buy a new car

So, the “other dealership” that was supposed to be amazing and likely to give me a great deal…really was! I talked to the internet manager on the phone and he immediately mentioned a rebate that the other guy didn’t, and tried to give me a few others as well. He also tried to see how long the car had stayed on the lot, to see if he could knock down the price a bit more, and when I suggested looking up another model (same colour, same trim), he did – and he gave me a discount on that one. When I went down to meet him, he was amazing. We did a bit of negotiating, but it was NOTHING compared to what the other dealership would have been, and I ended up getting a little more for my trade-in than they initially asked for without changing the new car’s price.

The guy in financing was a little different, not too rough but there were a few things he was throwing out there that seemed mildly fishy. I stayed the course, picking up a little extended warrantee and insurance, for a fairly good price. And I got home an hour ago, with my brand new car!

I was a little worried about it, but this other dealership was amazing. I have only a few tiny things I would have changed about my experience, but they are so small they aren’t worth going into more detail on. Thank goodness for those ladies at work. They saved me time, stress, and money, and I got the car I wanted at a price I could afford. Huzzah!

Ok, it seems as though many of my dreams are contingent to having another child and require money. Hmmm?
Anyway, would like more room. Other specs to come.

So yeah. Test driving went well, and my wife and I had settled on two of the three options. Things were looking good. But then there’s all this business of haggling for best price.

Okay, first of all? This entire process is RIDICULOUS. I am a logical person. The logical thing to do would be to charge what the vehicle is worth, and then pay that price. The illogical think is to have to go through a stressful negotiation process, trying to think of things like “dealer invoice prices” and “holdbacks” and “markups” and stuff. Couple with that the fact that I keep getting conflicting information, from a variety of sources, and it is enough to make me curl up in a ball and watch The Joy of Painting for eight hours to decompress.

Second of all: the guy at the dealership I was first dealing with started off mildly low-pressure, but is now seeming slightly more sinister the more I try to negotiate with him. That’s not making me comfortable.

Third of all: two of the ladies at the school I work at told me that I should go to a different dealership, about a 40 minute drive away. Apparently, each of them had been dealing with someone at the dealership I’m currently talking to, but got a great deal from this other dealership. So now I have to start negotiations with another completely different person at a completely different dealership, just to try and save me a thousand bucks or so.

This car had better be friggin’ worth it. Grumblegrumblegrumble…

My wife and I are about to go for three test drives this morning; we have a checklist and everything. Three dealers in three hours. Hopefully things will go well; we had a conversation with our friends last night about negotiating car prices, and apparently, I need to do some serious mental preparation, because I am NOT comfortable with that.

(I hope none of the dealers are reading this right now…)

I bought a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am in January 2007. At first, she was lovely: much shinier and newer than any car I’d ever known before. And she saw me through quite a few changes: getting married, finishing my thesis, graduating, getting my first job, and so on. And then, earlier this year, she got fickle. About lots of things, but mostly, when she wanted to start. Which was not very often.

I’ve put in over $4500 into my car in the last 6 months, and thought it would be the end of it for the year. But on Saturday, she didn’t start – again – and that’s the last straw. I’m putting one final bit of work into her, and then trading her in for a new 2009 model. I don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but I have a few ideas (either a Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, or a Honda Accord). Test-drives this weekend, and then hopefully a quick and merciful burial by the end of next week. I know, it’s a quick timetable, but I can’t afford to keep my Grand Am until it decides to screw me over yet again. Wish me luck!

I am scouting around for a new car- or maybe I should say a newer car. Just as soon as I find a good one, I hope to sell the one I current have. I have had it for five years, so its high time it hit the market.

I’ve decided I’m gonna fix up my current car then look at saving a decent amount of money and get, if not an entirely new car, a very good secondhand car. I’m pretty sure it’s the way to go… just gotta get saving.

It has been raining almost every day for a week. Besides being annoying, it’s preventing me from taking a Civic for a test drive.
I know I need to try it in different weather, on different roads but I don’t want my first time to be in icky weather.
Patience…...

My brother reminded me that the new taxpayer incentive plan allows you to deduct the state and excise taxes on a new car on my 2009 tax return. At 7% for NJ, that’ll give me $1,600-$1,800 to deduct. Yahoo!

The car I have now I have either 1.) Not kept up well enough with maintenance or 2.) it is just old and tired. Every week it seems to be a new thing and I find myself working on this more than anything. While I enjoy working on it, I just don’t have the time with school.

So, VW 2010 Golf and TDI will be coming out soon…its inevitable. One of those two options will be in my parking spot come Q4 of 09!