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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

How Far Would You Go?

Few things in life are more annoying than rude people and bad customer service. We avoid them both whenever possible.  Recently, we came to the conclusion we needed a third car. With our son home from college and working, juggling schedules with just two vehicles quickly became unmanageable.


So last Friday morning, my husband and I drove three hours south to Williamsburg,Virginia to buy another car. There are about 50 dealerships within a twenty mile radius of our house. You would have to practically give the car away for us to consider stepping foot in one of these places. I don't know about where you live, but in the Washington, DC area buying a car is about as appealing as thoroughly cleaning a rest stop bathroom and takes far longer! Very slimey. So we decided it made perfect sense to just go our favorite dealership. It's owned by two brothers and the salesman we purchased our last car from, nine years ago, is who we called on again for this purchase. When we arrived, he had the cars we wanted to test drive ready to go. After my husband made his choice (our son will now have one of the old cars to drive) we signed the papers and left a few hours later. I hugged our salesman and said "thanks so much, see you soon". Yep, it was that pleasant.

And, since we were already in one of our favorite southern cities, might as well make the most of it and spend 2 days enjoying a little R&R. Even though I've been playing catch-up this week, it was a small price to pay for a little hiatus!

We visited old friends and new....

I had to stop by to see the horses. When I lived in Williamsburg, I would visit them every week.

This girl stole my heart. We just met and she gave me a nuzzle. If my dog was a horse, she'd look just like this!

Sheep are so cute, don't you think?

Did a little shopping....

I really wish I had a place for these bug prints. Guestroom?

This shelf came home with me. It was suppose to go in the laundry room, but it's 3 inches too long!
Any suggestions???


This would be fun in a beach house.

How about an aqua and lime green rug?

 
Or maybe orange and cream geometric?

And, dined in favorite restaurants....
If you are ever in the area, I recommend the BTB. Oh, and you'll need a reservation,
sometimes they are booked weeks in advance!
All photos, except the first image, courtesy of A&A

13 comments:

  1. I so like your version of car shopping. Nature, shopping and food! I could not agree more that typically buying a car is extremely painful. We bought one for our daughter in Feb. and the experience was not the best. When you have a dealership that does not pull any punches it's worth hugging the salesperson! Great post Rebecca and hope your weekend is a great one.
    : ) Deb

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  2. Congrats on the new car! Our daughter bought a car last weekend too, our 4th purchase from Fitzgerald, we love them for the same reason you love your dealership! Ahh, we almost went to Williamsburg this week, I miss going there now that our daughter is done with college! And where did you find that amazing shelf, I hope you find another place in your house to use it! Yum, Blue Talon is the best!

    Kat :)

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  3. Its good to know that there are businesses like that around. I'm one of those people that never buys new cars but it sounds like a good excuse for a little drive. Williamsburg is now about 2 hours from me and I haven't been in years.

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  4. We have bought our last three cars from the same dealer (Keeler Mercedes in Latham, NY), and the same sales person (Lynn Larson) sold us the last two of them. She's a great gal, with a great sense of humor, and she is a straight shooter, and honest. Like you, I've had my share of less than pleasant car dealership experiences. Never again, and with the Keeler/Lynn Larson combo we use, we needn't! PS, great photogs of the horses and sheep!

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  5. The last two cars we bought were for our kids and we got them off autotrader....drove to Jacksonville FL to get one and Charlotte to get the other (we live in ATL). We've only bought one car at a dealership in the last 20 years (at our locally owned Toyota dealership) but we have always had great luck with FSBO cars or autobrokers. DOTR is a salesman, so he's a hard sell. He says he always feels like he needs to take a shower after he goes to a car dealership!

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  6. So glad you had a good experience. We recently did the same for our daughter after sharing and shuffling cars for the last year. We bought from good friends who took really good care of the car.....however, I like the idea that your husband got the new car......hmmmmm....I should have worked that angle!

    Love your animal photos and shopping photos. Would you mind telling me the source of the rope chest with the crabs on it? It is right up my alley and I think is calling my name! You could email the name of the shop if you don't mind to annw1953@gmail.com
    Thank you so much!

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  7. Yep----drove right by the brand new Birmingham Mini Cooper dealership to buy my car in Atlanta, from a salesman I had never met, but whom I trusted from many phone calls and e-mails. What a different breed she was from the sleazy ones I met here.

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  8. How much fun Rebecca! New car, old friends and shopping...what could be better? I have been to the Blue Talon...yummy!
    xoxo

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  9. How very fortunate that the 'nice' salesman was still there, and that you had such a decent experience. You described purchasing a car perfectly...thank heavens that wasn't the case for you this time around!
    Love the sheep...
    xo J~

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  10. how fun- a new car! and what a fun car trip- love the photos of the horses!!

    joan

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  11. LOVE Williamsburg.
    I was accepted to
    W&M and almost went.
    Looks like one of
    those short getaways
    that feels longer.
    The animal shots
    are adorable!!
    xx Suzanne

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  12. HCHG,
    The name of this particular shop is G. Bates Design. It's located in Merchant's square and is chocked full of all kinds of stuff!

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  13. I hate shopping for a car. Car salesmen are the worst. Especially if you are a woman going in there alone. Luckily, I won my last car.

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