To the editor:
Car shopping started me thinking how simple it was when Porter bought his last car, a new black 1940 Ford V-8. He went to the agency with the $850 he had saved in his wallet and came home with the car.
Now, so many years later, I consider a Ford Focus, but two foreign makes are tempting.
The salesman says, “Both of those used cars, the Honda and the Toyota, are gone, but we can look at some others.” They are all newer models than 2005, and much higher priced. “I’ll give you my card so you can call me,” he says. “The people up there in the office, who told you, may not know what’s here. ”
As we start to leave, he says, offhandedly, “You might like one of the special value cars over there. They’ll go to auction if they’re not sold soon.” He opens the door of a small Chevy — with a terrible odor. I back away, saying, “It smells like the strong cleaners used in motel rooms to mask the smokers’ smell.” I do like the roll-up windows and no frills, but that smell … ”Well, we can air out the car or cover the smell with another one. My daughter’s the same way about odors.”
Later on I call my car-savvy friend and ask if she thinks some tree branches in the back seat, or some plants, or maybe kitty litter would kill the smell,” she says, “Wait a minute! I’ll look the car up in Consumer Report. Here it is. That car has many problems, giving it an overall negative verdict. Forget it! You know, they’re saying they had cars, which didn’t exist when you got there, smells, too — of the old bait-and-switch approach.”
The salesman, who was very personable, called to say that he would contact me when the right car came in. Then a girl “up there in the office” called to request “more specific information to help me find you a car you’ll just love and enjoy for a long time.” As for the first two cars, “Well, we look on the computer, so those cars must have been sold, but no one deleted them from the list.” Plausible and probable, but I tell her, “If you expect anyone to come out there, you might check with a salesman first. For now I’ll look around. Thank you, good-bye.”
Byrna Porter Weir
Rochester, N.Y.
