My Purchase Experience
I spent all day looking at cars. Initially, I had my heart set on a 2004 Acura TL and was shopping for a car around the $15k price range. Typically, only high milage '04 TLs go for that price, so there wasn't much to choose from. However, I didn't want to stick to ONLY the TL if another luxury car was available for the price.
Around noon, I took my wife to lunch and dropped her off at a day spa. I continued to shop, stopping this time, at the luxury dealerships. I hit the Lexus dealership, Jag, Audi, Acura, etc. I did not get any service at any of the dealerships, but I was actually interested in many of the vehicles. So feeling a little like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (with the exception that I'm a big tall guy and she's pretty petite girl), I left. Granted it could have been for any number of reasons, it just stinks to be serious about purchasing a vehicle and not be able to get anyone to approach you. ON A CAR LOT! Anyway, I made a final stop at the Mercedes/BMW dealership. I looked briefly at cars, but nothing really struck my interest. All the cars on their lot were either too expensive or SUVs. Considering I drove a pickup, I wasn't about to continue down that MPG path! As I was just getting ready to leave, I noticed this beautiful black ES with a decent price on it. The salesman approached me and let me have the car for the afternoon. After a thorough review, I was in love with it.
After haggling the price with him over a few days, I went down to the dealership (it's about a 1.5 hour drive from my house to the dealership) and I did all the paperwork. My wife and I managed to get another $1000 out of the deal and settled on a loan that actually comes in w/ a monthly payment less than my wife's '05 Grand Caravan. I traded in my truck and drove home in my new baby... my ES 300.
Being a family guy, I'm glad I moved from a truck to a car. Getting the kids in and out is much easier and I pay more than half as much on gas than I did. Coming from a manufacturing engineering background, I can not only tell you that Lexus (Toyota) is a solid manufacturer, but it's also the creator of some of the best practices in all of business. I'm a very proud Lexus owner.
P.S. With respect to purchasing a car, I'd highly suggest driving the car for a length of time. Also, if the car is located close to home, take it to a mechanic you trust for an inspection. It's nice to have the dealership's word in case a car is a lemon, but it's much easier to figure that out before you've made the purchase.