MidReal Story
Driven by Destiny: A Consortium Journey
Scenario: COMPRAR CARRO PELO CONSÓRCIO
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Sofia Torres
supportive friend and fellow consortium member, friends with Lucas, long brown hair, optimistic and impulsive.
André Silva
experienced consortium member and mentor to Lucas, colleague of Lucas, balding with a friendly demeanor, wise and patient.
Lucas Mendes
car buyer, friends with Sofia and mentored by André, short black hair, analytical and cautious.
I had always dreamed of having my own car.
I imagined myself driving down the coast with the windows down, the wind blowing through my hair, and the music turned up loud.
But I never thought I would be able to afford one.
That was until my friend Sofia told me about a car consortium.
She explained that it was a group of people who came together to buy a car and then split the cost between them.
It was a way to manage costs and build credit, which was perfect for me since I had just started my first job after college.
I decided to join the consortium, and before I knew it, we were at the dealership picking out our new car.
But as we went through the process, I realized that there were a lot of hidden fees that I hadn’t accounted for in my budget.
Luckily, my friend André was there to help me navigate the complexities of purchasing a car through a consortium.
With his guidance and some quick research on my part, I was able to negotiate the contract terms and reduce some of the extra costs.
I’ve always wanted a car, but I was never able to afford one.
That is, until now.
I had just landed my first job after I graduated from college, and one of my colleagues told me about a car consortium.
He said it was a great way to buy a car for the first time, especially because we would all split the cost and build credit together.
Naturally, I was all in.
Luckily, my friend Sofia had also just started her first job and wanted to join the consortium with me.
She had been talking about getting a car for a while now, so I was glad she was finally going through with it.
We went together to the dealership to pick out our new car, and I was so excited.
I couldn’t believe that I was finally going to own one.
After all, it was a big deal for me—I was finally entering adulthood and buying something that I would use every day.
Sofia was looking at me with a wide smile on her face.
I think she was happy that we were finally able to afford our own car after all this time.
I knew that she wanted one as much as I did.
“Are you ready?”
she asked, grabbing my hand.
“Yeah,” I said with a nervous chuckle.
I had been dreaming of this moment for a long time, but now that it was here, I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach.
We walked into the dealership and made our way to the showroom where all the cars were on display.
They were beautiful, and they looked even better in person than they did in the pictures.
I couldn’t believe that one of them would soon be mine.
Sofia grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the first car.
She was always so impulsive; I was the complete opposite.
While she was more optimistic about things, I was always more cautious and liked to plan everything out.
But Sofia was great at helping me step out of my comfort zone.
We made our way around the showroom, looking at all the different cars and making comparisons.
Sofia kept pulling me toward the fancier models, but I knew I couldn’t afford them.
Instead, I looked at some of the more practical options that were available to us.
After all, I had just started working and didn’t want to get myself into any debt just yet.
As we browsed around, an employee approached us and asked if he could help us with anything.
Sofia explained that we were part of the consortium and that we were here to pick out our new car.
He nodded and told us that he would get everything ready for us to finalize the purchase.
We thanked him and then went back to looking around while he got things set up for us.
As we walked around the showroom, I realized that this moment was more than just about buying a car—it was about taking control of my life and doing something that would help me grow as an individual.
I reached out my hand, and when Sofia gave me the keys, our fingers brushed together.
That was when I felt it.
A moment of pure joy.
My heart swelled with pride as I gazed at the sleek, metallic blue car before us.
This car was ours, and I was the one who would be driving it.
I could already imagine taking it out for long drives on the weekend, going on road trips with Sofia, and creating memories that would last us a lifetime.
“Do you want to drive?”
Sofia asked with a smile.
“Are you kidding me?”
I asked back with a laugh.
The best part about owning my own car was that I would finally be able to drive it.
I had never been one to take public transportation or rely on others for rides, so I was ecstatic about finally having my own set of wheels.
Sofia laughed at my response before giving me the keys.
As we walked through the parking lot, I couldn’t stop admiring the car.
It was beautiful, and I loved the way its color shined in the sun.
But before I could even sit inside, I got a phone call that made my heart skip a beat.
My happiness quickly turned into frustration as I listened to the person on the other end of the line.
I was informed that there were additional fees that I hadn’t accounted for.
I knew that I had the money in my bank account to pay for them, but I hadn’t budgeted for it.
