One of my first purchase experiences with my husband (then boyfriend) was buying a new-to-me car. I had an older car that was having transmission problems. I’d never purchased a new vehicle and felt intimidated by the whole process. I was on my way to Missouri for a visit to my family home and my car stalled on the highway. I called my boyfriend to come pick me up and he quickly came to my rescue.
We wound up driving down to Siloam Springs, Ark., to a Chevrolet dealership where his brother worked. Our plan was to trade the unreliable junker off for something new(er) and reliable. We arrived and walked the lot looking at several different options. I settled on the idea of buying a 1-year-old Chevrolet Blazer that had been a rental program car. It had low miles and felt like a brand-new vehicle to me.
Nathan knew the ins-and-outs of buying and selling cars. He worked his brother, the sales manager and finance director over until he felt the price had been negotiated down to a fair deal. I’m certain he was trying to impress me with his effective negotiation skills. To be honest, the back-and-forth and heated discussion made me want to crawl under the desk and melt into the floor. It was embarrassing. At one point I think he even pounded his fist on the table and raised his voice.
I was happy with my new Blazer and he was smug that he’d made sure that I’d gotten a great deal. We have been married now for almost 17-years and I have NEVER gone to the car dealership with him since.
Recently, my husband has been shopping around for a new farm truck. He spent the good part of a day haggling with his brother at the dealership. The same weekend he started shopping, I had taken off to Kansas City, Mo., to attend our oldest daughter’s dance competition and convention. Lo and behold, the man found a truck on the internet – one he couldn’t live without. It was in Olathe, Kan. What luck! His wife was already near there.
He of course called me and convinced me to drive down and secure the truck of his dreams for him. I just shook my head. I could not believe after all these years he was conning me into going back into a car dealership to help him broker a deal on a new truck. After about 15 speaker phone calls back and forth between a salesman, who looked like he was about 15-years-old, my husband and me, they came to an agreement on a trade over the phone. I was ready to crawl the walls. Fortunately, the friendly salespeople could sense my patience wearing thin and got the paperwork ready quickly. They got me back on my way to watch our daughter dance.
The truck was delivered to Fayetteville the following Monday in perfect condition. My husband is one happy camper. All I can say is this, I really love my husband and as Joe Diffie still sings, “there is something women like about a pick-up man.”
Especially a Chevrolet pick-up, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
