New Car Shopping III

The Colorado LS I had my eye on had an I-5 engine, which is the old V6 from the S-10 with one of the cylinders lopped off to make a 5-cylinder. Oh, and its a 4x4 Crew Cab. I won't get into the rest of the specs; you can go here and get them if you're really interested.

So it was back off to H&H Chevy, where I had been treated well in my previous visit last week to test drive a Cavalier. I would be shocked and amazed at how well I would be treated this time around.

My salesman, John, was quite simply the coolest salesperson I've ever met (outside of my own Dad, of course). He was about the same as my dad, late 40's, and never once looked at me as a punk kid that had no business driving a $31,000 truck. He tore the thing apart showing me every nook and cranny -- as a designer, I ask lots of questions, and he answered all of them without once offering a condescending glance or expression. We went on a testdrive that covered interstate traffic, steep hills, sharp turns and wide open spaces to accelerate. When we got to the onramp of I-80 (after the testdrive had gone on for 15 minutes already), he didn't tell me to turnaround -- he said I could drive as long as I wanted, and if we got to Des Moines, he'd spring for burgers. Like I said, very cool.

Back to the dealership. I was already sold at this point, if the numbers would work. But of course I didn't let on.

We went inside to negotiate a price. John provided me with a 20-oz Diet Pepsi, which as always, was very refreshing. And the fun began.

The first price is always a test, to see what they can get out of you. And their first price was insulting, borderline ridiculous. I told them so, and threw back a lowball figure -- if they're going to highball me, I figured I'll lowball them, and we'll meet in the middle. John took my offer over to the general manager, who still wasn't biting. His counteroffer was lower, but not much so. When I voiced my displeasure, I inched my initial figure back up closer to the middle. Ten minutes later, John returned with a note from the GM saying "OK, You Win. $385/month."

I win. You bet. We shook hands on the deal, and started the long and arduous process of filling out the necessary paperwork. Three hours later, I drove off the owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado LS with exactly 9 miles on it.

The first call I had to make was to my parents, who had no idea I was doing any of this. I intentionally left them out -- I'm extraordinarily close with my family, but I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to make the decision without any outside influences. They were, needless to say, floored. "Can you make that kind of payment?" Yes, I have an extremely well paying job, mother. "$31,000? That's more expensive than our vehicles." Well, dad, I pull down a pretty good chunk of coin, remember? The $755 apartment and now $425 truck are not the product of slacking off.

The next call was to my brother, who knew most of what was going on, but his last impression was that I was going with the Jetta. So he was shocked to hear I'd bought the truck. Both Nemitz brothers are now pickup drivers -- he a Ford, me a Chevy. (Insert your own rumored-feud here)

And the next call was to my best friend Nate, and since he was the only one actually in Omaha Saturday, he was the first one to actually see the majesty of the Colorado. He immediately took a liking to the heated leather seats, and to the 6-Disc changer (playing Journey, of course), and to the 4x4 awesomeness. Later, he discovered the chrome running boards (real chrome, not chincy plastic chrome like Japanese cars have) and stood on it, enjoying the experience of being 9 feet tall, if only momentarily.

The Colorado LS Z71 4x4. Bitchin' aint it? Too bad I'll never let you drive it.

Saturday night I took the truck out on the town. Since I couldn't find anyone to take a free ticket to the Creighton game, I went solo. Unlike a lot of other folks, I actually don't mind going to sporting events alone. I'll get a beer, and a hot dog, and some nachos, and maybe some mini donuts, and perhaps a soft pretzel. I'll talk to the people sitting around me, get a different perspective on the game. And I can set my coat on the seat next to me with no repercussions -- seeing as I own that seat. Who's gonna stop me? That's right.

I was paranoid with the new truck. Usually, I park on campus in the north lot on 24th & Cumind, and pay $1.50 to take the Bluejay Express (a MAT city bus) to the Qwest Center. But with no plates on the truck, parking on the border of North Omaha in an expensive truck is not terribly smart. So I paid $6 to park at the Qwest Center. On the median. In the grass. That's the nice thing about huge fucking tires -- jumping a curb is no big deal.

Creighton lost 68-64. I ain't commenting on that shit.

For the record, the truck does fit in my garage. Rather easily. So its big, but it ain't that big...

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That's all fine and good, Tom, you may be saying. But what about your proclamation that you were going to buy a Jetta?

Well, sometime between when I wrote the article on Friday proclaiming my desire to buy a VW Jetta and Saturday morning, I decided to go another way. I really wanted the VW. But when the people at the local VW dealer treated me with such utter disrepect, it tipped the scales toward the truck. The first rule of negotiations is to be willing to walk away if the terms are not agreeable. You cannot settle for a number you don't like, or one that is unfair, just because you really want something. You have got to be willing to walk away. You must be strong enough to stand up from the table, and walk out the door. And I did.

Now, you might say I surely could have driven an hour to Lincoln and bought a Volkswagon there. Or driven two hours to KC and got one there. Or two hours east to Des Moines and done likewise. But I was upset and soured on the whole VW experience. That's how bad the people at the Omaha dealer were.

That's why I am now the proud owner of a Chevrolet Colorado. Plain and simple.