So I did a thing this weekend. I bought a car. Not the car I had intended to buy, but one I ended up liking better and will probably, ultimately be happier with in the long run.
Monday is my last full-time day and work and then I will be semi-retired. I’ve agreed to help and train my replacement in the months ahead, so I won’t be “fully” retired until that is done. I decided some time ago that I was going to buy a new car when I retired. I wanted something basic, reliable and that I could reasonably maintain for the next 15 years or so.
My car search started a few months ago: reading articles and reviews., checking and shopping on various auto sales websites, watching YouTube videos, and basically consuming any kind of information on my quest for my next vehile. Now mind you, I usually buy a vehicle and drive it until the wheels fall off it or it is no longer logical to repair and maintain. I’ve owned a total of X cars in my lifetime:
- Pontiac Tempest - my grandparents gave me when I was in high school
- Volkswagon Sicrocco - my grandfather helped me purchase when I was in college
- Chevorlet S10 Durango truck - I purchased aftet my Scirocco had been hit and was on it’s deathbed
- Honda Civic LE - 2 of them (I had to purchase a new one after the original got totaled on I-85)
- And now a Toyota Camry LE
I won’t go into deep details, but the entire puchase process ended up being much more stressful than I would have liked. After several communications with my salesperson, I headed into the dealer on Saturday morning ready to take a test drive and place my order. I was already aware that the exterior color (Celestine Blue) and interior color (Grey) was not on the lot and would have to be special ordered or traded for with another dealer.
After my test drive the sales rep casually mentioned that since it was the end of the month, the manager was making “special deals” to move some cars off the lot. He said he had never heard deals this good before and just thought I might be interested. I told I appreciated the sales pitch, but had done all of my homework and was ready to go in and see if he could find my specfic request anywhere that would trade.
I’m going to finish this in a post tomorrow.
