime, I am going to keep hunting.  Thank you again for reading. What tools have you loved using when searching for a car?