Is a Mazda Miata a Practical Car for a Real Estate Agent? Pt. 2
February 22nd, 2008 by Sean Whaling
As a catch up on this story, my wife and I were being crammed into a two-seat Mazda Miata by our agent, “Rick” and heading out to look at some open houses.
For those who don’t know, let me tell you about the inside of a Mazda Miata. It’s ridiculous. It looks like it was made by elves. The gear shift is a toothpick with a marshmallow on top. The door pulls only allow two fingers to slide under, so opening the door makes you look like you’re sipping a cup of tea. Everything is just so small! The steering wheel looks suspiciously like my kids’ Play Station game. I will try not to be so negative…it did have leather seats.
Rick was right about one thing: the seat belt did go around both us. Then he proceeded to put the top down saying it gave us “a lot” more room. I don’t know if this statement was true, or if it just made us feel less claustrophobic. But the top came down and away we went.
The first house on the schedule was only a few streets away from our present home. My wife and I were laughing the whole way about how silly we must look sitting on top of each other while Rick toured us around. Really, the only annoying part was the few occasions where I needed to move my leg so he could shift gears.
Getting back to the first house, we piled out of the Miata, met the listing agent at the door who handed us a nice flyer, and proceeded to walk through the home. It’s amazing how you can tell within the first minute of walking into a house whether or not it has any potential at all. But here’s where the story takes a turn. Rick finished his walk through quickly and headed outside to get into his Miata. My wife and I lingered behind to put on our shoes, and it was then the listing agent, who I will call “Gail” approached us.
“Can I ask you something?” she said. “Why are all three of you driving around in that car?” She sounded totally appalled. “I have been selling real estate for 20 years and have never seen an agent with a little car like that, certainly not in Texas anyway.”
We explained to Gail that we were somewhat surprised by Rick’s choice of vehicle as well, and that we had offered to take our car, but he refused. Besides, I told her we kind of liked Rick and were having fun with it. Gail was still disgusted. “Well when your fun wears off,” she said, “here’s my card. I have an SUV.”
