The LAST car I ever sold

            So in my time as an internet sales manager at a Ford store I had a lot of strange contacts.  You would think that people who are trying to save time by conducting most of the transaction online would want to keep things simple.  On the contrary most of the people who started shopping for a car online made it more complicated and challenging than if they would have just stopped in and said hello.

            Having said that there are certain times when you simply can’t help but make it more complicated than it needs to be.  For example, if you’re in an active combat zone and you’re trying to buy a car for a surprise visit stateside.  That is where the last car I will ever sell started.

            I got an email lead one day through our USAA lead source.  I took special care of these leads as they were usually members of our armed forces or their families.  Regardless I respect what they do for our country and wanted to give them every possible courtesy as thanks for their sacrifices.

            The email I got was from a young man who wanted to buy a black on black California special Mustang GT 5.0, manual we had on the lot.  It was one hell of a sexy looking car and from the day it showed up I kept checking in on it whenever it was within eye sight.

            The USAA pricing made things super easy for us.  At the time it also meant that I was only going to make $150 on the deal because of the overly aggressive pricing my (now fired) GM had put on these deals.  The price was the price and the rest was just pushing paperwork through.

            At first it was emails back and fourth making sure the car had the right features and options.  I noticed the emails had “declassified” on them and made it a point to jokingly ask my customer what was going on.  He told me he was in a forward operating base in Afghanistan and the emails had to go through a screening process to make sure he wasn’t giving out intelligence. 

            Finally after several emails I told the young Marine he was welcome to call me, day or night, either at the dealership or on my cell phone.  I know he would only get a small window to do so and I worked crazy hours so something had to line up.

            The next day I get a phone call from a “kid” with lots of “yes sir” and “no sir” answers…I knew right away it was the Marine.  He told me he wanted to buy the car and drive it to his sisters wedding in 3 months as a surprise.  I told him what we would need to do in order to make that happen with power of attorney and a deposit.  As soon as I said “deposit” he said “oh shit” and abruptly hung up.

            Not having a way to call him back I wrote him an email and explained the steps on what he needed to do.  The next morning I returned to work to find a reply in my inbox saying “sorry about that…we were taking mortars and I had to get to cover.  Is the car still there?!”.  I sat staring at my screen for a few minutes letting that sink in.  This “kid” was more concerned about blowing his mustang deal than he was getting killed by mortar rounds.

            His mom had to get in the mix as the stateside power of attorney and she collaborated with me to send all the documents we needed.  When we had the paperwork together I told him all we needed now was the deposit.  I got 3 emails in rapid succession with his credit card info on them.  About an hour later I get a call from him.  “Hey did you get those emails?  I was in my can, on a toilet, with the fob out the vent hole, trying to get a wifi signal while we took more rounds.  F@$kin’ Taliban”  (“can” was the concrete bunker he lived in.  Apparently there was a vent hole they Marines figured out had a wifi signal if you could see the communication bunker)  He had been hitting the send button over and over again to make sure the email got sent.

            At this point the car was his.  We sent a courier up to his family in South Dakota to discretely have his mom sign the paperwork.  His dad, a long haul trucker was on the road at the time so it was perfect.  The Marine emailed me saying his dad would be in Omaha that weekend dropping off a load of cattle and he wanted to see the car.  “Now remember, my dad doesn’t know I’ve already bought the car so just act like I’m still considering it.”  I agree to meet his dad on Sunday, when the dealership was closed, to take him for a ride.

            Sure enough Sunday afternoon his dad pulls up in a truck with a load of cattle.  If you’ve never smelled someone who hauls cattle before it takes a few days to get it out of your nose and mouth.  It’s a very “earthy” smell and I knew this going in…but this guys story had me hooked.  We took a test drive and his dad smiled the whole time, he was loving every second of the drive.  “Well shit…guess I’m not a Camero guy anymore!”  I parked the car and told him we’d have to get back in touch with his son and see if we could work out numbers.

            I put a sign in the cars windshield for the next 3 months.  “Welcome Home Marine  SOLD”  We made it a point to walk people past the car to show them how we took care of our armed forces.  I kept the keys in my desk and had him send me a letter stating I was allowed to retain ownership and/or operate the vehicle as needed to facilitate his ownership.  I didn’t want my “evil” manager or my less than bright GM saying I stole the car.  At this point I had also made up my mind to quit after I delivered the car to the Marine.

