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October 07, 2005
The Pontiac Solstice Again... plus Car Dealers and Stuff
As I do on a nearly daily basis, I drove by Kirkland Pontiac today. This time I happened to look in their showroom, and much to my surprise I saw a white Pontiac Solstice. I proceeded to put the car in reverse. After seeing a black Solstice on the road, I'd decided I was no longer interested. It just didn't really stand out very well. But this Solstice looked very nice, especially up close.
It is a very wide car. It looks pretty masculine in person. The car I sat in was a pre-production version, but it felt very nice. The cockpit is very snug... there's not a lot of room for movement, but that's a good thing. You also sit incredibly low to the ground, and the shape of the car is such that your head really isn't exposed to the elements at all. Sitting inside it, it doesn't even feel like a convertible.
That still doesn't mean I'd buy one. The Solstice isn't any faster than my car. Maybe when the supercharged version comes out, it might be worth it. But it's also horribly impractical. It barely seats two... it would be a lot of fun, but fun enough for the hassle. Jennifer can get a Miata, and I'll get a GTO. I seriously don't want a car built in America.
Worse yet, the dealer wanted to know when I was going to buy one, and he didn't seem to get the idea that if I bought a Pontiac, it would be either a Solstice or a GTO. He was like "what about the G6?" Yes, I want a front-wheel drive American version of the Honda Accord. Please. Perhaps he doesn't understand that people are buying the Solstice in spite of the fact that it's made by GM, not because of it. Aside from the Solstice, the GTO, and the Hummer, I doubt there are any GM products I would seriously purchase... and the Solstice is one of those things where you buy it knowing full well it's probably going to fall apart.
I have learned not to play games with car salesman. They like to say things like "how much would you like to pay for it?" I would like to pay $2. In fact, I have two dollar bills in my wallet right now. How about it?
I mean, seriously, what do they really expect. People get afraid and they say things like "$30,000?" And you're either way too low, or you're way too high, and the dealer isn't going to tell you if you're too high. I ought to try going to a dealer and paying like $50,000 for a car otherwise worth $30,000. I ought to say "Would $50,000 be okay? We could possibly go as high as fifty-five, but I'd really like to keep it at fifty." I'd like to see if they would then try to sucker me out of my money. I'd like to see if they were honest, or if they'd say something like "Well, I'll have to go talk to my manager."
I love when they go talk to the manager. Why aren't I just talking to the manager in the first place? I highly doubt the dealership is selling more than one car at a time. Most dealerships sell one or two cars every day. Most dealerships usually have three or four salespeople hanging around too, so most of them probably aren't having a good day. That's why they are calling you all the time, asking if you're going to come in and buy a car. Never leave your phone number with these people. The salesman will insist on getting your phone number, because the manager will probably chew them out otherwise. You can lie and give them a fake phone number, but then some other poor sap is going to have to deal with them. I simply tell them that I don't want them to call and leave a message on my voice mail, because it agitates me and makes me very angry. This is not a lie... I don't like unnecessary voicemail. People who leave unwanted messages make me very angry, because then I have to waste my time listening to and deleting them.
Anyway, there's nothing like an idiot car salesman to put me off. I absolutely hate when the dealer tells you "you want a Charger? Why not just get a Magnum?" Because it's not the same car, idiot. That's because most car dealers don't know anything about cars... a lot of them don't even like cars. They're just losers who couldn't get a better job. Your average 14 year old with a Motor Trend subscription could do a better job telling you about these cars. Unfortunately, they wouldn't do as good a job pressuring you into buying the car RIGHT NOW! Geesh.
Posted by March at October 7, 2005 09:41 PM