Buying a used car

I'm not surprised that used car salesmen have a bad reputation, because frankly some of them deserve it. You'd think in this day and age it would be rare for one to be condescending to women. First guy I saw refused to budge on his inflated price. He told me that he couldn't do that because the floods in Queensland were pushing up demand for used cars. I don't see why pressure on car sales in Queensland should make me buy an overpriced car that I would immediately lose money on. The people in Queensland wouldn't benefit, it'd just be more money in this guy's pocket. The salesman had a full lot of cars, so it didn't look like Queensland dealers were taking away too many of his options. Just before I left I said I would be looking at other cars and would get back to him. He lost me when he said I should go and talk it over with my father. Aghhh! My father is senile and wouldn't even recognise the make of the car I was looking at.

Fortunately later today, I found a car that seemed a reasonable deal (it was even within the guide price suggested by Redbook) from a dealer of luxury vehicles. Someone must have traded their humble wheels for a Range Rover. The dealer was polite, respectful and didn't say a single dodgy thing. He even agreed to a reduced price. These things had a lot to do with me agreeing to buy his car. I have to admit, it was also nice to shop for a car inside an air-conditioned building on a 40 degree day.

I'm tempted to call the first salesman of the day to give him some tips on public relations and dealing with female customers...