Tale of Travail - Auto Buying During the Pandemic

 

A few years ago, we had a motorhome. We had many enjoyable trips in it, but eventually, I was having too many job travel obligations, the wife was working full-time and back in college for her master's degree and our young daughter became involved in sports, her school's marching band, and numerous other endeavors so we had no time for the RV. It was so sad, just sitting there in its spot behind our house, never going anywhere. I put up some pictures and a description on an RV selling site and soon, a nice retired couple came down from Canada, paid cash, and took our beloved motorhome back up north with them. For the first time in a number of years, we were RV-less.

Fast forward seven years. I'm now retired; our daughter graduated from college and is working and living on her own; the wife is ready to retire in another year. And the wife has missed having an RV. Terribly missed. For the last several years, like a dog gnawing a bone - "We need to get another RV," "I really want another RV," "When are we going to get another RV?" I wasn't sure I wanted the hassle and expense of an RV. I've always enjoyed the simplicity of staying in hotels, and there is always the risk that warm recollections will be tarnished by the cold reality of the present but in order to get a little peace and quiet in my waning years, I finally gave in and agreed. A new RV was to be headed our way.

We did compromise some - instead of a motorhome, we would get a new truck and an RV trailer. That way there would only be one motorized vehicle to perform maintenance on and insure. So, I began heavy-duty research on new pickup trucks. I finally settled on one of the new Ford models. My grandparents and parents were Ford people so I grew up being a "Ford people" too. One of my favorite vehicles was a Ford truck that I still regret selling so a new Ford it was destined to be.

By then, the Pandemic was in full force. Big time supply chain issues. Very few auto's available anywhere. Three months of daily checking every Ford dealer's inventory within 200 miles of us resulted in no new trucks which met my criteria. Finally, one fine Thursday, at a dealer 50 miles from us, a 2021 F-150 Larriat was delivered. Powered by the new hybrid Power-Boost engine, 4-wheel drive, tow package, 360-degree camera, 7.2 kilowatt Pro-Power onboard generator and loaded with all the latest safety systems. I immediately called the dealer. Yes, they still had it. It had been delivered the day before and already 2 people had expressed interest in it and were trying to line up finances to purchase it. It was high noon when I talked to him and he said, "First one here with a decent down-payment get's it."

I called the wife at her work. "You've got to get off and come home right now so we can go buy a pickup! Hurry!" We arrived at the dealer at 4:00pm sharp. There she sat, still there, thank goodness - bright shiny red and looking beautiful. Parked right up front by the street, no wonder there were people already interested; you couldn't miss her. We were walking around the truck inspecting it when a salesman came up with a big smile on his face. "Can I help you," he asked. "I've been talking to Chris about this truck. Are you Chris?" The smile abruptly fell from his face at the vanishing of a possible sale. "No, I'll get him for you," as he walked away. 

Soon enough, Chris came walking up, the previous guy's big smile on his face, holding the keys. "I figured you would want to test drive her." I got in, started her up, and saw there was 26 miles on the odometer already. Chris explained two people had already test driven her. "We just got her in yesterday afternoon and people were asking to test drive her before we even got the plastic off the seats!" The wife and I took turns driving her around and brought her back with 48 miles on the odometer. I was looking at the window sticker when I asked what he would sell her for. $3,000 over the sticker! "What? That's way over the sticker price!" "Yes, sir" he replied, "that's the 'High Demand' price. Not many available and a lot of folks want trucks like this. But if you are 'highly qualified,' I can get you 0% interest for up to 6 years."

Fortunately, we fit into the highly qualified category, plus we had a decent downpayment amount available. After much wheeling and dealing and with a cash downpayment of more than half the price dangled in front of him, he came down $1,000. He was all smiles and then I brought out a coupon from Ford worth $1,000 off on a new truck purchase. Then I brought out a coupon from my insurance company for $500 off a new auto purchase. And then, just for fun, I made him throw in a Ford insulated mug for me and a pink Ford trucker's hat for the wife. We shook hands.

While waiting for the truck to go through final prep and filled up with gas, we ate their snacks and drank their cokes. With what I had just agreed to pay, it was the least they could do. I asked about the other people who supposedly were trying to line up finances, "Why didn't they take the 0% offer?" "They weren't highly qualified." 

"These are crazy times" Chris said. "We're a pretty small dealer, but we used to get in a couple of dozen new autos every week. Some of them would sit on our lot for several months. Now we're lucky if they drop off 3 or 4 a week and it doesn't really matter what they are, somebody buys them within a few days."

I wasn't happy about having to pay $500 over sticker price, but I had to consider I was lucky to find a truck that met all my requirements and more and I knew other folks were paying more than that over sticker price. And financing it at 0% interest, well, I'll take that deal all day long!

It's been a few weeks since we brought "Big Red" home and so far, all is great. No initial problems at all. She rides more like a car than a truck and we're pleased as punch with getting 24 miles per gallon. Heck, we're still learning all the things she's equipped with; still some buttons we haven't pushed and don't know what they do. And every month when I make the payment, I think about 0% interest and it's not so bad! 

All I have to do now is find an RV trailer that meets my wife's criteria. Maybe then my waning years will be filled with peace and quiet!