Most annoying question

[Suze]

We've all had lots of questions form curiosity seekers about our smarts. For the most part, I'm patient and willing to chat with polite, inquisitive people. But the one question that really blows my top is "How much did you pay for that car?"

I don't know why that sets me off, and maybe I'm old-fashioned, but asking a stranger what they paid for something seems like the height of rudeness to me.

Am I the only one who feels this way? What’s the most annoying question you've heard?

[rawlus®]

i tell em' "$5,000 but they're going for alot more now!, better hurry!"

[burtandnancy]

You're absolutely right, get that all the time. No one ever asked my what I paid for my new CLS 550...

[dbwill]

It might be the way they put the question. Most people ask me how much they are, not what I paid, a reasonable question. I usually tell them from 11.5 18.5 and that satisfies most folks

I can't think of a case where a person asked me what I paid without first a "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Then I give them the same answer. That satisfies everyone

I also tell them to google smartusa and there is a configurator that will tell them exact prices.

What is OK for some is not for others, not fight or wrong, just different.

Climbing down off my soap box.

[Carl242]

It is interesting though . . . most people have asked me that. Though annoyying, I guess that this is just one of the very few cars that makes people break that barrier and for a split second upon first seeing it say "wow, i gotta get me one of those! I wonder how much . . . " Then, before they know it, they are asking the owner how much they paid.

I usually say "ranges from 12,000 to 30,000 . . Mine is somewhere in-between.

[eqwalker]

This question has come up before in the forum.
I have no problem telling people what I paid for the car. Some believe it is rude. I, for one, am glad to tell them how much it costs and see their facial expression when they can't believe how inexpensive it is. They seem to always think that it would cost more than that.

[Westfield 11]

If they drive an SUV, I just tell them I can sell it used for $8k more that I paid for it and that it gets 60MPG in traffic. I also tell them it's the new Apple iCar.......

[Suze]

Originally Posted by dbwill

It might be the way they put the question. Most people ask me how much they are, not what I paid, a reasonable question. I usually tell them from 11.5 18.5 and that satisfies most folks

I can't think of a case where a person asked me what I paid without first a "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Then I give them the same answer. That satisfies everyone

I also tell them to google smartusa and there is a configurator that will tell them exact prices.

What is OK for some is not for others, not fight or wrong, just different.

Climbing down off my soap box.

I agree and I don't mind the question "How much do these cars cost?". That's a whole different question. It's not personal and it shows curosity about the car, not the driver.

But I actually had a man follow me (I'm a woman, btw) out of a store, repeating "How much you pay for that car?" over and over while I was trying to ignore and get away. The more I tried to ignore him, the more aggressive he got. When I got outside another man repeated the exact same question "How much you pay for that car?" There were no other questions asked before this one; none of the ordinary questions we hear every day, just a demand to know what I paid for my car.

The second man was sitting in the back seat of an Escalade parked next to my car. I think he may have been related to the man who followed me out of the store. When I ignord them and got in my car to drive away, they both began yelling obscenities at me, nevermind that there were 4 or 5 little kids in the Escalade, too.

I'm a nice person, friendly and outgoing and normally my smart brings smiles to me and to the ones who are curious, but this was just a bad scene.

[burtandnancy]

Have you tried the line "its a Tata and cost $2,500 at your local Tata dealer...

[Sylvan]

What drives me crazy isn't the questions, it's when I tell them I'm getting around 40MPG, and they say, well, I thought it would get a lot more than that! *eyesroll* Yeah, well, you just get back into your Tahoe, buddy, whatever the hell you're driving, and get the 20MPG that you get, and I'll be happy getting what I'm getting. So there. :P