[Traum]

My question for 68 is -- do you really want to do this? (as in, make a serious effort in helping them decide on a good vehicle that will suit their needs)

From the all times that I have helped my family, extended family, and friends on picking out a good car bcos "they know I'm a car guy", I'd say the effort was really only worth it when I was helping my dad because:

1) he isn't too picky
2) I have a good grasp of what his automotive likes and dislikes are
3) he trusts my judgement on cars 1000%

So in the end, he agrees with my recommendations, and is happy with the car we ended up picking.

But for all the other times when I was making recommendations for other people, the requirements they tell me about would hardly make up for 1/3 of their actual requirements. In essense, they may say they only want/need A, B, and C in the car, when their actual deciding factors also include D, E, F, G, H. Quite often, A, B, and C aren't even the most important criteria, although they make it sound like it is their only selection criteria.

So I help them look for cars with A, B, and C qualities. They would agree and nod, nod, nod on the recommendations and reasonings. But then a month later, they'd show up with a car that had G, H, I, J, K.

So now I don't even bother. Or I should say, I don't make the effort to do any serious research even if they ask me to, since I know it'll all just go to waste. It'd still make for good conversation topics, but I just don't make the effort in most cases (unless I know my recommendations will be taken seriously).