Need versus Want

[Rob0122]

Hello,

My question is in regard to when to use need versus want. The scenario is, I was renting a car from a rental company and the representative asked if I wanted to buy their insurance. I said, "No, I have insurance, so I don't need yours." He corrected me, and said I should have used "want." Is this correct?

Thank you

 

[teechar]

Hello,

Hello and welcome.

My question is in regard to when to use "need" versus "want". The scenario is, I was renting a car from a rental company and the representative asked if I wanted to buy their insurance. I said, "No, I have insurance, so I don't need yours." He corrected me, and said I should have used "want." Is this correct?

Thank you.

I would say there was nothing wrong with what you said, but "... so I don't need it" might have sounded slightly more diplomatic than " ... so I don't need yours". However, I think the representative was just doing a sales pitch (try to sell you insurance), so by saying that you should have used "want" instead of "need", he was implying that the choice was yours and you turned the offer down.