Car Shopping - Part II

I have been a busy little car shopper. To date, I have test driven a Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Saturn Aura, Saturn Ion, and a BMW something or other (I expected to love it but it was a sportier model and made a ton of noise and the acceleration felt jerky). I have looked at Malibu's, Kia's, Lexus', and ... oh shoot, a lot more. (I'm not a car person -- I don't easily recall makes or models. But I can tell you the colors of the cars I looked at...)

Blair went with me to CarMax today where I sat in quite a few different model cars and was able to eliminate them based on little more then that. I believe I have settled on the car I want. Not the exact car itself, but I know the make and model. I'm not revealing it yet. Want to do some online research first.

But I feel like a weight has been lifted. Most of this is due to wonderful friends.  Aside from the advice posted on earlier blog entries, several friends have e-mailed me and put me in touch with their mechanics, their husbands who work in financing and car sales, etc. I feel well cared for. I'm over the "Aaaugh, we bought a lemon" phase and am looking forward to having a new (used) car. 

Still, no rush. We're going to price compare online and talk to friends with connections at auto dealerships before we buy.

But at least the test-driving-looking process is close to over. And I am a happy, happy camper for it.

Have a great Memorial Weekend.

Car Shopping

I spent two hours car shopping today. It's all I could take.

The guy at the Nissan dealership was lovely. Very low-key, actually talked up Honda Accords (he owns a Honda and used to work at the Honda dealership.) I test drove a 2005 Altima and, aside from the dashboard, liked it very much. The dashboard has these funky looking... tunnels... you peer down to see your speed, mileage, etc. Not lovin' the tunnels. But the ride was great.

Then I went to the Honda dealership where I met the very definition of a used car salesman. Super nice guy but just dripped used car sales. I was his favorite customer. He liked me. He would fight for me. He was just an ol' country-boy trying to do the right thing.  What set me off is I went in and said, "I'm not buying today.  I just want to test drive an Accord." And instead of taking me out to the lot, he went to talk to his manager about the best deal he could get me--today--for a car. He was selling me the car before we were even on the lot. I drove a 2007 Accord, 23,000 miles. Nice, but didn't really do it for me. I liked the Altima better.  But if I could make a decision in the next 24 hours (and here he pulled me to the side so his manager wouldn't see that he was just giving the car away), he could problably get me an aggressive end-of-month deal.

It's a great car and decent price but just... ick. I hate being sold to.

I went to Saturn's site and I think I want to test drive an Aura. I loved my Saturn SW so maybe I should just go back to them.

Unfortunately with all of these, I'm creeping out of the price range I'd set for myself.  I swear, is there no service I can pay and just say, "This is what I want. Go get me the very best deal possible and call me when it's done?"

And why is there no damn mass transit system in my area? Phooey.

Dena

(Who apologizes to her readers for her foul mood while writing this.)

Sludge in the Engine - 2002 Toyota Camry V4

Remember my 2002 Toyota Camry I just bought to replace my Saturn? The car I've had for less than 6 weeks? The car we paid cash for?

History. Toast. Buh-bye.

The oil light came on when we drove to Washington, causing us to turn around and come home and select a different car. We took the car into the Toyota dealership this weekend and they called to say there is a bunch of metal in the oil pan and the engine is filled with sludge. We can either replace or rebuild the engine, both of which will run close to $6000.

Massive bummer.

Per the dealership, they say the sludge comes from whoever had the car before us not keeping it up. That seems odd, as I know the person who drove the car before us and am positive she had regular oil changes. At my best friend's urging, I went online to do some due diligence and learned that sludge in the engine is a HUGE problem for Toyota, and in fact there has just been a settlement this February with Toyota and Lexus owners (Not that the dealership we took it to bothered to mention this). However, my year car is not included in the settlement. Still, I went to consumer affairs and there are multiple reports of my year/make/model car with engine sludge and owners adamant that they kept the car up. Apparently, Toyota's kneejerk reaction is always to say, "The car wasn't kept up. Nothing's covered."

Our choice is to repair the engine or bail and get a new car. We were aiming for repairs, but as we started talking to the dealership we started getting more of the "Well, we won't know what we're going to find until we're in there," talk, and that makes me nervous. Very nervous. I don't want to throw good money after bad and end up with a $16,000 car that's worth about $7000 and may still have future problems. So now we're looking at buying another used car. And we all know how enamored I am of that process. I'd rather run three marathons back to back then deal with buying another used car.

The good news is, there's no rush. I'm going to take my time and look and compare. And most likely file a complaint with Toyota, if I can prove the car was maintained properly but still developed sludge.

I'm trying to look on the bright side. It kills me to see all the money just slide away--might as well have burned it. But on the other hand, something of this nature would do a lot of people in and leave them with no options. We're not anywhere near that point, so I'm trying to count our blessings.

Food On The Farm

Ah, yes. My springtime crops are coming in and I'm feasting on fresh arugula and spinach. Tomatoes and cucumbers are planted and I hope for a bumper season of squash.

Oh... I hope you don't think moi  is foraging in the dirt. Please. My thumb is so not green I all but kill produce in the store as I walk by it. No, I owe my seasonal crops to my neighbors. God love them, the people on all sides of me overplant each year and Blair and I are the beneficiaries. The phone call came in tonight from a panicked neighbor who had too much fresh spinach and didn't want to have to throw it away. Take if off your hands? Well... I suppose I could. If it would help you out.

I love how food magically appears on my doorstep each summer. Cherry tomatoes, fresh zucchini... who knows what the food fairy will bring?

I know what you're thinking. Don't I feel some guilt, being a taker without giving back? The answer is yes, I do. But those who know me know I'll have to find some way to give other then with food. Me, plants, and soil just don't mix.

Maybe I can pet sit for them or collect their mail while they're on vacation. Something with low food-poisoning potential would be good.