Flashback: Four years ago, I went to that very special place everyone loves to hate – the car dealership. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I think about it. The day had come when it was time to buy a new vehicle, and in my head, I knew exactly what I wanted and what color. I showed up to the Toyota dealership hoping to just look when the pushy salesman made his way out with his fake smile and fake hair. From the moment we shook hands, I knew it was going to be a bad day.

Why is it that when you tell a salesperson what you are looking for, they show you the exact opposite of what you want? I said I wanted a truck… you know, the kind with a bed. Why the fuck are we looking at 4 Runners? Don’t get me wrong, those are nice too, but I wanted a typical truck. Eventually, we made it to the trucks, and he decided that he knows me and knows exactly what I need. He proceeds to show me the small version of the Tacomas and said that “I will just love driving this little thing around.” Excuse me, but I specifically said that I wanted the larger Tacoma. If I wanted a vehicle that practically touched the ground, I would have bought a car. I wanted four-wheel drive, and he asked, “Why?” I wanted to slap him; why the fuck do you think? Obviously, I plan on going four-wheeling and my Celica just wasn’t going to do it for me. We fought about that for a while, he argued that I probably wouldn’t even use it enough and how much more a four-wheel truck costs; what the hell happened to “the customer is always right”?

After being shown truck after truck after truck on a few different lots, I still was not happy about what I was seeing. He kept trying to push me into buying a green 2001 two-wheel-drive Tacoma that was way out of my price range. So I finally told him that I was leaving to find someone who would give me what I wanted: black, sunroof, four-wheel drive with cup holders (I hate cars with no cup holders). So as we started to walk away, he conveniently recalled a truck that “just came in,” and the next thing I know, I am filling out paperwork for an over-priced Tacoma and I start freaking out. That bastard got the best of me, and I was getting screwed for a truck that I really liked. I lucked out, though, since the truck needed to be inspected and cleaned, I had to leave it there to be picked up the next day. My uncle happened to work at this dealership, and when they found out about it, my over-priced truck dropped down in price by three grand; only three thousand over what they paid for it. HA! Suckers, what now?! I got exactly what I wanted, for a price that I could live with. That salesman was a pushy ass, and I really do not look forward to buying another truck. If the salespeople would just listen to what you want in the first place, they would not be hated as much as they are.

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