            The final week rolled around and I get flight times for his arrival into the Omaha Airport.  Friday at 1pm I was going to deliver the car and then on my return to the dealership I was going to quit.  I told a friend of mine the night before for some reason and she told my GM the next morning.

            Friday morning rolls around and I’m rather chipper knowing I’m hours away from being done.  Our GM calls an all sales meeting after his morning beating of the other managers.  He went through the room checking our schedules making sure we had coverage and then dismissed everyone except me and 2 of the other managers.  “I know today is your last day…I’ve known this for some time.”  He said.  (total lie and just positioning)  We go through a laundry list of things about how I’m doing, what’s wrong, where am I going…etc.  My responses by the way were:  “I’m pissed off every day and taking sleeping aides at lunch to calm down”, “I make $150 a car with the internet pricing you put in place so I’m broke”, and “I have NO IDEA but at least its not here”.

            I but a great big bow on top with a middle finger with this one, “I would have quit 3 months ago but I promised a Marine in Afghanistan I’d pick him up in his Mustang at the airport so he can surprise his family.  (I actually had the letter in my pocket stating I could do this…just in case)  I made a promise to a man who is fighting a war…I intend to keep it.  His flight gets in at 1pm…then I’m done.”

            He makes a few more petty attempts to keep me on and I blow it off.  As I’m walking out one of the other managers shakes my hand and said “that was awesome”.  (he quit a month or two later as well)  I was “allowed” to deliver the car but wasn’t supposed to return afterward.  A lot porter and friend of mine helped me get my car downtown to my place and give me a ride back so I had nothing left there.

            I got in the Mustang and drove it to the airport later that day.  I’m not sure if it was the sense of finally being free of the nightmare that was that job or if it was the V8 under my foot…but that drive felt amazing!  I pulled up to the gate right as I got a text from the Marine.  “Out front”

            He wasn’t hard to miss on the street.  “Jarhead” haircut, built like a brick shit house, and holding a green duffle bag over his shoulder.  I revved the engine a few times as I entered the concrete “canyon” where you pick people up.  The smile on this guys face said it all.

            “Corporal, I believe this is your car sir.”  As he walked over a group of guys blurted out “NICE CAR BUDDY!!!”  “Its his…as of right now.”  And with that I put the keys in his hand and shook the other.

            He spent the next 5 minutes in awe.  So much so that the airport police told us we had to leave and I had to drive because he hadn’t driven stick in a few years.  I drove it like I owned it…but I definitely gave the car an opportunity to show what it could do.

            We pulled up outside my girlfriends condo downtown.  I showed him how to work everything and paired his phone.  I gave him a few recommendations on places to eat in town if he was hungry and pointed him in the direction of the interstate to get driving to his sisters wedding.  “How will you get home sir?” he said as I closed the door from outside.

            “Actually I’m going to walk home…I quit this morning.  This is the last car I will ever sell.  I made you a promise 3 months ago and have been waiting for this day.  Now have a safe trip home Marine, enjoy your family.” 

After a few “seriously!??!” comments and he realized I was serious about the whole deal he got out of the car, walked around to my side and gave me what I can only describe as the most profoundly grateful handshake I have ever had. 

As I walked the few blocks back to my apartment I heard the sound of a 5.0 V8 coming dangerously close to the redline and a less than perfect shift into 3^rd disappear onto the onramp of the interstate.

Months later when he was home for good, I got a sheepish text from him asking how to reset his phone in the car.  He apparently didn’t feel right calling the dealership and asking them how to do it.  Honestly, I was just glad to hear the guy was home safe so I had no problem helping out one last time.

So why post this in this blog?  Its simple, integrity.  I worked in an industry where everyone…I mean EVERYONE thinks you’re a crook or you’re lying.  It is one of the reasons I got so angry all the time.  When I told them something I wasn’t lying…it was the truth, but was called a liar on an hourly basis in many different ways.  Other salespeople may not have had the integrity to do the right thing and help this kid buy the car.  It took months, logistics were a nightmare, and I jumped through more hoops than any other deal I did as a car salesman.  But at the end of the day I made that Marines dream come true and his family got a moment that can never be recreated.  Me…the lying cheating no good car salesman…a man of integrity did that.  Whenever I think back to all the horrible things I experienced in my time as a car salesman they all go away when I think of that black on black California special Mustang GT.