Guest Post: 'How to Buy a Car'

In which former student Ruth Park moves to Dallas, seeks an apartment, and attempts that most ancient of rite: Acquiring a new set of wheels

Ruth’s Kia Seltos on the day of purchase.

Ruth Park is one of the hardest working, most open, and truly curious students I’ve ever met. In the first few weeks of Medical Narratives last spring, she stood out for her infectious enthusiasm, her relentless modesty, and also her increasingly daring and significant writing.

Leading up to that final paper—no final paper is a small deal in any of my courses—Ruth piped up in class one day and shared a bit of a family story: The tiny island she called home. A hurricane. Some choices her dad made. The aftermath.

Could she write about it? Hell yeah, she could write about it.

That final paper of Ruth’s is for sure seared into my memory, as is the quieter, consistent side of this remarkable young person: The way Ruth stays in touch. The effort to write this piece. The dogged way Ruth will no doubt go very far.

Enjoy! And let me know how you’re doing. Did you recently buy a car?

Adulting at 22 

By Ruth Park

Ha. I laughed when everyone was shocked. I was moving to Dallas after graduation! 

September 20, Wednesday 5 pm. DFW International Airport. 

With my two black, bulky luggages, I waited for my Uber XL in the sizzling 95 degrees heat of Dallas. It was rush hour but my Uber driver never went below 30 mph. So I thought to myself, “huh, the weather really must be the only bad thing about Texas.” I arrived at my AirBnb, a place I will stay for a week as I hunt for an apartment and purchase a car. White on wood with a fresh, cotton scent that aromatized the air. It was Pinterest in real life. I loved it! 

Thursday 

Today was apartment hunting day. I rented a Volkswagen Jetta at 8 am from a Turo host for only 3 days to minimize my young driver’s fee. The first appointment was Trellis at 9 am. The tour ended earlier than expected and I had some time to stop by Starbucks before my next appointment. As I was casually driving to pick up my hazelnut latte, a bright orange exclamation point suddenly popped up on my screen saying: “please check your tire pressure.” 

At the nearest Discount Tire, I received a free inspection. “Apparently, the leak is from a gummy plug.” What even was a gummy plug? Whatever it was, it wasn’t my fault but the Turo host didn’t care. 

“The car should be in the condition as it was first rented,” he said. Discount Tire quoted $100 for tire replacement. There was no way I was going to pay $100 on a rental car. I went to a local shop and got it fixed for $15. 

Tough, annoying morning but in the afternoon, I was able to find an apartment that had everything from ideal location, pricing, covered parking and a gym. Cortland, it was. 

Now I just need to buy a car. 

That night I looked up YouTube videos on “best affordable cars 2023,” “how to negotiate on car purchasing,” “things you should never say to a car dealer,” etc. Reddit was a big help too. 

Friday 

Step 1. Know exactly which car model, trim level, year and color you want. 

“I’m looking for a 2024 white Honda HRV EX with black interior.” 

Step 2. Always, always test drive the vehicle. 

Step 3. Be confident with the numbers you blurt out. Act like you know your numbers.

“My budget is $30K out-the-door.” 

As I went from Honda Frisco to Lewisville to Arlington, I realized why people on Reddit were saying that buying a car at MSRP for out-the-door was the best deal in this market. It was the end of the month, but these dealers weren’t the ones desperate. 

At the end of the day, I went around at least 6 different dealerships. My voice was gone. I was tired. I was hungry. I went back to my place with nothing but groceries in my hand. 

Saturday 

I woke up with a dry, sore throat. Maybe it was from too much talking? But this sore throat wasn’t going to stop me from buying a car today before returning my rental at 5 pm.

The earliest dealership that opened at 7 am was in McKinney. Like yesterday, these folks didn’t budge. I called my Hyeong-bu (brother-in-law) for help. 

“If they can’t do 30K, just walk out. There’s no reason for you to stay there and waste your time.” 

So I tried Honda Denton, Rockwall, Richardson..they all couldn’t give me something below 34K. My last hope was in Grapevine. They offered me a white HRV EX for 32K. 

“It’s the best deal you will find. And HRVs are selling fast. So if you don’t buy it today, someone else will,” said Hector, the dealer. 

With only two hours left to return my rental car, I just wanted to get this over with. Negotiation was complete, and I had to call insurance and make the payment. I called three agents from my former insurance company, State Farm – all closed on Saturdays. The fourth one finally answered. 

Turns out, State Farm cannot provide insurance because the system is blocking my account…probably the consequence of totaling my car in LA. 

And I really thought negotiation was the hardest part. 

As I was frantically looking for insurance, the Honda finance agent approached me to complete the payment first. To pay in full, I wrote a check from the Bank of Saipan. 

“I just got a call back from my agency. The check was denied. The reason, not sure.” 

I literally forced myself to talk with pain and discomfort in every word I spoke. Was blocked by my former insurance company. And now denial of payment?? God, you must be kidding me. 

Sunday 

This wasn’t good. My body was warm..and my sore throat got worse. Temperature: 99.4 °F. Covid test was negative but I had the worst symptoms: fever, sore throat, dry cough, fatigue. 

Monday

I was feeling better but not completely. So I spent the day researching insurance companies and opening my options to Hyundai and Kia cars, supposably better value for money than Honda. 

Tuesday, 8 am. 

Renting a Mazda CX-30 from a different Turo host, I went to Vanguard Kia in Arlington where they had a 2024 white Seltos EXL with black interior. 

The MSRP online was around 26K for EXL, so I thought 30K would definitely be possible…until the dealer brought the quotation with nonsense add-ons and adjusted the MSRP to be 2K more than what the Kia website suggested. They called it the “current market adjustment.” 

I asked to speak with the manager, Kevin, the main negotiator and finalizer. He said he cannot give the EXL for 30K but he can for the EX, a trim lower. As Hyeong-bu advised, I walked out. 

Back in my AirBnb, I looked at the white Seltos EXL inventory in the area. The one I saw today was the only one left on the lot. I slept on the thought and it became clear that I needed to buy the EXL. 

Wednesday

At Vanguard Kia, I went through the process again with a new dealer, John, the friendliest dealer, and a different manager, Marvin, a tough-nut-to-crack kind of person. 

“I talked to Kevin, the other manager and he said he was willing to give me the white EX for 30K. Since the EXL is only 1K more than the EX on MSRP, shouldn’t the EXL be for 31K?” 

“When we say 30K, it doesn’t mean straight $30,000. It can mean $30,999.” 

“How does 30K mean $30,999? I heard from John that you were previously a math teacher. If we talk math, $30,999 would round up to 31K, not 30K.” 

“Sorry but that’s not how that works here. The math you’re talking about is complicated math. This is simple math. 32K or we can’t give you the Seltos EXL.” 

This conversation was going nowhere. With every round of the same words, the weight of frustration was added on my chest, my body temperature was increasing, and suddenly, a stream of tears rolled down my cheek. Marvin froze. His stern voice softened as he gently offered a $500 discount on what was 32K. Somehow, my sign of weakness got me the best deal. Happily sobbing, I became a Kia owner.