You know the
economy’s bad when car dealers feature used cars in their showrooms.
I took my
Prius in for an oil change the other day and decided to daydream about the new
one on the showroom floor—except it wasn’t new.
It was newer. The car I was looking at was a 2009 model
with bells and whistles my Prius didn’t have, and no dents. When a salesman approached me and suggested
we run the numbers, I wasn’t optimistic, but I figured it’d pass the time and
the worse that could happen would be that I couldn’t afford the car. After all, I still owed money on my 2002
Prius and with the mileage, dents and work she needed besides the oil change I
was getting, I knew I was upside down in terms of equity on her. I was right, and I drove my battered baby
home.
Yesterday morning
my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the
number, but I answered it anyway. It was
the car salesman. He said they got
another Prius in and they thought it was within my budget. I asked what the payments were and he said he’d
get back to me. Night person that I am,
I wasn’t even up yet, but I stayed up and waited for the call. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was a 2008 and the payment would be
$40/month less than my current car payment.
I guess that
dealer was pretty smart putting used cars in his showroom. It certainly worked on me. I would not have prowled the used car lot
while my oil was being changed and I certainly could not afford a new car. Savvy marketing in a tight economy there. Here are photos of my new Prius!
Photos taken by Rochelle Weber 08-12-11.
