The story of my new car was too crazy not to blog about.
Luigi is my co-pilot
So my husband decided he wanted to get a new vehicle and while shopping for his, I kinda decided I wanted a new one as well. So while we were picking up his new Jeep on Wednesday, I test drove a 2014 Fiat 500L and fell in love. I never thought I would be a Fiat person, but this car totally captured my heart. And thus began the tale of the universe messing with me.
I had a price in my head I wanted to pay, and after some haggling with the salesman and sales manager, they came back with their final offer, the best they could do, which was still a little high for me, so I went home to think about it. And over the next few days I spent all my free time online looking at videos, and reviews of the car, making sure it would be a reliable car and be what I wanted. Making sure it was worth it. I was still on the fence. And I kinda got to looking at other similar vehicles that were a little bit cheaper. See the problem is, I have ADD and the longer I think about something, the more my brain wanders to other thoughts.
So I went back and did another test drive on the Saturday to see if I REALLY wanted it. And I did. I couldn’t get away from that fact. So I signed the papers to get it rolling, but still wasn’t 100%, and took a couple days to think about it. And honestly, up until the final moment on Tuesday before I said ok I was still on the fence. But I decided it was worth the risk. And of course, it wasn’t going to be simple going from there. The universe decided to punish me for taking so long to decide or something.
Went back to sign the paperwork on Wednesday, brought my husband with me to co-sign. At this point we had been at this dealership, either both or one of us, every other day for about a week or so, and everytime it was like 2-3 hours, and this time was no different. Went thru all the documents, and hit another snag,there was a note on my credit report to call the bank. Apparently, sometime when applying for financing for something, someone had put in an incorrect Social Insurance Number for my husband, and it turned out the one in the system was for a deceased person. I had to spend 15 minutes verifying all my accounts and balances to prove my identity. Then the bank was taking a really long time to come back with approval, so we finally went home and I said I would come back the next day to sign final paperwork.
Well, next day (Thursday) comes and we go back to sign the paperwork and get that done in a relatively short time, all things considered. Then I was hoping to get my car on Friday, but found out it needed new brakes and rotors, so it would be at least Monday before I would get it. Then on Tuesday I get a call from the finance guy saying the bank needed me to call them. Turns out, since the financing was submitted again, and for some reason the bank had no record of talking to me the few days before, I had to verify my identity again and I needed to call the credit bureau about the issue with the SIN number. So I called the credit bureau and they couldn’t tell me what SIN they had on file, when the application was made, or by who. All they could tell me was that sometime an application was put in by someone with wrong info. And they would open an investigation and send me a letter in 30 days.
Then Monday turned into Wednesday, and it was time to pick up my car. I get there, and the sales guy is stuck with other customers, so the sales manager helps me. And gets the lot porter to swap my plates from my old vehicle, which of course goes smoothly (sarcasm) since he can’t find the right tools, and then won’t put my Doctor Who plate cover on my new car but insists he has to put one of their promo covers on. And after some more time running around, I finally get to take my car home. And then discover the Nav isn’t activated.
So back I go on Thursday, to get the Nav situation dealt with, and pick up the spare key. And also, to say Thank You (with home made muffins) because really, they did try their hardest despite the universe screwing with me. And I got my 2 travel mugs (which I had previously requested) and a coupon for a free oil change to make up for all the hassles, as well as a coupon to have the Nav taken care of at the service department when I could book it in.
And I have to say, after the whole thing, I really do appreciate all their hard work to make things right and deal with issues that came up along the way and do their best to make it smooth and make me happy. I really did enjoy the staff, even if the experience was too crazy to believe, and they made it worth the wait and hassle. The customer service was beyond belief, and they put up with my demands and craziness as well. I would totally go back their for another vehicle and tell everyone I know in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada to get their next car at iCar Canada and see for themselves what the best customer service in town feels like.
And of course a BIG THANKS to Chris and Jake for working their asses off to make me a Happy Mandy!