Especially when they’re 36 weeks pregnant.

My husband and I dropped off our kids with my mother and got in our car to drive the six hour round trip to Rexburg Idaho to pick up our Quest SE (their top of the line) minivan from Smith Ford Mercury. The salesman, Micah Ellis, independently confirmed that the ad was accurate.

He lied. It was not a Quest SE, but a Quest S (It goes: base, S, SL, and SE). The car did not have the promised leather seats, 2 8 way power seats, sunroof, premium sound system, side airbags, sunroof, moonroof, and alloy wheels. These aren’t things you “miss” when you walk out to the car and confirm that it does indeed have those features (how do you miss leather seats and a sunroof when you claim to be sitting in the car?).

We even asked superspecific questions (please check all the stitching in the leather seats–we’ve heard that they tend to come loose).

Amber fell victim to a “bait and switch” technique. Meaning that the seller promises one thing and gives you another.

I was so #@*!. I even let loose a few words my Dad taught me when he was shoeing horses. We asked to talk to the manager. He told us that it was our fault for not looking closer at the posted pictures. He then offered to take a reciprocating saw to the roof so we could have our sunroof.

The salesman claimed that he just posted the information he was given. When asked about his “checking the ad” for accuracy, he simply said that isn’t the way he normally does business.

As I walked out of the dealership, I stopped by a very nice looking older couple and said, “Don’t buy a car from these people. They WILL lie to you.” I filled out every review I could on the internet and with the BBB.

I have also changed the name of a villain in my novel to Micah.

This dealership has learned two very important lessons today:

1. Don’t mess with a pregnant woman.

2. Don’t mess with a writer.