Wednesday, July 28, 2010

How did I get here?



The last couple of weeks, J and I have been out car shopping. My little '88 Honda Accord lost it's air conditioning last year, power steering at the beginning of the year, and a couple weeks ago started overheating (a really hard thing to combat when it's 115). I had done my research and knew what kind of car I wanted to buy, but it's been such an experience to find one that a) doesn't smell like an ashtray, b) isn't scratched horribly inside and out, or c) has a million miles on it. I finally found one I liked last week, but before I could act on it, the dealer sold it. So when I called the dealer back about that one, he said that he had just got one in that was exactly the same as the one I had liked but had even less miles on it. So yesterday, J and I made our way to the dealer to check it out and hopefully make a deal. So since I was trying to trade in my Honda (one dealer we had visited was going to make it worth my while to trade it in, so I was pretty much insistent that they all give me the same amount), I had to get the car down there. The dealer is located 12 miles from our house. So yesterday, I left the house at 1--and got to the dealer around 3:30. I would be able to drive a couple miles and then have to pull in somewhere for about 20 minutes until the car cooled enough to try to move it again. And I think the outside temp was about 113 yesterday, so I'm sure you can imagine that was a lot of fun for me. There were truly times that I wanted to break down and cry (and we won't mention that when I made the first stop, I realized that I forgot some important papers at home and had to track down a friend who could get into my house and bring me my papers--and she knows that I absolutely love her for it!). So J met me at the lot, we checked out the car--it wasn't quite as clean as the first one was, but it only has 17,000 miles on it, and for a 2006, that's pretty much unheard of). We spent hours there last night just buying the car--between haggling on price and their paperwork, we were on their lot for 5 hours. The bad thing is that since they just got the car on Saturday, it hadn't been through the shop or detailed yet, so I couldn't leave with the car yesterday. I was promised it would be ready by 10 this morning, so J dropped me at the dealer on his way to work this morning. I finally drove off the lot at 2:30 this afternoon with my car. As much as I would love to be a cool mom and drive an SUV, everything about them just screams more $$--from the price to the gas mileage to the insurance. So I may not be that cool, but hey, my car has air conditioning and power steering and doesn't overheat, so I'm pretty happy.
(Oh, a note about color: I have to say I really hate the gold cars, but it seems like that's all I can get anymore. The Honda was gold, the Camry is gold, and now my Sedona is gold. *sigh* Maybe one day I'll have another color car)

4 comments:

ditzyblonde@cox.net said...

I love your new car! Don't forget to pick me up for Chipotle (when you pick up Heather)!! Congrats!

Leslie Barnum said...

That's funny, when we turned our Lumina this past year with a hole in the radiator, my husband packed the backseat with gallon jugs of water and stopped every 10 miles to refill. Glad you got a new car.

mom and grandma of BOLTON BUNCH said...

nice loking van. glad you got to surprise the kids a day early, I'm sure Lindsey especially appreciated that. stop by on your way home if you need a break in the drive.

Brittany and Scott said...

yeah for you new minivan!!! i can't imagine driving for 2 1/2 hours with no air; you are a trooper!!