Hi ppl,
As you must be knowing I am searching for a decent car to buy (for almost 2 months now!!). Past Labour day weekend I was very close to getting a car but something happened, nobody knows whose fault it was, and the car buying didn't work out. Read the story ahead to know what happened.
It was a long weekend and I was quite intent in buying a car and getting over with this car buying headache. I had searched extensively online and had short-listed the best car for my budget. On Saturday (Sept 3), I first went to an authorized Toyota dealer asking for a new Toyota Corolla CE. I test drove one and it was a smooth ride, overall a really good car (ofcourse you can't expect anything less from Toyota). Problem came with price: I was asking to buy the car at invoice price of a 2005 Corolla CE but the sales person was stuck at MSRP for a 2006 Corolla CE (when you live in Fairfield county sales ppl think you are rich ignorant buyer. I saw one lady buying a 2005 SUV in ~5 min at $500 less than the MSRP and she thought it was a great deal. lol ). Anyways, I was still trying to negotiate (for almost 1 hr) to bring the price to my budget but the dealer didn't budge and finally kicked me out (not exactly kick, but he put the 'kick' in his words, you could say). Next, I went to a Honda dealer. This time, I made it sound as if I was just looking and inquired about Honda Civic VP and certified Civic LX/EX. Again, prices were exorbitant. Came back home empty haded :(
On Sunday, Sept 4, all the dealers were closed (such weird business timings are quite common here), so I was home doing more research about cars (mostly used/certified vehicles).
Monday, Sept 5, I went to the Toyota dealer (the same one who had kicked me out) and this time I was inquiring about certified vehicles. Finally, found a 2003 Corolla CE. A lot of miles on it (compared to the norm), but came with Toyota warranty which would continue till 2009, so was not worried much about the miles. Again, there were lots of numbers to-and-from on the negotiating table, but this time I won :) I made the down payment and did the necessary paper work. Since I have a New York licence, the car couldn't be registered immediately in my name. The dealer asked me to get Connecticut Licence/State ID the next day. So, registration was the only thing left. I even got the car added to my car insurance. The dealer gave me a temporary registration for a couple of days till I can get the proper registraition done. So, I came back home with my car :D The CT DMV (Department of Motor Vehicle) is on my way to office so I decided to go there early next day to get CT ID. Next day at the DMV, I got one of the biggest shocks of my life: I cannot get Connecticut licence or State Id. Apparently, there is a law which says that your licence should be atleast 6 months old to transfer it to CT licence(I got my NY licence in May this year). Also, I couldn't get a Connecticut state Id as that would revoke my New York licence (I didn't want that at all). So, shocked and not completely understanding what all this meant, I went to office. Half attentive at work, I managed to get thru the day. In the evening I went to the dealer and told him what I had learned. Connecticut had another law which says that you need a Connecticut licence to buy and register the car in this state. Oops!!! One work around was to get a relative, with a valid connecticut licence, on the loan of the car and register the car in his/her name and after I get my CT licence in November, refinance the car in my name only. I talked to my cousin regarding this, but he pointed cons with this approach: I would have to pay the sales tax again when I refinance the car, insurance problem for him, property tax, etc. That would be an expensive deal, so that was a big no no. All this took another 2 days. The car is still with me but it is giving me more tension than doing good. Finally, on Thursday (Sept 8) I returned the car to the dealer :( Was totally frustrated thinking about what had happened all weekend trying to figure out what went wrong. Fianlly, I gave up.
My first big purchase in USA and a disaster. Seems like I can't buy and register a car in Connecticut until November (there is legally no way to do that). So, I'll have to purchase a car from New York. So, started searching for a car there. Fortunately, I have some relatives there but imagine what whould happen to a person who was alone and couldn't give any address in New York? ... who writes such flawed laws?
NOTE TO READER: Hope you liked reading this as much I liked writing it. Some of the situations and emotions have been exaggerated above to make for some interesting reading :D
If you can't laugh at yourself you shouldn't at other ppl too.
Regards,
Chintan
