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| Lucille decided to protect her new car by paying extra for the Bubble Wrap Package. |
We're buying a car.
Yikes!
Good-bye, money!
💸💸💸💸💸
It had to happen.
It's my wife's car, really. We're the kind of people that buy a car we like and drive it into the ground. Or into a guardrail, as one of my vehicles met its end, thanks to hydroplaning. Now her old car is just giving up the ghost, signalling a problem that the fixing thereof is more costly than the value of the vehicle -- so it is, as I say, time.
I think the Bubble Wrap Package depicted above is a good thing. A few years ago I wrote a song to commemorate the angst that comes with driving a brand-new car; my hopes that some genius would hammer out a tune to my lyrics has been unrealized. I suppose it's too old-fashioned, but then, so are Oldsmobiles. Actually, so am I.
I'll keep you posted on the Journey Into Autoland, as we try to dicker, bicker, wheel, deal, connive, convince, and bargain our way into a fine four-fendered friend to take us hither and yon. Especially yon. Hither is overrated.
Wish us luck! Wish all our money luck in its future new home!
😰
Good luck in your quest, Fred. I'm tempted to use one of those Carvana vending machines, just to say I did it. But like you, we drive our vehicles until they turn to dust, so it'll be a while.
ReplyDeleteFittingly, Captcha had me click on pictures of cars to prove I'm not a bot!
We used Carvana for wife's last car, but we did not have a vending machine in our area :( Nice young lady drove it right to our door :)
ReplyDeleteWhen my car was totaled I was upset most because I knew the missus would need a new car next. Now I have two car payments :P
Oh man, the thrill of the hunt. If you prepare yourself properly, you can go head to head with any car salesman or sales manager and drive the deal yourself. Don't let them walk all over you!
ReplyDeleteBe prepared to walk away. They hate that. They know that once you are out the door, the chance of any deal go to near zero.
Especially walk away if they try the trick where the salesman says he has to talk to the manager and has you wait in the little cramped plastic chair in his closet of an office.
Get some Truecar quotes. Use a burner phone if you don't want to be pestered by call-backs. That way you will have at least a competitive deal in writing before you show up at the dealer.
Thanks for the thoughts, lads, and PLW especially for the tips! My car is currently paid off, so if I can avoid another hydroplane or related episode we can focus on one car payment.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that Americans are addicted to dickering for the car; the Japanese will not do it. But when Saturn came out with the no-dicker sticker, they were forced to cave and do the usual bump-up on the price so they could bump it back down through negotiation. Even then it was too late to save the line.
Whatever you end up buying remember that blog readers have no interest it what you bought and you should not share the details.
ReplyDeleteHas Lileks identified his new car yet (I know the bleat is hiatus after his dad's death, but maybe through another path he'd revealed the make/model etc).
ReplyDeleteWe're looking at getting a Honda Passport, but it'll be next year before we get serious.
Someone mentioned that even in a podcast it referred to as "the new car".
ReplyDeleteYou & the missus will have my hearty congratulations as soon as you take the plunge. BTW-FYI - I could not check the "funny", "interesting" etc. boxes.
ReplyDelete