A rainy Monday at the dealership
On a rainy Monday morning, Tim Dowling and his wife find themselves at a car dealership a mile from home, inspecting a shiny new vehicle. They are trying to buy an electric car, a decision Tim casually suggested six months ago. He now regrets the suggestion as they have already been there for over an hour.
“It looks bigger than our car,” his wife says. “That’s probably because it’s indoors,” Tim replies. “Imagine how much bigger our car would look if we parked it in the kitchen.”
Previous car-buying trauma
The last time they bought a car, in Exeter, the salesman refused to believe they were serious buyers, suspecting they were holidaymakers killing time. Tim’s wife told him, “I am deadly serious, Alan.” Years later, Tim still finds the process unpleasant, especially the trade-in valuation and test driving, which he compares to a driving test.
During the test drive, Max, the salesperson, sat in the back and directed them through wet streets. Tim thought, “I know which way, Max. This isn’t my first time in Brentford.”
Trade-in negotiations
Back at the dealership, Max sat them down to discuss the trade-in value. “My manager is being a little bit mean,” Max said, claiming he could get a better deal. He then listed optional extras, which Tim’s wife declined. Max left them alone, and Tim’s wife suspected he wasn’t really talking to a manager. Tim agreed, saying, “There is no manager. He just sets an egg timer for 15 minutes, and has a latte.”
After a silent wait, Max returned with slightly better news from his “manager,” but still not as good as he had hoped. The final hurdle was a deposit to secure a secondhand car they had only seen online. Tim felt he had to pay it, even calling it a “ransom” to leave.
Bank blocks the transaction
However, Tim’s bank declined the transaction. Max disappeared again. Tim said, “It says I need to ring the bank.” His wife suggested he call, but Tim protested, “We’ll be here for hours.” He asked his wife to pay the deposit instead, which she did.
Back home, Tim called the bank. The helpline transferred him to the fraud department, which hung up on him. When he got through again, a man asked questions and then unblocked his card. Tim asked why the transaction was flagged as fraud. The man replied, “It was just because it’s from a different internet address than the one it’s usually from.” Tim retorted, “You mean it was considered suspicious that I’d left the house to pay for something?”
Tim concludes that no one, not even his bank, views him as a serious buyer.
