Seeing as how this new ride is the hoopty-ride for the next 5+ years, we consulted about what to get. While i was leaning towards something destructive like a Hummer or Escalade, the voice of reason from Anchorage reminded me that part of the trade in point was to get better gas mileage and more reliability. Hummers, i thought are very reliable...you can reliably run over ANYTHING. Clearly, however, the point finally sunk in. We would be looking at crossovers. Really, they shouldn't be named crossovers. They are confused little cars that can't decide if they are a large car, station wagon or SUV. It's a mutt of a car.
I had learned my lesson last time when i got totally taken for a loop at the dealer. I started doing my homework....called dealers, wheeled and dealed prices and finally found what i thought would be the best deal. I went in armed with what i wanted for my trade in (the demonic, but oh so very clean, jeep with it's Westin garage dent still in the back). At first, my chosen dealer seemed nice enough. We went through the whole pricing game, where they pretend they can't do the deal they told me they would, then they tell me the "reality" about my jeep, then they realize they put in too much on the form for my trade-in (ironically the amount i wanted) but are now going to honor it. Blah blah. Then we get around to they don't actually have it in stock nor can they get it...but if i want to wait a few days "any day now" they will have the 2011 version coming in. The price is basically the same and they will give me the same kind of deal. Ok, sounds good....they then tease me with one on a truck in the street, only to be dissapointed to learn it is going to a different dealer. Alright, still sounds fair.
The problem is i am a cynical woman. Rarely do i trust anyone--especially dealers--having learned the hard way from purchasing the jeep. That was pure misery--a misery i did not want to repeat again. My anxiety was super high. I was awake all night thinking about how no one could tell me the actual invoice price of the damn car. I highly doubted it would be the mere 100-200 dollars more the guy who i didn't trust told me it would be. I decided to call the place where i knew the car was--the "other" dealer. Incidentally, the "other" dealer just got bought out and was eagerly trying to move stock off the lot. I called him up....said i knew he had the car (he didn't even know he had it yet---it hadn't gotten into the system). In fact, the invoices for them still weren't in the system when i bought it. You can't find it on the national website...and generally i don't think they are available.
I told him the deal the other folks were going to do (plus a little on the trade in price for good measure). Instead of just matching it, he took even more off the invoice price. I got a brand spanking new 2011 GLS Tucson for less than the invoice cost of the 2010 version. Ours is silver (Adam reallllllly wanted silver). It's taking some getting used to. I'm closer to the ground. The brakes work better. There's bluetooth. There is a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty on everything, including roadside service. Good-bye AAA. It gets double the gas mileage of the jeep. There's no sunroof or chrome rims, but BOTH heated seats work. This morning i liked it better. I think it's going to be like that every day. In a lot of ways, it feels symbolic to me. The next few months are really the beginning of a new stage in our lives. It seems fitting that i should let go of something that was so purely for my own personal pleasure and not for any kind of realistic benefit. Fresh, clean slate and start. Off in a few hours to Anchorage for the long weekend. Adam wants me to pack up the car and bring it so he can drive it. I forsee a test driving expedition at the dealer up there.
Happy US independance weekend to all...
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