It’s Ok To Walk Away
Around August of 2014, I took a cab (yes, a cab… don’t be so surprised) to a Toyota dealership in Manassas, VA. I did so on the recommendation of my boss, who was good friends with the dealers and had purchased 7 cars from that dealership. I had recently moved to Northern VA around a few weeks prior and well, I needed a new ride. That new ride would be a (brand new) Toyota Corolla.
Arriving at the dealership, I met with the dealer, who showed me the cars on the lot. I found the car I wanted, did the test drive, went through their financing, and left the lot with a shiny, brand new car. This was a deal I had no qualms (at the time) entering because I had done the research, knew what I wanted, and had the down payment. Only thing I would do differently is to buy used.
Why We Make The Deal
However, there would later be deals that I would walk out of myself and others that I advised friends to walk out on. Why? Because these deals would not have benefited me (or my friends) both financially and quality of life-wise.
Oftentimes, when making big financial decisions such as buying a car or even a piece of furniture, we often feel obligated to go through with a purchase, knowing the big hit we will take to our wallet and knowing that we might not really need it. Sometimes, we do it because “well, we’re already at this stage, so we might as well do it”. You feel that you’ve put in so much work already and to leave empty handed would be a waste. Behavioral psychologists refer to this as engaging in the sunk cost fallacy. Sometimes we might feel bad for the sales rep who might be missing out on the sale (this is BIG within MLMs). The sales rep has been super helpful to us and we don’t want to feel like assholes and just decide not to buy. I definitely had this thought process when I bought my picture frames, which you can read about here.
I am here to say that whatever the reason, that it is ok to walk away from a deal, especially if it does not benefit you or your family. Heck, your financial health will oftentimes depend on you recognizing and walking away from a bad deal.
I want to recount an event that happened almost two years after I bought my car, where my friend walked away from multiple deals and ultimately found the car she was looking for at the price she wanted. Hopefully this illustrates why it’s important to walk away sometimes.
That Time I Helped Mary Buy Her Own Car
Mary (not her real name) was in the market for a new car, a Toyota Corolla (like mine) specifically. Having known that I recently purchased a car, she came to me for help with buying a car. The car-buying process can be really daunting sometimes and it helps to either have 1) a friend to help with the process OR 2) a good salesperson (recommended by a friend) in your corner.
Mary’s goal was to purchase a 2015 Toyota Corolla and had a specific price point that she would not go over. As her friend, she tasked me with assistance in the price-haggling and reviewing of documentation to ensure that she got the car she wanted at the price she wanted. With the conditions set, we identified all of the local Toyota dealerships, and set about getting Mary her new ride.
We visited a total of 5 dealerships before she eventually bought her car (on her terms), but along the way, we encountered a number of offers that didn’t quite meet Mary’s conditions. However, the first dealership we visited is the one I will highlight next, because of the sheer audacity.
We walked into the dealership and sat with a salesperson, to whom we specified the exact car and model year we wanted, Toyota Corolla, model year 2015. We didn’t discuss prices yet as we were saving it for after the test drive. We thought it would be fairly easy since we knew that this particular dealership had at least one car that fit what Mary was looking for. Mary had looked up the dealership’s website the day before and had seen their inventory. She was sure of it.
Sitting down with the salesman, we offered to do a test drive and then discuss finances. Of course, we learned that the dealership did NOT have any 2015 Corollas, but the new 2016 models. However, they told us that their sister dealership not too far away had the 2015 models and offered for us to test drive the 2016. Slightly disappointed but optimistic that we’d eventually get to see a 2015, we did the test drive.
Upon returning from the test drive, what followed was a series of frustrating events. We’d ask about when a 2015 model would arrive at the dealership, they’d tell us that it would likely be in 30 minutes, and then they would try to sell us the 2016 model, to which I would decline and insist upon the 2015. Mary and I would take short breaks in between. When trying to sell us the 2016, they would provide invoices to show us that our price point could still be met. Plus, it was a newer car.
In the end, Mary and I realized that we would not be seeing a 2015 Corolla. It took us roughly 5 hours to realize this. And so, we left the dealership. Why? Even though it was a newer car, that was close to Mary’s price point, it didn’t meet any of her criteria and she refused to budge on it. She was disappointed to say the least BUT she walked away from a deal that would have been bad for her.
Roughly 5 years later, Mary still has her car and enjoys driving it. The point of this story is to illustrate that you don’t always have to accept a deal for the sake of not going home empty-handed, especially if it means getting something you’ll regret or something that will wreck your finances. I always say to people that there will always be a deal/sale, even after the current one ends.
