Car woes

It's sad when people live up to the negative stereotypes of them- one's faith in fellow human beings compel you to want to believe that people can be better than what others think of them. Sadly, with one particular group of people, stereotypes seem to be all there is- the used car salesman.

So we're shopping for a new car. Our Mazda is 11-years old, the air-conditioning doesn't work (this is fine 8 months of the year of course, but come July...), and the gear pops when we shift it into 5th (which is particularly precarious for Jude who commutes on the freeway for an hour three times a week to his internship). The thing is, as students, our budget immediately disqualifies us from getting cars we really really want, i.e. a Subaru Forrester, or a zippy Scion, better still the Toyota Hybrid- Prius (imagine the tax-cut! of course, it's like buying ourselves a conscience), even a simple second-hand Honda Civic is out of our reach. Oh woe is us... And it's not even a want, you *need* a car in this town. Only 3 months of a year do I feel that walking is the best way to get around Ann Arbor. Apart from that, NO. Unlike the bigger cities where public transport is utterly comprehensive and convinient, Ann Arbor's idea of public transportation is buses that come every half-hour, each bus-stop being served by one bus number, and routes only running from 6am to 10pm in many areas. We've been spoiled by what I now think as Singapore's rather inspired public transportation system.

Anyways, about these car-people. My question is, how can they ever talk to anyone honestly anymore? Is there like a knob that they switch off when they go home where they then become real, normal people who speak to their wives and children in neither hyperbole or conspiratorially like they're your new best friend? Where they don't say things like, "To tell you the truth, I don't make money. I just sell cars.", or "Honestly, I'm not here to earn your money, I want to earn a friend"? These guys would sell their mothers' soul to cut a deal. The ones we've encountered this past week have done nothing to redeem the abysmal reputation of used car salesmen- they have been every bit as sleazy, smarmy and shady as people make them out to be.

Which brings me back to the beginning- at what point does one give in to doubt and suspicion and say, "I can no longer give this dude the benefit of the doubt. I think he's trying to scam me."? You want to believe things that people tell you because like Anne Frank, you want to believe that at their core, people are actually good at heart. You want to go on thinking that deceit, avarice and self-servitude are things you only hear of or read about, and that the person standing in front of you is actually sincere, genuine and trustworthy. I don't want to lose that faith in people. It will be a sad, sad day.

If you can find an honest used car saleman, let us know. We need to buy a new car.