Buying a car has grown simpler over the years. Days of seemingly endless hours haggling for the best deal on the sales floor are gone. With COVID-19 social distancing guidelines in effect, auto dealerships have had to get creative when it comes to car shopping. 

Prospective buyers can take advantage of online shopping with virtual test drives and digital paperwork handled from home. Some dealers even deliver new vehicles to customers’ driveways without shoppers having to set foot on the sales lot.

Of course, buying a car shouldn’t be taken lightly. Knowing the vehicle’s features and securing financing make the shopping experience less intimidating.

Still, plenty of people can’t commit to closing the deal. Commenters post online plenty of reasons why customers walk away. The dumbest of these excuses can be comical to those who can’t believe shoppers’ outrageous requests and reasons for avoiding buying a car.

Buying a car doesn’t have to be so difficult

Some customers can be silly when it comes to car shopping. A recent Reddit forum exploded when a user talked about trying to sell his 2001 Corvette. He said that after he fielded ridiculous questions, a guy passed on the deal because the car had been driven in the rain. 

Other Reddit users were quick to jump in with their own experiences. A car salesman recalled a customer who refused to buy a new car because someone else might’ve sat in it in the showroom. Another customer walked away because the odometer had 20 miles on it.

One salesman remembered a customer who refused to buy a new car because he said he wasn’t allowed to smoke in it during the test drive. As a chain smoker, he said that “if he can’t comfortably smoke in a vehicle, he won’t buy it.” The customer demanded to speak with the sales manager, who said, “That was the first time I have been stumped on how to reply to someone.”

The most unbelievable excuses

Dealerships are not the only places that experience finicky customers. People who try to sell a car on their own have run into a fair share of odd excuses. Regardless of what they read in a sales ad, some people will assume the opposite. One guy recalled listing his car for sale; he made sure to include the crucial info that the vehicle didn’t run. Yet a potential buyer was furious when he found out the car wouldn’t start.

Other shoppers have refused to finalize a deal because the number 6 in the VIN could bring back luck. Some have walked away because the car didn’t have floor mats or the sun visor had a sticker on it.

A salesman recalled a customer who refused to buy a car until the dealership removed the worn American flag from the front of the building.

What’s the deal with Corvettes?

Apparently, Corvettes are the toughest sell. One Chevy dealer said on the Reddit forum: “We actually run from Corvette buyers. They take up so much time. They’re always super old and really slow. The last guy to buy a Vette from me was so old and frail he literally needed someone else to drive it home for him.”

Another Reddit user mentioned his many strange experiences with Corvette owners. He said, “I couldn’t believe the number of senior citizens in Corvettes that would do things like take their shoes off before they got into a car or wouldn’t drive if it was too rainy or too sunny because it was bad for the paint.”

But in shoppers’ defense, some commenters acknowledged that people looking at Corvettes want to feel young again and are “buying a feeling.”