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[paxamicus AT earthlink.net]

In 2000 I walked into a VW dealership to buy a Passat wagon. I walked  
in, sat down, and in the middle of the conversation with the car guy,  
my cel phone rang. I had three dealers going, and every time the phone  
rang, the price went down.

 Me:"I've got 24K from the guy in Harrisburg"
Guy at desk  "Ok, I can do 23-5"
Me   *bring bring* "Hullo? Uh huh. I've got 23-5 in Manassas"
Guy on phone "Ok, I've can do that the extended warranty for 23-5".
Guy at the desk "I can do 22K but no warranty."

This went on for about two hours. They hated me.

I think I ended up paying 20,000 for a car which was MSRP at 29 or  
something.

It's now sitting at the barn in Virginia with two, count 'em, two dead  
catalytic converters.


Blah.


But it was fun to make the car guy crazy.


On Nov 3, 2008, at 11:25 PM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

> > > Now , neither of us are car salesmen, but I do know for what my car
> > generally sells
>
> "Generally" yes.  You intimated that you knew you paid $150 over the
> "dealer's cost".  If it was a new car, you had no way of actually  
> knowing that.  Even
> a used car traded to or sold to a dealer also does not have the sale  
> price
> recorded anywhere in public records.
>
> You were basing you decision on a guess.  It might have been a very  
> good
> guess, it might have been an acurate guess, but it was a guess none  
> the less.
>
> My 'babe in the woods' comment is in reference to a belief that one  
> knows
> what a the actual cost of the vehicle is when they sit down to  
> negotiate with a
> dealer.
>
> And, you are right, I am not a car salesman.  I'm not a grocery  
> store bag-boy
> either, and yet that does not preclude me knowing as much or more  
> about the
> cost of food as he does.