5 posts tagged “cars”

Two and a half months ago, my car died. It was really quite sad for me, even though I went out the very next day and bought a new (to me) one. After all, it's a car, so its passing isn't nearly as tragic as the loss of a loved person or pet.

Anyway, today I finally had my title in hand and arranged to have it picked up and donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. One of my good friends has MS, so while I could have donated the car to the March of Dimes, the American Heart Association, or a number of many other worthy foundations, I chose the NMSS because, well, they don't get a whole lot of publicity like the Susan G. Komen foundation does.

Adam, the tow truck driver, was very kind and let me say goodbye to the little blue Eileen-mobile. I explained this was my very first car ever, and that this car has gone all over the lower half of the country. It was also the car my husband and I drove to and from Kentucky when we were planning our wedding and getting married. It's gone snowboarding with me more than a few times (when I lived in SoCal and didn't mind driving from the 818 into the 909 because that's where the snow was), it's gone to Vegas several times... It's been a very good car.

And now, it's on the back of a tow truck on its way to an auction house where it will get cleaned up and, hopefully, someone nice will buy it, rebuild its transmission, and just take good care of it.

In the meantime, I know the proceeds of any sale will go to the National MS Society, and I've done a good deed.

But a part of me just feels a little sad now.

So, I spent much of last night awake, online, researching and searching for my next vehicle. And, much to my surprise, I found it: a 2007 Saturn Vue with fewer than 4,000 miles and priced at 20% less than the Kelly Blue Book suggested price. Now, I'll be completely honest. It wasn't the color I would have picked, nor did it have the interior I would have picked, and had my car not suddenly given up the ghost, I wouldn't have even given it a second glance. But fortune smiled on me again and presented me the opportunity to purchase an essentially new car for a ridiculously low price.

Here's where I'm going to do a shameless plug for the dealer who helped me out:

Mike Franey at Lakeland Toyota is the absolute best. I called in the morning to make sure he still had my car in stock, and when I explained that I was sans car and with baby, he offered to come to my house (a good 30 minutes from the dealership) and get me and the boy. I was stunned. This level of service was, in my opinion, above and beyond expectation. Within an hour and a half, he was at my house, installing Baby C's convertible car seat (as the base for his carrier is still in my other car), and before long, we were on the road, headed for the dealership.

Now, it makes perfect sense for someone to offer to pick you up and bring you to their dealership. After all, you have no way of getting home unless you buy a car, right? It's a brilliant move, but it also shows a level of customer service that I don't often see.

On our way to the dealership, I explained what happened to my car and why I was interested in the Vue (keep in mind he works for a Toyota dealer). He, in turn, was able to tell me a little bit about the car (he picked me up in it to make sure no one sold it while he was getting me). Not once did he try to sell me a Toyota; he knew full well this was the car I wanted to purchase, and he was going to make it happen.

Baby C got hungry just before we got to the dealership, so as soon as we arrived, he set me up in a corner so that I could feed the baby. And while Baby C ate, I offered to start filling out paperwork. With the pesky paperwork out of the way and a baby with a full belly in his car seat, I test drove the vehicle, then waited for the finance manager. And throughout this entire time, Mike made sure I stayed well hydrated, Baby C was entertained, and the baby and I were both kept very comfortable.

It's almost a shame that cars aren't like shoes - you can't really buy a whole bunch of them and rotate usage. Well, I suppose you could if you have an abundance of money and garage space, but, sadly, I have excesses of neither. But I would honestly buy from Mike again. This was honestly the best car buying experience ever.

And it's a used car, but it's a 2007 with very low mileage, so I'm pleased. They're also asking 20% less than the Kelly Blue Book's suggested retail price, so it's also not too bad of a deal... plus there's also potentially a bit of room for negotiation because it's a used car. I'll have to call the one of the Internet Sales Managers in the morning and ask them to set it aside for me (and I'll get an additional discount if I mention their Special Internet Offer), and then Chris and I can go buy it tomorrow night.

Oh, wait. That would be later tonight.

I need to go to bed.

...you've no other option but to buy another one.

I own a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. It's been a very good car. I drove it all over Southern California, and I took it to Las Vegas a number of times and snowboarding in Utah once, too. My parents made their first cross-country trek from Los Angeles to Orlando in it (along with a lot of my stuff) when I moved to Florida, and it carried Chris and me to and from Kentucky numerous times, too. It's a great little car.

