One of the car lots outside the gate in Baumholder had a Lotus Europa sitting on it. I'd frequently drive past it going to the Provost Marshal's Office. Finally, one day I stopped in and ask if I could check it out and go for a test drive. The salesman sat there at his desk, looked at me and said "You're not going to buy it."
That's a sales technique I wasn't expecting, nor familiar with.
"Oh, why not?" (Dammit, I'm an Officer in the US Army. I think I know what I can and cannot afford !!! )
*Sigh*, "Okay, let me grab the keys."
So we go out, he opens the driver's side door and says "Get in".
Okay, so it's not the easiest thing in the world to get into, one needed to be a bit of a contortionist to climb in.
"Alright, now get out.", he says.
Okay, this really sucks. I have to plant my left hand on the ground and twist my body to get out from behind the wheel and practically have to lay on my back on the ground to get out.
He just stands there and smiles.
"Are you going to want to do that when it's raining, or cold, or there's snow on the ground? No. So if you want buy a car let's go in and talk about what you'd be looking for. But if you REALLY want THIS car, I'll be more than happy to sell it to you, but I doubt that you will."
So I ended up buying a Saab 9000 for the ex-. I got a 900 a year later.
Lesson learned. Never buy a 1970's British made car. They were utter rubbish...
