Glad I Didn’t Wait for Black Friday

Posted on November 24, 2019 by cordeliasmom2012

“Wow, you put a bow on it and everything!”

No, I didn’t buy the blue Mustang, but that is how I greeted my favorite saleslady at the car dealership. I have been buying my vehicles through this saleslady at this dealership since 2008.

Which is why, when I saw the ads that Ford was offering incredible incentives on the 2019 Escapes, I immediately made an appointment to check things out. The lease on my 2017 Escape would expire early in 2020, and the 2020 Escapes were way out of my price range, with no current incentives. Plus, they’ve been re-engineered, and I like the way they are now.

I made the appointment for Saturday morning, the weekend before Thanksgiving. Friday evening, I checked the stock at all the local dealers and realized 2019 Escapes were rapidly disappearing; in fact, according to the online listings, my dealership had only 11 on Friday afternoon, down to 8 by early Friday evening, and only 5 left by the time the dealership closed. The stock at the other dealerships was also rapidly decreasing.

While I’ve always enjoyed the process of buying a new car, I knew this time things would be a little different. Higher car prices, lower stock, tighter personal budget. And the fact that my husband had changed dealerships just a few months before because our dealership did not have the vehicle he wanted and couldn’t get any more. (His sedan model was being discontinued, and only a few were left anywhere.)

I arrived at the dealership at 10:30 am on Saturday, and already things were not looking good. Only 2 or 3 Escapes were left. My saleslady had run numbers for me, and a purchase was out of my budget despite a hefty down payment. There was an SE in my price range for a lease, but that was sold only a few minutes before I arrived.

One of my caveats had been that I didn’t want a vehicle with “those black wheels” because my husband was of the opinion that those particular wheels had low-profile tires, which are not good for winter driving.

The only Escape left was white with black wheels; on top of that, it was an SEL, which carries a higher price tag than I can handle.

The saleslady began calling around to other dealerships to “locate” an Escape for me. She was getting nowhere. I was ready to leave and drive over to my husband’s new dealership, even though their website also showed extremely low stock.

In frustration, the saleslady asked if I would consider the white Escape SEL despite the black wheels, if she could get me a good deal on it.

Hmm?

I called hubby and asked him to come to the dealership, even though I knew it would be a bit uncomfortable for him, considering recent history. While waiting, the vehicle was brought over. Low and behold, although the car had dark wheels, they were not the same black, ghetto-looking wheels I was against. The saleslady, her assistant, and I all agreed that they were not low-profile tires.

Hubby arrived and said the tires in question were low-profile. He told me not to buy that car and to go over to his new dealership. Things began getting a bit tense.

The saleslady called the Parts Department, who said the tires were not low-profile. On the test drive, we went over to the Service Department and dragged out our favorite service advisor (who has been there forever and has always been totally honest with us). He looked at the tires, confirmed they were not low-profile, and said they were good brand-name tires which would be perfectly adequate for winter driving in our area.

Did I mention that the white Escape SEL would come with remote start, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, automatic lift gate, and lots of other features that my 2017 Escape didn’t have? And that the white 2019 Escape SEL was stunning, with a beautiful upgraded two-tone “faux leather” interior? And a leather-wrapped steering wheel?

Like the good wife I am, I opted to ignore my husband. I sent him home while I continued negotiations.

I don’t know how the saleslady and the finance guy managed it, but they eventually got the numbers down to where I needed them. I drove away in a beautiful upgraded vehicle, with monthly payments the same as they were on the old vehicle.

God, I love my saleslady and my dealership,.

And I’m loving my brand-new 2019 Ford Escape SEL:

Now, I have to drive my beautiful brand-new vehicle to work tomorrow, through crappy weather and city traffic, over potholed city streets. Maybe I should just stay home. But of course, then I wouldn’t get paid and my budget can’t handle that. I’ll deal with it. That new car smell with make it easier.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalie Studio

Posted in Photography, Relationships, Road Trips & Cars, That's Life | Tagged autos, car dealership, cars, Escape, Ford, negotiation, new car | 25 Comments

Six Blogging Tips That I Ignore

Posted on November 16, 2019 by cordeliasmom2012

Here’s an established blogger/advisor with sense. This post is especially relevant to some my newer readers who may be struggling with their own sites and wondering if they’re doing everything “right” – there is no right or wrong; every blogger is different. Thanks, Renard, for confirming that.

(Comments are closed here – leave any comments over on Renard’s site.)

Posted in Re-Blogs, That's Life | Tagged blogging, publishing, writing | Leave a comment

Incorrigible

Posted on November 15, 2019 by cordeliasmom2012

Bending the rules just a little.

Because I can.

***

Like many children, I “ran away” from home as a toddler. My mom watched me drag the extremely heavy suitcase out the door, and merely shrugged. (She knew my aunt lived in the adjacent building and that I would go there.) So, as soon as I slammed that door behind me, she engaged the lock, turned to my brothers and said, quite loudly, “Ok, she’s gone. Let’s have ice cream!” I remember screaming and begging to be let back in. Of course, mom took her own sweet time doing that, and then told me she was sorry but all the ice cream was gone. I never ran away again.

In elementary school, my idea of disobeying my parents was to sleep on the floor in my room instead of in the bed. For some reason, my childish self thought that would hurt my mom and get revenge for whatever slight I felt she had dealt to me. Come morning, she just laughed. I never did that again.

In high school, I was one of those goody two-shoes nerdy glasses-wearing chicks that the teachers love and the kids hate. I never got into trouble, if only because I knew mom would be incensed if I did. The other kids picked on me constantly because they knew they could and that I wouldn’t fight back. Until I did. But after that, everyone pretty much left me alone.

I seriously could not wait to get out on my own, as far from home as possible.

Which is why I opted out of attending college, even though the State of New York had granted me a full scholarship to any SUNY school. My guidance counselor was askance. But I simply could not stand the thought of even one more day of being harassed by my peers. Mom backed me up, saying whatever decision I made was fine with her, so long as I was happy in the end. At that time, women were still expected to work only until they got married and had babies; college really wasn’t needed except with an eye towards attracting the proper type of mate.

Having thought long and hard about it, I declined the scholarship. Instead, I went to work for the Federal Government, in Washington, D.C. – far enough away from home. There I became a woman and learned, finally, to stand up for myself. Today, I’m one of the strongest women I know. I take shit from no one. It took many, many years to learn that I don’t have to kowtow to anyone.

Recently, I received an invitation to the 50th reunion of my high school class. I declined. I hated high school. Why would I want to relive those memories half a century later?

Perhaps if I’m not there, my old “friends” can still talk about me behind my back. If they even remember me, which probably most of them won’t.

Anyway, since the reunion is in summer, I’ll likely be too busy playing with my cameras.