Well, it was a great little car. Out of nowhere - just after I took it in to be serviced, in fact - the transmission decided not to shift gears, and I found myself struggling to coast my way back to work. I called the repair shop, and they sent two technicians out to check out my car. Several hours later, they determined it was my transmission and, sadly, I can look forward to a thousand dollars or more to repair it. So, now it's parked at work (Chris and Baby C picked me up from work tonight), and I have all day tomorrow to research and figure out how I'm going to pay for another car.

Ugh.

When Chris's car died, it gave us considerable warning. Now, I'm not sure that I'd prefer that scenario - after all, he spent about $1500 trying to keep it going before it finally went. As for me, I spent $300 on today's service right before my car gave it up, so it wasn't nearly as painful. But the lack of warning means I have absolutely no idea what car I want or where to go get it.

You see, my car was supposed to hold out until October or November, at which point I could put down a nice sum of money as a downpayment for a 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line. But the new Green Lines don't come out until 4th quarter (which means I would be hard pressed to find a hybrid I can afford), so I would have to either buy the same kind of car that Chris has or settle for a non-hybrid. And it will probably be a used one.

[sigh]

So now I have to do all this homework that, really, is just such a pain!

My husband married a planner. I don't know if he realized it at the time (though he might have caught wind of the fact when we were building our house - and I insisted on a space for the baby before we were even engaged, let alone expecting), but he married a planner, researcher, and just all-around nerd. This is just how I am.

So, earlier in the week, I broached the topic of getting a new car to replace his existing one, and told him, based on the car he chooses, I think we would be able to afford it with $X downpayment, which would probably result in a $Z monthly payment. He said he would have to look at his finances but didn't want to make any rash decisions. (Keep in mind, it doesn't sound rash to me because I've already crunched the numbers, but I know when it's best to let him decide on his own.)

Yesterday, he went to the Magic Kingdom for a haircut and to get a better look at "It's a Small World", the theme for our nursery. I elected not to accompany him (it's hard enough to walk around Target, let alone a theme park) and stayed at home designing my son's birth announcement, instead. At some point, while trying to decide which of these two very similar shades of blue matched the adorable plaid (I love plaid) paper I selected, I dozed off. He came home, around one o'clock, with the news I had been dreading.

"My car died," he said, "coming up the hill." (Note: We live in the flat plains of Central Florida, but I did manage to find the one community where we actually drive up a hill-like incline to get to our gate. It's not much of a hill when you consider that I'm from California and he's from Kentucky, but it's a hill nonetheless.)

After asking a few questions (Were you able to restart it? Where is the car now?), I pushed myself out of bed and announced, "Okay, we need to go car shopping, then."

"But I need to paint the nursery," he protested.

"And you need a reliable means of getting to and from work this week," I said, wondering if this was a secret attempt to get out of going to our 3rd Prepared Childbirth class on Tuesday. He relented, and I went online to check inventory levels at various dealerships.

I love the internet, by the way. I don't know how people managed without it.

Since I knew exactly what make and model he wanted, it was just a matter of finding a nearby dealer who had one in stock. Earlier in the week, I found two dealers with the '07 model and one with the '08 model - one of the '07 dealers is in Polk County, though, which has a slightly higher sales tax than Orange County, so I was determined to go to one in Orange County. I needed to check, before we left the house, that they were still in stock - which they were. The caveat? Neither of us really know Orlando all that well, besides those destinations common for us (i.e., amusement parks, work, friends' houses and some downtown restaurants). So, we spent a good hour, I would say, looking for the dealership that had two '07 models in stock and from whence we made our purchase.

But first, we stopped at the dealership that had the '08 model, where we searched with the salesman (Joe - really nice guy) for about a half hour, looking for the car that someone from the Internet Department apparently hid. [sigh] Then we got a little turned around (or, rather, I got a little turned around) and made our way to the other dealership. That's really why it took so long.

Long story short (too late!), we were both home around 8 o'clock with a brand new car for my husband (and my old car for me... for now). The monthly payments ended up being more than I anticipated, but the car cost more than I anticipated, too (he got one with the navigation system). The most important things, though, are that he has a reliable car (that he really likes), and I'm comfortable knowing that Baby C will be safe driving around with his daddy.

And now, since my car is still in good running condition, I've got time to research cars and find one for me. This notion of buying a car because we have to adds so much pressure to an already tense experience - it's far better to shop for a car when you know you can easily walk away.