Stupidly, I assumed that the price we agreed on was all that I needed to pay.
The person on the phone explained that the extra fees were for registering the car, licensing it, and paying taxes.
It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was still enough that I would have to dip into my savings account to cover it.
And after all this time, I had finally saved up enough money to buy a car.
I felt like I had done everything right.
I had graduated from college and landed a job straight away.
I had worked hard and saved up every penny so I could afford this moment.
And now, it was being taken away from me by a few hundred bucks.
I felt defeated.
Once the call ended, I stared at the car in front of me and took a deep breath.
I opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat, hoping that sitting in it would make me feel better.
But all it did was make things worse.
“Hey,” André said as he climbed into the passenger seat next to me.
“What are you doing in here?”
André was my colleague at work and one of the people who had convinced me to join the consortium in the first place.
He was older than me and had gone through this process before, so he was helping me figure everything out.
He was like a mentor, and I was grateful for him being there with me throughout all of this.
I shook my head and looked down at my hands in my lap.
“It’s just…”
I couldn’t find the words to express how I was feeling.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said, but I could tell that he didn’t really mean it.
He could see how upset I was and wanted to help.
“What happened?”
he asked after a moment of silence.
“They just called and said that I need to pay more money for some extra fees that I didn’t know about.” I said with a sigh.
I don’t have enough cash on hand right now, and I’ll have to dip into my savings account.”
André listened carefully and then put his hand on my shoulder.
“What kind of fees?”
I took a deep breath and realized that I was on the verge of tears.
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug.
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
André nodded as if he understood how I was feeling, even though he probably didn’t.
But he sat there next to me and didn’t say anything for a while.
He just stayed quiet and let me calm down on my own time as I sat there in the driver’s seat of my new car.
“You should ask them if there’s any way you can pay it later,” André said after we had been sitting in silence for long enough that I should really start the engine again before they thought something was wrong with the car.
“I’ll make a call and see if they can make an exception for you since you’re a first-time buyer.”
I started the engine and turned on the air conditioning while André made his phone call.
It wouldn’t hurt to ask, I supposed, but I didn’t really have high hopes that they would actually change their minds just because I asked nicely.
After making his call, André got out of the car and shut the door so we could talk face-to-face.
He handed me his phone so I could talk to the person on the other end of the line.
“You can explain your situation,” he said with a smile as he sat down on the hood of the car.
“The financial manager is on the line now.”
“Hi,” I said as my heart raced.
It was embarrassing enough that I didn’t realize there would be extra fees that I had to pay when I bought this car, but now everyone else would know too.
I felt like such an idiot.
Can you explain what these extra fees are for again?”
I asked as calmly as I could manage.
The person on the other end of the line explained everything clearly so I could understand it better this time around, and I thanked her for taking the time to explain it to me.
But then, I also explained that this was my first time buying a car and that I wasn’t aware of these extra charges until now.
“Is there any way that I can pay for these extra charges later?”
I asked after taking a deep breath.
The person on the other end of the line said she would ask her manager if they would make an exception for me, but she couldn’t make any promises.
I thanked her and waited while she went to talk to her manager.
Once she put me on hold, André looked at me with a smile.
“I’m a good negotiator,” he said confidently.
“I’ve done this before, so don’t worry too much.
We’re going to get you this car.”
“Thanks,” I said as I watched him with wide eyes.
He didn’t seem to be worried at all, even though I was in full panic mode.
He had a way of calming me down and making me feel better.
After a moment, he put his hand on my shoulder again.
“If they say no, we can try asking for a different payment plan or something,” he said with a smile.
“I know how to handle these things, so you don’t have to worry about it.
You’re in good hands.”
Now let’s go finish this up,” he said as he hopped off the hood of the car and opened the door on the driver’s side for me to get out.
I was still worried about not being able to afford all the extra fees after André helped me as much as he could, but I felt better once I was sitting in the driver’s seat again, even if I wasn’t able to start the engine because we were parked in the same spot as before.
“Are you ready?”
André asked with a smile as he sat down next to me again.
I nodded even though I wasn’t sure if I really was.
But I didn’t have much of a choice at this point, did I?
I had already come this far, so I couldn’t turn back now.
I would have to suck it up and figure it out somehow.
I followed André back into the dealership, but stopped by his desk on the way to ask him something important.
