What's it gonna take to get you into this car today??

(that's my best used car sales pitch.) And it basically happened on Saturday when I went to the car dealership. They called me while I was in Europe, asking if they could buy my car from me. (Random.) I loved my Jeep - even though it was 7 years old, I wasn't thinking about getting a new car - but I looked at their preowned stock and said I would come in just for the hell of it. (NOTE: Never go to a car dealership "just for the hell of it." It IS hell.)

 I found a 2012 red Mustang that was super cute, but told them up front I wasn't paying a dime more than I pay now. They took my Jeep to get appraised (and kept the key - a classic dealer ploy. YOU CAN'T LEAVE!), and came back with a number that was $150 higher than what I said I wanted to pay, and didn't even include a warranty. I said no, they said they would bring me my keys. Then a bigger man came out with a new number on the piece of paper. Still $100 more. No dice. "We'll bring you your keys." Nope - an even bigger man came out. (Thank goodness this scary giant tactic didn't phase me.) Now they were $7 over my number, but I started to panic and said I needed to go home and think about it. This is the first time I have bought a car by myself, and felt like I needed to talk to parents and friends to see if I was looney for wanting to do this. "We'll bring you your keys." Andre the Giant appeared (okay, not really - but this guy was at least 7' tall), with the exact number I asked for. Exhausted, I signed on the dotted line and agreed to buy the car. Dear lord.

The sad part? I felt so proud of myself, like I accomplished something and beat the system. But in reality, they just ended up giving me the number I asked for. No amazing deal, no bells and whistles - a 4-hour nightmarish system that in the end beat me. Whatevs - the car is super cute.