Car buying made easy

Well, not really.  Buying a car is seldom easy.  That’s the current case, at least here locally.

Thanks to the government’s program of  “Cash for Clunkers” the auto dealers at the Olympia Auto Mall have been busy.  Cars are going off the lots as fast as they can be turned around.  So fast in fact, that the government program has run out of money after only four days, weeks earlier than expected.  That means that a billion dollars has been generated and some 250,000 cars have been turned in for new cars.  (I saw a reader board which read, Government money, up to $4500.  I thought – – that’s not government money – – that’s my money – – that’s taxpayer money going to help other people buy a car.)

I spent the past week shopping for a new car.  I didn’t have a clunker, and I didn’t want to buy a hybrid, so I couldn’t take advantage of the state’s “no sales tax” policy – – which expires today.

I found that the popular auto dealers were busy, those that are always at the top of the satisfaction board.  (I won’t name names but you know who I’m talking about.) They were too busy to wait on me. 

Those that are in bankruptcy or in extreme financial condition, were willing to wait on me, but they didn’t have any cars.

I ended up looking at cars from the smaller dealers.  They were eager to wait on me, but I was having a difficult time finding a car I wanted.

I went on line.  I looked up cars – – all types of cars – – in the price range I could afford.

I even went to Kitsap County looking for a car, where the popular dealers were ready to help me, but they weren’t ready to negotiate.  They were selling cars as fast as the Olympia Auto Mall.  They didn’t need to bargain.

Altogether, I drove 16 different cars over eight days. 

I went to the mall to buy the car I had decided on and could afford  – – and they were out of cars.  Seems the “Cash for Clunkers” program had taken every low-priced car they had. 

(UPDATE – The federal government has just expanded the “Cash for Clunkers” program and is coming up with $2 billion dollars more of taxpayer money to keep the cars selling.   Guess I’m out of luck for several more weeks.  It just doesn’t seem fair using my own money to help other people buy cars.)