I was thinking all of the things I’ve learned about the auto dealerships, the automobile industry and Ford SuperDuty trucks over the past three weeks. While I’ve been trolling several dealership websites, I only just recently realized Ford has their own inventory website that has window stickers and info for each vehicle within 100 or 200 miles, at which I can take a deeper inspection of dealers own website, before calling to ask to have a salesman put hands on vehicle and confirm it’s on the lot, and get me their best out-the-door price with all taxes and fees to see if it’s worth taking the next step.
If I had been much more of a rush to get a vehicle to replace Big Red, I would have gone into this whole process much more blindly. Yet, I’ve learned and continued to learn what is fair and what is not with dealerships, how to speak to them. What are likely sales tactics that will be used, specific industry lingo, how fair deals go down. I can be direct and not wasting anyone’s time, using proper language and procedure, only looking at vehicles I’m truly interested and ready to buy. And I still have four weeks before the first test drive and two months or longer before I set down and buy. Time really is on my side, as most people are hurried when they go to buy, uncertain on different models, and just need something with 4 wheels quickly.
There are those who think by me not choosing to own a car this winter that I have permanently given up driving in favor of bicycling and busing it everywhere. Like those who believed when I took off a semester from college that I would not be back. But I play the long game frequently in life and just because I don’t rush towards action today, doesn’t mean I’m not planning in the future. Just like when it comes to buying a house, that off-grid cabin, just because I don’t buy it tomorrow or even this year, doesn’t mean it’s an impossible goal. I keep researching options and technologies, and watching as money compounds and grows. I am still amazed how much growth these was last year, or even the years before, and the magic of compounding. Time, persistence, and thoughtfulness really has it’s virtues.
That said, time is hardly unlimited and it’s not always apparent when time is going to run out. As happened with Big Red, while I knew the end was coming and needed to plan for his replacement, I did not know it would come in December. Age shows up, and you can predict many things but the end isn’t always apparent. A lot of warning flags can show up before it’s done. Truth is it’s not the best summer to do my Northern Michigan trip with all that happening at work, but I just don’t know how many years I’ll be able to get away after this year with my parents getting older and knowing I’ll either have to be around to care for them or take over their homestead. You can and should wait, but I know if I don’t do this trip to Northern Michigan and Wisconsin, it might be my last great opportunity to do it.
Some retirees travel a lot in their later years. I enjoy my traveling years while I’m young, but I still want to own my own land, and I also know that dream is incompatible with travel and seeing new places. It’s not to say you can’t learn a lot from own land and your own neighborhood, but also there is an opportunity cost. Is it worth it? I don’t know.
