Credit: Taichi Nakamura / Unsplash.com
There are plenty of “arts” that I feel have gone by the wayside. And no, I don’t just mean that artificial intelligence is robbing our world of true creativity, taking the hard-fought works of true artists, removing their blood, sweat, and tears, and pushing it off as its own robotic, AI content … because that would require far more space than a weekly op/ed could afford.
No, instead I mean the many forms of art others likely barely notice, that are somewhat disappearing from life. I used to joke with my kids, though also completely mean it too, that one such artistic talent kids today can never again truly appreciate is the box cover of a movie. A cover of a movie had to give us an entire preview, with one simple image on the front of its box. It had to inform of what the movie was somewhat about, but also catch our eye.
As we’d walk the aisles of the local family video rental facility, we had only the cover, and perhaps a quick graph or two on the back of the box, to decide whether or not this would be THE pick for the weekend. Then, of course, you had to fight your significant other or your siblings to make your case, and again, it would largely be the front of that box that helped you win.
But again, I digress … today, today I want to discuss another sadly disappearing art form: the art of the deal. Today’s car sales just aren’t what they used to be.
I have not owned many cars. I am a “drive-it-into-the-ground-then-dig-it-up-and-drive-it-some-more” kind of gal. I’m not sure if it was always being on a rather tight, sometimes broke budget growing up, or just my innate need to save money wherever possible, but for whatever the cause, I’ve only had a few.
The car version of the love of my life was my Honda Pilot. Gosh, she was great. She was named Pepper. She was the exact color of Dr. Pepper (my favorite diet drink), and she lasted me long beyond her life-expectancy. Sadly, an accident caused by another driver, took her out, along with four other cars, in a massive accident in West Virginia. I still mourn her loss.
And, when it came time to find her replacement, I discovered that the process of buying a car was a whole lot different than the one I’d purchased about 14 years before. Firstly, nearly all sales begin, or end, or in some step along the way occur online. Yes, the Net was around then, but I just don’t think it was the predominant way to find, price, and purchase your car.
Nowadays, like so many tasks, buying a car can be done online. You can even order it to come to you! Some even come in an oversized, glowing vending machine! Yes, the Internet has once again made some tasks “easier,” I think most would agree.
But, at least the way I see it, that negotiating art is now long gone. Now, everyone has Kelley Blue Book in their pocket. You no longer have to do weeks of research, understanding a cars precise value. And beyond that, you don’t have to prove it to a car salesperson, stand your ground, dig in your heels, and survive the pressure-cooking process that WAS the art of buying a car.
And it wasn’t just used cars. Some new cars would come in with a “sticker” price, but if you had some tricks up your sleeves, you could battle back-and-forth until you got it down a bit. That whole process, that you name a price, they go higher, you try again, “let me ask my manager,” leave you at their cubicle for hours … yeah, OK maybe it wasn’t all a ton of fun.
But at the time, there was an actual art. There was a plan. There was research and effort. There was a necessary stick-to-it-iveness … is has vanished. And now, all you have to do is find the car you want, which might be anywhere in the world even, and have it sent to you. You can “name your price” or just pick one more your budget.
As I purchased my eldest his first real car this past week, I was a touch saddened at the simplicity of the process. Maybe I’m the only one that “misses” such a cumbersome back-and-forth. But I always thought it was fun. My son still remembers at a very young age ordering a pizza, sharing it with the salesperson, and getting us an extra grand knocked off our car price in the process. Never underestimate the value of a hot, delivered pizza when you’ve been negotiating for hours… man, was that a great purchase.
Yep, today’s steps to buying a car, new or used, are far easier. But there is something about that feeling of accomplishment, that walking out door of the dealer knowing you battled your hardest, happy you made your points and nudged them down … or even the illusion that you had … that made that process a whole lot more enjoyable in my eyes. Alas, we are in a faster, easier, smarter kind of world. Don’t mind me if I miss some of the “good old days” once more.
