My zippy red Mustang convertible suddenly became the family car. I spent quite a few days at home so my hubby, Rex, could take the car to work, and I wouldn't be making lots of back and forth trips.
We almost had the Escape paid off and we really weren't anxious to take on another car payment. We debated back and forth what to do. Should we lease a car, buy a used car or try being a single car family since our life-style is slowing down as Rex gets closer to retirement. We decided not to hurry in getting another car but to wait and see what comes our way.
Rex had really loved his red Ford Escape and he realized how much he was missing it as it had been a faithful car. It never gave him any problems. He was sad over its loss.
Last week our son, Matt, was browsing used cars and found one he thought we'd like. It was a Jeep and we liked the price and low mileage on it. Rex called and made an appointment for us to see it the next day. We drove the thirty minutes to the dealership and looked around as the salesman had said the car would be ready and waiting for us at the door. We didn't see any car matching the description of the one we planned to test drive but we confidently asked for the salesman Rex had communicated with. He sheepishly announced he had left a message on our home answering machine. The car was not available; it was on "an extended test drive."
Question: The car you planned to look at isn't available.
Answer: What is an extended test drive?
I was the first to ask what exactly does this mean? The salesman said "it means it won't be back for awhile." Rex showed him the printed email he had received from the Internet salesman, a different person from the one we were talking with. The buck was quickly passed and the second man came out to talk with us. He had the same strange answer as to where the car was. Rex asked "what if they want to buy it?" The salesman's response "Oh they won't." The plot thickened and the two salesmen were squirming. They were telling us they were calling the people to bring the Jeep back right away. It might be at least two hours and since we had driven some distance they would even bring the car to our home when it was returned. By this time it was obvious these men were not being forthright. Finally, one admitted why the car was unavailable. A customer had brought in her car for repair and the car we planned to look at had been given to her as a loaner until her car was repaired. With that we decided to take our business elsewhere.
Across the street was the dealership we had already bought two new cars from. We asked for the salesman we had worked with before and was told he had retired two days before. This was turning out to be a crazy day. It all worked out though. The man helping us looked and looked for a car for us. He finally said a car had just come in that weekend and it hadn't even been cleaned up and processed yet but it was available. All he said was that it was the color of my shirt but didn't say anything else about it. To our amazement it was a 2012 red Escape-four years newer than our totaled car. Except for a few new upgrades it looked just like Rex's beloved Escape. I said our neighbors won't realize it's not the same car in our driveway. I keep smiling when I think about how our prayers have been answered. Our car has risen from the ashes. It's also keeping up with the tradition of red cars in the family; our 7th! The salesman told us that he's found that 90% of his customers end up buying a car the same color they are wearing. (Next time you go car shopping, be sure to wear your favorite color). Oh and two days later when the first car dealers emailed to say the Jeep was back and we could come see it, I suspect it was with a certain bit of delight when Rex told them he had already bought a car elsewhere.
Rex and his red Explorer
