RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

When Big Bore and I were in the city last Friday, we decided to kill some extra time by car shopping for a specific used make and model I'm interested in possibly buying before the end of the year. Just a little fact-finding mission to see what's available.

Our first stop was at one of the smaller dealerships. Fine experience. Nice salesman. Informative. Got what we needed and left. Then it was on to a bigger dealership...one with a much larger inventory, so maybe I'd find what I was specifically looking for. From the second we pulled into the customer drive at a place that rhymes with Dusty Wreck Ford (you locals will know who I'm writing about here), however, we knew our experience at this second stop was gonna be a whole lot different than the first.

A dozen or so salesmen were lurking outside the front door on this hot day, ready to clutch their prey, and one latched himself onto us before we'd gotten out of the car. I told him exactly what make and model I was looking for, right down to the year, color, and mileage limit. Oh, sure, he had plenty of them to show me. Right this way. We followed him into the showroom of more rabid salesmen, loud music, ice cream, and balloons. Welcome to the CAR-nival of Horrors!

Well, long story (VERY long story) short, there were exactly two of the make and model on the entire expansive lot, one with the color I was seeking, except it was missing a front bumper/fender. The other was the wrong color and year and had about as much mileage as my current car, plus it smelled like an ash tray on wheels. No, thank-you. We'll be moving on.

But do you think Mr. Salesman was going to stop at that? No, he had to try to show me every other car in Wichita. And when we FINALLY escaped his pitch, his sales manager came running after us, actually shouting my name at the exit and trying to seal some deal that was never in the making in the first place. Help!!!

I don't care if Dusty Wreck Ford ends up finding the car of my dreams. I will NEVER go back to that scary place again. I'd rather run into a pack of hungry vultures. Dusty Wreck may brag about being the #1 dealership in Kansas, but all they did was DRIVE us AWAY!