Sometimes a girl just needs a new car. Okay, I understand that the word "need" is a relative term, but when my 2002 Saturn began to burn oil, I decided that I would begin looking for a new car while the deals were hot. Because putting a quart of oil into my car every few weeks is not an enjoyable experience for me. It involves dirt and grease and it makes my hands smell terrible, not to mention I get anxious about my car dying and leaving me stranded on a dark street when I should be in the safety of my home. Besides, why spend $3,000 to overhaul an engine on a car worth precisely $3,000?Case in point. Just before driving to The Woodlands to visit my brother and sister-in-law a few weeks ago, I wisely checked my car's oil level and discovered that it was almost empty. So there I was at the gas station, dressed in my work clothes, with the hood up on my dirty car, trying to put oil in the engine through a flimsy paper cone. Of course, figuring out where to put the oil was my first challenge, and unscrewing the lid was the second. I spent several minutes screwing and unscrewing the cap, but it would not budge. Then it dawned on me that perhaps I should just pull it off, and to my embarrassment off it came! I was muttering very unkind words as I drained that quart of liquid gold into my engine and then slammed the hood before locating my stash of baby wipes in a vain attempt to rid my hands of the oil and gas stains and smells.
Finally I was on my way for a mostly uneventful drive, although somewhere outside of Seguin, Texas, with Bon Jovi blasting on my radio I happened upon a white truck (ironically) with a hand-written sign that said, "Save White America". Seriously, it really said that. After 3 hours I made it to Houston and the dreaded tall bridge that lead to the toll road. I did great though and managed to talk myself over it without hyperventilating only to get lost (huge shock, I know) after making a wrong turn in The Woodlands. My brother was kind and didn't laugh at me as he talked me to his house and I only arrived an hour later than expected. :-) Thankfully all was well and we sat down to eat a yummy dinner (thanks Ann!) before settling in for a relaxing weekend.
We watched movies, and ate good food, and talked, and looked at photo albums, and researched dog breeds (more on that in a later post) and had a really nice time. And better still on Sunday my brother, ever the savvy shopper introduced me to www.edmunds.com and because of that I paid below invoice price for my new car. Thanks Ray!!!
At the time I was looking at Toyota Corollas (gray, black or white - NO silver) and we looked at all of the different prices with the options I wanted and I learned exactly how low the dealer could go on the price so I could get the best bargain. After driving home (and taking an unintended detour to Lackland AFB) I decided to look at cars on Monday. I researched Corollas but also looked for Camrys with a manual 5-speed transmission and to my surprise discovered that there were 4 of them in the city of San Antonio. I went to 2 different dealers and drove 2 Camrys, one silver and one black before talking the dealers down to BELOW invoice price on each car. Ultimately I surprised myself and chose the silver car and walked away with a brand new 2009 Camry, with all the options I wanted for LESS than I would have paid for the Corolla. Apparently no one wants buy a Camry with manual transmission - except me! So now I have a beautiful new car and amenities I never thought I could afford all because of one smart brother and a dad who went with me to help me haggle.
No more putting oil into my engine and looking and smelling like a grease monkey. This car should last me for years before it needs repairs, in fact I'll likely be driving it when my hair is as silver as it is! I'm thrilled with it and feel like I'm driving a Lexus, when I'm only in a base model Camry. My first grown-up car, and I'm only 39..... Like I said, sometimes a girl just needs a new car!
