By Thomas Kelly, M.S.
Despite having access to a vast public transportation system, I still rely on a car for daily travel. I spend a lot of time going back and forth to Long Island, and leased a car to make this possible. But, recently I realized that my car lease will expire, and that I will have to make a dreaded trip to the car dealership.
I know the work of a car salesperson is difficult and filled with pressure. They are required to make deadlines that are imposed by their bosses and car manufactures. They are also trying to meet the demands of their customers, who are not interested or sympathetic to those deadlines. Despite understanding this, and with all due respect to hard working car salespeople, I find the experience of shopping for a new car to be extremely aggravating. When I think about the aggravation that is to come, the more I dread going in.
The primary reason for my aggravation stems from my thought that I am being lied to about the costs and asking prices. I focus on any possible inconsistencies in the salesperson’s rationale and offers. The more I focus on these inconsistencies, the more aggravated and angry I become. It makes the experience quite miserable, and perhaps most importantly, it detracts from my ability to make the best deal possible. Instead of thinking about the price that I am willing to pay, or strategies for making a deal, I am caught it up in how the salesperson is probably lying.
I know I need to change my tendency to act as a lie detector and the moral police for why salespeople should not act in a misleading manner. Thinking in this way is not going to help me to make the best deal possible, and certainly is going to lead to more aggravation and misery. Instead, I am going to accept that both parties are trying to make the deal that is within their best interests, and that if that deal does not work for me, I do not have to argue with it. I am hopeful that this will allow for me to make a good deal.
