The Car Showroom

So, I've just purchased a new car - well I say purchase, I nervously muttered 'yes please' when they asked if I wanted the car and then muttered some credit card details that I recognised to be mine at the salesman for a deposit.

Its not as simple as buying a pair of shoes is it?

I'm ashamed to say I took my Dad with me during the whole car buying process. Now at 27 I've bought 2 houses, negotiated new jobs, and I've been brave enough to send back soup so I'm quite an independent lady. So why couldn't I attempt to buy a car on my own?

Car Salesmen that's why!

They can dazzle me with their talk of 'Brake Horse Power' and 'ABS' and quite frankly its like a foreign language. I don't know about engines, I don't know the difference between engine sizes and 'injection' versus....... non-injection? If i'm honest, I sometimes forget the name of that mirror thingy that's hung to the left of me - you know the one you check your lipstick in!

So, I walk around the garage pretending to know what I'm doing - I show interest in the cars that 'look nice' or are a 'nice colour' - my Dad is busy checking tyres and engines and mileage... I mean BORING!!!! When the, rather lovely, young salesman walks over I'm instructed to "shut up and let me do the talking" by my Dad.

I'm looking at an Audi TT (please note, there are other leading brands of cars on the market - phew!) that is about £7000 out of my budget whilst my Dad is looking at 'practical' cars. I'm getting bored at this point, all the cars I like I can't afford but all the ones I can afford look like Granny mobiles (as my sister dearly calls them).

Suddenly, across a dusty forecourt my eye catches a little blue number, its sleek body and sparkling exterior are irresistible. I walk over but suddenly remember my Dads stern words of warning.

"Never show you're interested, never spend too much time looking over one particular car AND NEVER EVER SAY 'Ooh I like this one"!!!

So I made the ultimate mistake - I ran my fingers over the bodywork, I looked longingly through the windows and I................ I ............ I asked if I could take it for a drive! Well, I never did believe in playing hard to get!

Now the thing I haven't told you about this car - the absolute icing on the cake - is that it has electronic sliding doors that you control with a remote! Now I can't get excited about engine sizes, miles to the gallon (although I suppose I should pay more attention to that part), or how many seconds it take to go from 0-60 but I can get excited about electronic doors!

Just imagine the scene, you've had a hard day shopping and as you walk towards the car with your heels pinching your feet and your heavy bags weighing you down, you press a button on the keys and hey presto, the door opens - and not outwards like an ordinary door, OH NO, it slides backwards!

So, I take the car for a spin, I like it, I can't hide my excitement any longer so I let my dad take over - they take a look over my current car which I'll let you into a little secret, is about to die on me anytime soon), they start talking figures, part exchanges, blah, blah, boring, boring and then I'm signing on the dotted line.

Now admittedly I had no idea what I was signing for, I started day dreaming about me 'cruising around' in my new motor so it could have been that Granny mobile parked outside for all I knew but I was confident my Dad would explain as soon as I got home.

So wish me luck, I'll get the car in a few days - and you never know, I might have actually signed for the one I wanted!

Now, what shoes do I have that match the colour...................?