Last Tuesday I was making sales calls in New York and my car stalled while it was one in a customers parking lot.

I had parked and turned my car off. I realized I was in the wrong lot and turned it back on, reversed, and started driving. Within 10 seconds the car stopped responding but was fully on. I coasted to a stop in the middle of a parking lot. I tried to start the car again, and it would turn on, but wouldn’t turn over. So its making this clicking noise and I’m getting nervous I’m stuck in NYC with a bad battery as my worst fear is breaking down in the Lincoln Tunnel. I went inside, explained the situation, and got a jump from a forklift. I immediately drove to Autozone where they told me my battery was perfectly fine and it was a hiccup. ChatGPT said it could be a loose or corroded battery terminal. Also funny it doesn’t know where the battery is.

I know this may sound ridiculous, but image is everything in sales, and people don’t want to buy from losers whose car breaks down. Especially not the owner. I have 72k miles on my Acura, and have it fully paid off, so it’s important for me not to have these potential future issues which will be looming.

So I went to a Lexus dealership on Saturday to see what they offered. Note, I’d prefer to buy another Acura TLX but they aren’t making the sedan anymore which puts me in a bit of a pickle because I don’t like SUV’s.

I stroll in at 9 and am greeted by an older gentleman named Gary. I take a look at the ES and tell him I don’t like red or white interior and he tells me that’s mostly what they have. He tells me about the features and I tell him I only care if I can fit my golf clubs in the trunk. Our rapport was funny because he didn’t know I didn’t care.

We take it for a spin and on one of the roads he says, “punch it” so I get it up to 75 on this tiny back road thinking Gary is helping to fund the police unit.

After the drive he says, “you ready to talk numbers?”

“I’m not leaving with a car today.”

We arrive at his desk and he shows me $52k number next to a $57k number. I’m aware that every part of this sales process is thought out thoroughly.

He asks, “how much do you want to put down?”

I ask him what the rate is will depend on how much I’m putting down. He talks about a finance and lease rate and then shows me what the monthly payment is if I put x much down. It’s ranging between $750 and a K a month and these numbers mean nothing to me because I don’t have a finance calculator in front of me. I ask him where’s the extra 5k coming from in the numbers?

“Taxes and document exchange.” Then I start going through the itemized breakdown of the 52k and he’s selling me racing gloves, anti scratch mats, and lube.

Then I saw a $1,750 line item for a transfer exchange. He says, “every car comes with that.” I lost it at that answer.

I told him that you just told me the last charge had me paying for you idiots to transfer documents. I got up and said I’m going to compare your prices on the World Wide Web and we’ll talk later.

He was like, “give me two minutes so I can talk to the manager and I’ll get you a better offer.”

“No. You should have thought of that before you made the offer.”

“But I didn’t make the offer…” What the hell does that mean? It was getting a bit tense as we had this exchange.

I didn’t turn around making a scene in front of 5 potential Indian customers who were looking at an SUV. I prayed that I had my license and keys so I wouldn’t have to turn around looking like a dumbass. Fortunately I escaped cleanly and (un)surprisingly they haven’t contacted me.

It’s obviously me in these situations now that I’ve had a few encounters where I feel like people are trying to get the best of me. I can only explain it that I “feel” they aren’t on my side. Perhaps they expect everyone to sign on the dotted line and I’m going to make them work for it or I’ll find someone else who I like more. In spite. Part of me likes the idea that these people don’t get what they want. As someone who has been in sales for 20+ years, I know what it’s like to help people as my primary goal. When I feel like Gary is selling that car to his friends for 48k, that’s when I get annoyed.

I’ll update as soon as I buy a new car.