I Bought A Car

Today I bought a car. 

Last week, I walked into the local Honda dealership and said, “I want to test drive a Honda HRV.” 

A soft-spoken, lanky kid with brown tinted glasses said, “Sure, let me get you the keys.” 

He screwed on a license plate, handed me the keys and said, “Have fun!”

When I got back, I said, “Now, I want to drive a CRV.”

So he got the keys and said, “Have fun!”

When I got back, I said, “Now I want to try the first one again.” 

“Sure!” He switched plates, and off I went.

When I got back, he asked, “What did you think?”

I said, “I think I want to go drive a Toyota RAV 4 now.” 

He tried to call the Toyota dealership down the road to see if he could pick one up and bring it to me right there, but nobody answered.  

I left and went to the Toyota dealership myself.

At Toyota I told the salesman, “I want to test drive a RAV 4. He said, “Have a seat in my office.”

Then he left.

I sat.

He came back. Took my license and said, “I’ll be right back.”

I sat.

After he photocopied my license, he came back.

I stood up. 

“Wait here and I’ll get the keys.”

I waited.

He came back. I headed for the door. 

He said, “Oh, I need to get a plate. Wait here.”

I waited.

We got to the car. 

He said, “Oh, I need to get my drill. Wait here.”

Wtf

Finally, I got into the car, and just as I was about to drive off for the test drive, he hopped in the back seat.

He was coming, too. 

I did not love this.

I did not love the RAV4, either. 

I don’t think it was because this guy was in the backseat, but it could have been a contributing factor.

I went back to Honda. I had a serious, car-talk with the chill, soft-spoken guy with the tinted glasses. We discussed the merits of the HRV and the CRV. He gave me info on both to take home and think about. 

Today I returned and bought a Honda from the chill, soft-spoken guy with the tinted glasses who didn’t try to sell me a car. Who didn’t have aggressive, manipulative, car salesman energy.

Who let me play with cars, drive them around by myself, take as long as I liked, go back and forth between models while the muscle memory was still vivid.

That’s the way you sell a car.

To a yoga teacher. 

I don’t have the car yet. The color I wanted wasn’t on their lot. They have to get one from another dealer.

But in a few weeks, I should be tooling around in my first new car in 14 years. 

Trust me. There will be pictures. Pictures of me, the car, and the chill guy in the tinted glasses with absolutely no car salesman energy, who was the best car salesman ever.