****THIS IS A PURELY HYPOTHETICAL STORY****
So you have been looking for a NSX for a while. You know what you want and what price you are willing to pay. You find a VERY low mileage, late model, example out of town at a dealer. The car is certified. You speak, via email and phone, with the salesman who assures you this car is mint and needs nothing but a good home. You talk about price, but do not get into the details. You run the CarFax and it comes back as a clean one-owner car. You are at the point in your search that you need to look at several examples out there and if one happens to fit at the right price, then great. If not, no big deal.
You make your flight arrangements and let the salesman know you will be there when the dealership opens on a certain day. He said he will be waiting.
You arrive at the dealership and find the car sitting outside right up front. Looks great as you drive in until you notice its dirty. Real dirty. Like it has not been washed in weeks and driven in the rain recently. Interesting. Now THIS should be the first clue (for many) that something may be fishy. Any salesman who knows you are flying in from out of town would certainly have the car clean for your arrival, no?
You walk around the car. There is wax in just about EVERY crevice of this car. It would take you (and a toothbrush) probably a week to get it out. What a shame for such a low mileage example. You are also really disappointed that its not clean as dirt does a GREAT job of hiding small scratches and dings. No big deal, though. If it drives nice you can have them wash if for final inspection.
You get down at knee level and start your walk (crawl) around the car. Everything looks pretty good. You notice that there are aftermarket shocks on the car. Salesman says, "yeah thats a huge plus!" Maybe for some. Would have been nice to know before. You get to the front bumper and notice that where it meets the passenger fender there is a flake of paint. Hmmmm. Pop the hood. You look around and it jumps out at you. No VIN sticker on the passenger fender. You close the hood and continue your look. The passenger door gap where it meets the passenger fender is not consistent. You are starting to think this car has had some body work.
You open the passenger door. It sticks just a bit. Hmm. You open and close a few more times. Its hanging up on the latch a bit. Factory? Maybe. Maybe not.
You finish your walk around. Then you check out inside. Aftermarket speakers glued on the upper door panels greet you as you open the door. "I thought you said this car was stock?" to the salesman. He replies, "well yeah, mostly. Those speakers really add something to the stereo!"
You finish your inspection at this point which has taken about 20 minutes. You point out to the saleman the issues with the front right corner. He says "yeah, I noticed the sticker was missing, I figured he just peeled it off". Umm, yeah right. "So why didnt you tell me all these things when we talked?" Salesman replies with a simple shrug of the shoulders.
You thank him for his time and head out.
He asks "So I guess this is just more money than you wanted to spend?". You take a long pause, a deep breath and try to calm down. You reply, "Umm no, its fine but I want a completely stock car with no issues". "Oh", he replies, "well I will keep my eyes out and give you a call."
What a waste of your time, you think as you drive back towards the airport. Maybe you can get on that earlier flight......
So you have been looking for a NSX for a while. You know what you want and what price you are willing to pay. You find a VERY low mileage, late model, example out of town at a dealer. The car is certified. You speak, via email and phone, with the salesman who assures you this car is mint and needs nothing but a good home. You talk about price, but do not get into the details. You run the CarFax and it comes back as a clean one-owner car. You are at the point in your search that you need to look at several examples out there and if one happens to fit at the right price, then great. If not, no big deal.
You make your flight arrangements and let the salesman know you will be there when the dealership opens on a certain day. He said he will be waiting.
You arrive at the dealership and find the car sitting outside right up front. Looks great as you drive in until you notice its dirty. Real dirty. Like it has not been washed in weeks and driven in the rain recently. Interesting. Now THIS should be the first clue (for many) that something may be fishy. Any salesman who knows you are flying in from out of town would certainly have the car clean for your arrival, no?
You walk around the car. There is wax in just about EVERY crevice of this car. It would take you (and a toothbrush) probably a week to get it out. What a shame for such a low mileage example. You are also really disappointed that its not clean as dirt does a GREAT job of hiding small scratches and dings. No big deal, though. If it drives nice you can have them wash if for final inspection.
You get down at knee level and start your walk (crawl) around the car. Everything looks pretty good. You notice that there are aftermarket shocks on the car. Salesman says, "yeah thats a huge plus!" Maybe for some. Would have been nice to know before. You get to the front bumper and notice that where it meets the passenger fender there is a flake of paint. Hmmmm. Pop the hood. You look around and it jumps out at you. No VIN sticker on the passenger fender. You close the hood and continue your look. The passenger door gap where it meets the passenger fender is not consistent. You are starting to think this car has had some body work.
You open the passenger door. It sticks just a bit. Hmm. You open and close a few more times. Its hanging up on the latch a bit. Factory? Maybe. Maybe not.
You finish your walk around. Then you check out inside. Aftermarket speakers glued on the upper door panels greet you as you open the door. "I thought you said this car was stock?" to the salesman. He replies, "well yeah, mostly. Those speakers really add something to the stereo!"
You finish your inspection at this point which has taken about 20 minutes. You point out to the saleman the issues with the front right corner. He says "yeah, I noticed the sticker was missing, I figured he just peeled it off". Umm, yeah right. "So why didnt you tell me all these things when we talked?" Salesman replies with a simple shrug of the shoulders.
You thank him for his time and head out.
He asks "So I guess this is just more money than you wanted to spend?". You take a long pause, a deep breath and try to calm down. You reply, "Umm no, its fine but I want a completely stock car with no issues". "Oh", he replies, "well I will keep my eyes out and give you a call."
What a waste of your time, you think as you drive back towards the airport. Maybe you can get on that earlier flight......
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