Since When Was 'Prepared' a Bad Word?

I'd imagine that I am a car dealerships worst nightmare. Know why? Because I do my homework. Because I am prepared. Because negotiation doesn't scare me in the slightest and I know what my absolute 'have to get to deal' is and I am willing to walk away if it doesn't happen. They hate people who come prepared with the facts printed out, highlighted and ready to contradict every thing they try and sell me.

When I raced out of work on Friday at 5:45pm and got into my car, I said a quick prayer that the stupid Passat would just start beautifully and make it all the way home (again, the small things in life). Well, it struggled and then started only to smell like burning oil. It then made this heartwarming (more like f-bomb inducing) noise that made me just about burst into tears and drive straight to a car dealer. Instead, I made it home, took Cooper the Dog out and resumed my research (my $5.95/mo Consumer Reports membership is the most valuable membership I have).

At that point, I decided that I was getting a Hyundai (had to do with the one thing my Passat wasn't: Reliable). The warranty can't be beat, the ratings are phenomenal and most importantly they are still affordable. I say still because if they continue in the direction they are headed, they will continue to upgrade their vehicles and raise their prices.

I should premise this by saying I noticed that 10 days ago Hyundai finally had pictures of the 2010 Tucson online (still don't have specs or the brochure posted), but it was a complete redesign and gave me exactly what I wanted. The hatchback of an SUV, without the look of a wagon and I didn't have to make a full running start to jump up into the car like I have to in some other SUV's (this can be awful when wearing a pencil skirt and stilettos). So, I stopped at Hyundai for 20 minutes on Thursday and briefly talked with Dan Richards - salesmen extraordinaire about the new car, he opened it for me, I sat in it, talked about prices, options, financing deals, etc. I then walked away and he knew I had no intention of buying a car that night and accepted it for that. I rarely say I 'really enjoyed' working with a car salesman, but I really did enjoy working with him.

On Saturday morning, I set my alarm and printed out all of the documents I needed - my payoff statement, credit reports, consumer reports and pricing reports for the 2010, all of the Passats records (excel sheets of service reports) and Kelly Blue Book/Edmunds/Black Book pricing reports. I walked into Arrow Hyundai and said - before we move forward, I need to know what I will get for this beauty known as the VW Passat. We negotiated a bit (I was happy with what I ended up getting) and then we moved forward with pricing for the Tucson. Despite the fact that he had six customers come in for him to look at cars, he never rushed me, never seemed annoyed with my 3,534,657 questions and never gave up on helping me with my concerns. After many different phone calls to other Hyundai dealers (Chicago,  Naperville, Milwaukee) and weighing the options in case the Passat crapped out again, we finally settled on a deal.

After it was all said and done, the General Manager in charge came up and said he appreciated my business and laughed at my preparedness. I told him that this experience with Arrow Hyundai was so INCREDIBLY different than any other car shopping experience because of their more laid back (confidence in what they are selling) attitude. They don't have to push or force customers, their product now sells itself. Hyundai deserves to grace the cover of Fortune Magazine last month - they have earned it.

And after my heartache and dramatic reduction in funds courtesy of Volkswagen, I deserve this new Hyundai, too.