What will it take to get you into this car today?

We are in the process of buying a minivan. And as everyone who has ever purchased a car from a dealership knows, this process ranks right up there with root canals and mammograms on the 'fun' scale.

We test drove a pre-owned 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan last night. (Tag team test drove actually. First Mama took it out for a spin then Daddy since the van wasn't equipped with a Bitty seat.) Decent car (and highly ranked by Consumer Reports) but it wasn't the trim line we wanted so we were only interested if we got a great deal. (Never fall in love with a car or you're putty in the salesperson's hands.)

For 45 minutes we played the pricing game. ("What will it take to get you into this car today?") The entire time, Bitty sat patiently in his seat, eating his raisins and listening to the back and forth volley between Mama, Daddy, and various levels of salesmen.

In the end we didn't buy the car, but were impressed with the dealership and their sales staff. And even more impressed with how well our son behaved. Little did I know he was soaking up knowledge...

This morning, as I was trying to get Bitty ready to go to Costco, the following conversation ensued:

Mama: "C'mon, Bitty. Let's get your shoes on and go to Costco."
Bitty: "No... playing with cars. No Costco. Want to stay here."
Mama: "How about you pick one car out and you can bring it to Costco?"
Bitty: "Bring 5 cars?"
Mama: "No, you can't carry 5 cars. Let's just bring one so we don't loose any of your cars."
Bitty pauses then exclaims: "How 'bout bring 2 cars, and Bitty no screaming tan-trum?"
Mama: "SOLD! One Bitty in the car to Costco for 2 Matchbox cars with no temper-tantrum!"

Next time we're at a dealership, we're letting Bitty do the negotiating for us.