We got the Pontiac back today. The GM dealership in Sunnyvale on El Camino was fine. All the warranty stuff was transferred over.
That is not what I'm here to talk about though. What I'm here to say is, that even as bitter as I am about the car companies - walking into a dealership is super affecting. It just sucks and is so wrong.
I know they only have themselves to blame. Remember me? I said I'd never buy another Chrysler product as long as I lived. They pissed me off that much. Pontiac however has always been really great to deal with.
I just don't understand how we as a nation got to a point that jobs were such worthless items. It didn't matter how customers were treated, and you could just walk down the street and get another job anyway.
You know what my friend told me today? Her husband got laid off. Though, it sounded more like it was a mutual thing. They've been separated for a while now. But, this is what she said "Snarkolepsy, it was a blessing in disguise. He hated that job so much". So, I asked her "what will he do to pay his rent"? Oh, he can afford to live off unemployment now - she tells me. How long will that last - I ask?
Later as I was recounting this story to Mr S. I was actually somewhat exasperated. When did a job become something you love, I say? They call them jobs for reasons. How is it you go from a high paying job with a house and beni's, to being okay with living off unemployment? How is that is just fine with you? I don't get it.
Yet, as I walked through the dealership today, no one was there. They didn't even make any money from me. I thought I'd have to pay for something. But I'd paid for that stuff when I bought the car. Even down to a certain number of oil changes. So I walked out paying them nothing.
When I left, those salesmen were sitting on lawn chairs at the front of the store. And I wondered how long it would be before the place closed. Maybe they don't care either. Maybe just hanging out on unemployment will be just fine for them. But, what happens when it all runs out?
This can't go on forever. Maybe I'm a sucker for thinking about their families, and what the lives they surely must have led. Now they are reduced to just hanging out on the front lawn waiting for someone to buy a car. It isn't like they can just walk down the street now. Waiting in those lawn chairs is probably all the chance they have to make money.
Truth be told, if I had the money - I wouldn't buy a car right now. I honestly would buy a foreign car before I'd buy American. Something in my cold dead heart feels for the worker. Yet, I'm not even sure they care about loosing their jobs. How f'ed up is that?
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When I was buying my first car 13 years ago, it used to freak me out to drive through a car lot. The sales reps would just appear out of nowhere, and follow me around like the living dead...aaaaahh!! ZOMBIES!!!
ReplyDeleteSo, of course soon it became sort of a game. We would not even get out of our car, and we would drive around the lot to see how many reps we could get on our tail, and then drive off.
Of course, this was after a rep had already pissed me off. He would not tell me the price of a truck I was loooking at. I pretty much knew that it was out of my range, yet he kept telling me "We can make it work for you." No, how much is the damn truck. If I only have $8,00, how you are going to sell me a $15,000 truck? Oh, I know, a high interst long term loan. Oh, no thank you, not when I'm 23! I would still be paying for that damn truck today. It even pissed my dad off.
Holy TLDR!
Ah.. those were the days. Zhombie salesmen. Interest is the killer of the future. Sad thing is, that if you save up and don't pay interest, the car companies are kind of assholes to you. Interest is how they make money on the cars.
ReplyDeleteToday I actually feel bad for that dealership I was in. Since GM announced they were cutting. I bet those guys get cut. It's been there since I was a kid.
There must be some middle between zhombie and dead.