A new Car

Last week Grace went down (by herself) to Ernie Boch Jr. to get a new car. You know the guy with all the commercials on PBS. Well on his business side he doesn't mess around.
Anyway Grace started off at the Toyota dealer. And basically they have this nice meek car dealer type who told her about his daughter and just a nice old sweet guy do all the test driving. Grace thought, "Oh this guy shouldn't be too hard to haggle with." But of course as soon as the closing part comes, the part about money, Sonny from the Godfather.. you know Santino, the guy played by James Caan, the second son who beats the crap out of his friend in the middle of the street for hitting Sonny's sister (now the guy getting pummelled's wife)
He comes out of the back of nowhere to do the closing and Grace is like, "Oh SH*****t it's Sonny from the godfather.
Anyway she wasn't too happy with the car she had driven. She didn't like it as much as our old car and Sonny is like, "Yeah well, change is good right? I mean you didn't marry the first guy you were ever with right? Sometimes it's time to move on."
And Grace is like, (in her head) "What the hell I just want to buy a car?"

So she went over to the Honda dealership, still Ernie Boch Junior, where she was shown around by their nice guy, who was a lot like Forrest Gump. But then same thing, after all the test driving and all the soft stuff was over and the conversation turned toward money, Samuel Jackson, a la Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown comes out to do the closing.

Now Grace was getting on the phone help from her father who was enjoying being the elder Statesman being sought for advice. I think when you are retired you rarely get to use your skills that you use in the corporate world and it is obvious that Mr. Cheng was indeed lord of his realm when he was working and people who have met him comment that they know immediately that he is from the corporate world. In much of his e-mail and posts and even home videos regarding Noah are so obviously set up in that sort of culture. Anyway, Grace did get a car and she got the deal she wanted despite underhanded trickery, bullying, and thanks to Mr. Cheng playing consiglieri.

Suffice it to say, Samuel L. was not happy about the final deal and literally threw down the contract at Grace because I guess he didn't make that much money. I didn't go there myself, and it was a good thing I didn't bring the kids over there because that probably would have greatly weakened our bargaining power. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I went I would have just left and been like, "F that! we don't need a car. We'll just take the subway and walk and rent a car if we really need it." Actually I suppose we do need or car, or more correctly Grace does, for various shopping needs and also vacations. But once I heard about what goes into buying a car financially and emotionally.. well let's just say even if I could drive, I wouldn't have a car I don't think.