“If they don’t let you pay later, how do you think I should handle it?”
I asked when we were standing in front of his desk where no one else would be able to hear us.
“Are there any tips you can give me for negotiating?”
“I don’t know if they’ll let us do that,” André said with a shrug.
“But if they don’t, I’ll help you figure something out somehow.”
“Thanks,” I said as I smiled at him.
“Do you have any other tips for negotiating?”
I asked after taking a deep breath.
I knew I would have to negotiate eventually, so I might as well get some tips from someone who knew what they were doing while I still had the chance.
“It’s important to research the invoice price of the car,” André said with a smile as he leaned back against his desk.
“That way you’ll know what a fair price is for the car, which will help you have leverage during negotiations.”
“Okay,” I said as I nodded firmly to show that I understood everything that he was saying so far even though I wasn’t sure if I really did or not.
“What about other fees like registration and licensing?”
“Registration and licensing are mandatory,” André said with a nod, “so there’s not much you can do about it.
But you can try to negotiate other things like the price of the vehicle or the interest rate on your loan.
You can also see if the dealer will discount or waive some of their fees as well.
It’s all about finding balance between what you want and what the dealer wants.
If you can do that, then you’ll be able to work out a deal that everyone can be happy with.”
“I see,” I said as I nodded as confidently as I could manage.
I wasn’t feeling all that confident right now since this was all new to me and I still had a lot to learn.
But André made it sound easy enough in theory, even if it was probably a lot harder than he made it out to be.
“Good luck!”
André said as he gave me a thumbs-up while I walked away.
I tried to give him a reassuring smile in return as I turned around the corner and walked down the hallway where the rest of the sales team was waiting for me.
I was going to need all the luck in the world if I wanted to make this happen.
I took a deep breath as I walked into the negotiation room.
“Hello, Lucas,” the sales manager said with a smile as he greeted me.
“I hope you’ve had enough time to think things over.
Are you ready to continue?”
“Yes,” I said as I tried my best to sound as confident as I could.
It wasn’t going as well as I hoped, but I was making progress at least.
“I did some research on the car you want to buy, and I found out the invoice price is $18,000.
You’ve added $2,000 for profit on top of that.
Is it safe to assume that you’ve told us the truth about your profit margin?”
“Yes,” the sales manager said with a smile as he nodded.
“Then let’s move on,” I said as I raised an eyebrow at him.
The sales manager smiled at me before he turned around in his chair and looked at the computer screen on his desk.
“Let’s see here,” he muttered as he typed a few more things into his computer, “you wanted to finance $20,000 for 48 months at a 3% interest rate, right?”
“Yes,” I said with a nod as I tried my best to hold my ground.
The sales manager turned back around to face me and smiled.
“Congratulations on getting your first car,” he said as he leaned forward slightly.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile.
I was starting to feel more confident now that the sales manager was being so nice to me.
“You’re welcome,” the sales manager said as he smiled back at me.
He turned around in his chair to look at his computer screen one more time before he turned back around to face me.
“The total price of your vehicle is $24,000 after interest.There are a few extra fees included in that price that we can try to lower if you want.”
“Yes,” I said as I frowned slightly.
“We’ll need to lower it by whatever means necessary.”
The sales manager raised an eyebrow at me as he put his hands on his desk and leaned back in his chair slightly.
“Is there something wrong?”
“There’s nothing wrong,” the sales manager said with a smile.
“I’m just surprised that you’re being so assertive during negotiations since it’s your first time.
That’s very impressive.”
“Thank you,” I said as I smiled back at him.
“You’re welcome,” the sales manager said before he leaned forward in his chair and held out his hand for me to shake.
I hesitated for a moment before I extended my hand out so that we could shake hands.
“Now let’s see what we can do about those extra fees,” the sales manager said with a smile.
I took a deep breath and tried my best to sound assertive instead of nervous when I spoke up again.
“We need to lower the price of our vehicle by whatever means necessary,” I repeated myself as firmly as I could manage.
“We need to lower the price of your vehicle by $4,000 total so that we can finance $20,000 at a 3% interest rate for 48 months,” the sales manager said with a frown.
I hesitated for a moment before I nodded firmly to show that I understood what he was saying.
“Alright then,” the sales manager said with another smile.
“We can start by removing the extended warranty from your contract.”
I shook my head.
