Does anyone else feel like car shopping brings out the worst in people?

frostRider14 · Mar 24, 2026, 11:23 AM

I'm honestly exhausted not just from the search itself but from dealing with the personalities I keep running into. Last week I went to see a 2016 Lexus RX350 and the seller was this guy who spent the entire time talking about how he's a "car enthusiast" and how he knows everything about these vehicles and I should just trust him because he wouldn't sell a bad car. When I asked about service records he got defensive and said real enthusiasts don't keep receipts, they just know when something needs to be done. Then yesterday I went to look at a 2017 BMW X5 and the seller was the complete opposite, barely made eye contact, wouldn't let me take it on the highway, and kept checking his phone like I was wasting his time. I've had sellers ghost me after agreeing on a time, show up late with excuses, or try to rush me through the whole process so I don't have time to really look at anything. It's making me question whether I even want to deal with private sellers anymore but then I hear dealership stories that are just as bad. I'm starting to think the only way to stay sane is to stop putting so much emotional energy into dealing with sellers and just focus on the car itself. I'm planning to find something that looks promising, arrange a Pre Purchase Car Inspection, and let the report tell me what I need to know instead of trying to read the seller's body language or trust their stories. At least that way I have something objective to base my decision on instead of getting caught up in whatever personality I'm dealing with that day. Has anyone else found that the inspection takes some of the pressure off the seller interaction, or do you still have to deal with the same drama regardless?