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April 02, 2005
Less value as a human being?
Today I showed my motorized vehicle to someone who was interested in buying it. I wish I could say that I no longer own it, but I talked him out of buying it. Somehow during the conversation he told me that he wants it because for him it would be a higher status than driving around his old beat up pickup truck. (My car is an SUV by the way). I have a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. As we were talking he basically said that he wasn’t as good as people who drove SUV’s. I told him that he was just as valuable as every other human being on this planet and no one was greater or less.
Then I proceeded to list the things wrong with my car and showed him how much money he would have to put into it to get it up to ‘Fair condition’ (more than the Jeep is worth). The bluebook value of my jeep in fair condition is $1000.00 but this is far from ‘fair.’ I compared his current pickup truck with my vehicle and told him all the good things about what he was driving. (He doesn’t have to put any money into it to make it into ‘fair condition’) Plus I told him that if a person could do all the mechanical work themselves it might be worth it, but he has to take his vehicle to the shop to have it fixed. That would cost him more than 1500 dollars I would guess and that’s more than the car is even worth. So finally he said that he might have a mechanic friend who might be interested in it. I told him to have his friend give me a call.
How does someone get the mentality that they are less of a person because of the car they drive? Gee I wonder. That’s what marketing is all about isn’t it. Sell an image and it drives sales of the product. People want to ‘Be’ something and advertising plays on fears of ‘not being’ something. But being the good used-car salesman that I am, I talked him out of buying my car. I told him he doesn’t need my car to increase his value as a human being.
So then when I got to work today, one of my coworkers suggested that I donate my car. Someone else on here suggested the same thing. So with one buyer down, and the other one dragging his feet, I may just do that. I’ve already determined that even if I am going to sell my car, I’m going to give all the money to a charity. So what’s the difference? So my intention next week is to find places that want it.
Once I get rid of my SUV, I will have a lower social status than I did, and thus less value as a human being, right? Will I be treated differently because I have no car? Or thought of as less of a person?
I will be so happy when I get rid of it!
Posted by carl1236 at April 2, 2005 11:05 PM | Love your Neighbor
Comments
"Once I get rid of my SUV, I will have a lower social status than I did"
Your social status depends on your "social".
I strongly suspect your social status among readers of your blog will rise after you get rid of your Jeep!
Posted by: Dan at April 3, 2005 09:26 AM
Not me. I'm going to quit reading this blog once you sell your Jeep. I wouldn't be caught dead reading the blog of someone who doesn't drive a prestigious SUV like yours.
In all seriousness, though, have you considered a career in sales?
Posted by: Jim at April 3, 2005 10:39 AM
hehe. grin.
Posted by: John at April 3, 2005 09:09 PM
LOL
Sounds like you've got a (nother) great tool for saving the world here, one person at a time! Keep "trying" to sell it! ;)
Posted by: nathan at April 4, 2005 02:48 PM