I’m in the market for a new car. My current car is paid for. It is a lovely thing to have a car that is paid for…. well, it would be except that now that I have my car paid for, little things like signal lights, batteries, the back door latch – all those pesky little things you hate to deal with – keep cropping up and asking to be paid for. So, I’m in the market for a new car. A “new to me” car.
I have plenty to write but mostly I just want to express my love for the internet when it comes to searching for a car. If you check out CarGurus.com you can search for available cars and they even tell you whether the listed price is good or not. Of course, if you plan to trade in a car you’ll want to be armed with your trade in value, which is easy to find at Kelly Blue Book. I’m so glad I did that before ever setting foot in a dealership because today my trade in value magically hopped up $3,000 after I indicated that I knew exactly what my car was worth.
My problem is primarily that the car sales industry is just plane Ick. Ick with a capital ” I” – I’ve had dealership managers flat out LIE to me and scramble to remedy this situation as I left. I’ve had an asshat ask me if I would be (breathe deep ladies, this ones a doozy) having my husband “deal with the numbers side of things”. Ha! Can you picture the scene? More on that another time.
Needless to say, I’ve researched and driven a number of cars. Right now my major problem is deciding which car I should purchase. Should I take the plunge and go for the Chevy Suburban, which would be a great carpool/road trip car, or perhaps the surprisingly nice ride in my garage at this moment, the Chevy Traverse, which is much smaller, drives more like a car and would likely require us to put a ski rack on the roof.
Honestly, the size matters quite a bit. Three kidlets, a dog, and ski gear take up a lot of room.
In any case, complicating matters is the fact that I accidentally got so pissed off at a particular dealer that I ran full speed straight into a Mercedes-Benz dealer.
Yes, you read that correctly! I know, I’m insane!
Guess what though? The Mercedes-Benz sales guy was nice, listened to me and asked me the right questions so that he knew enough not to waste my time on the wrong car. Alas, I do not think there is a wrong car with the Mercedes logo on it. It was like walking into a fluffly cloud of love…. even the used cars in my price range were sparkly and beautiful. Life in a Mercedes would be so, so, sooooo nice. Well, nice to drive around in, anyway!
What to do? What to do?
I’m so tired I can barely speak. How do I decide such a big thing? It’s like committing to a long term relationship with no way out – before you’ve really seen a person’s true colors!
What do you drive? Do you like it? What factors were important when deciding what car to purchase?
Hi Fiona! My VW Passat wagon was totaled in an accident this summer. Not my fault, I was rear ended at high speed, pushed into another car and a parkway jersey wall. We decided to get a certified-preowned Mercedes R320 CDI 4matic and love it. Basically, after the accident, we went for the safest car we could afford. The Benz is a tank and drives like a dream. We have driven diesel VW’s for years and wanted to stay with diesels because they get such great gas milage and last forever. The R class can seat up to 7 and ours has 4 wheel drive which we are looking forward to having as winter approaches. I feel very safe on the very scary roads around Washington DC and Baltimore and we are looking forward to piling our ski equipment in there in the next few weeks!!! One thing, basic maintenance is expensive, so you need to be mentally and finically ready for that!!! Ha! Anyway, whatever you choose, have fun with your new to you car.
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I bought a used Volvo S60 about 1.5 years ago. I LOVE it. Love, love, love it. And I don’t like cars. Truly. I wanted an SUV and I am a loyal Volvo driver. Forever. Just some food for thought. For the record, my hubby drives a Chevy Silverado…and my last vehicle was a GMC Envoy. Good luck!
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I’m on the look out for a new car too. I just spent a heavenly week reviewing a Lexus RX350. Let me tell you … it was amazing. It’s a small SUV. It drives like a dream. Not in my price range but I for sure want to look at some pre-owned Lexus’.
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Fiona Reply:
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
I loved my Lexus RX …… it was awesome but way small so I traded in for a Sequoia – didn’t love it, but I always brought it to the lexus dealer because they had the best customer service ever. I heart them!
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We bought our 07 Tahoe last summer from CarMax, and I will never go anywhere to buy a car again. There was NO HAGGLING!! They have me a decent price for my trade-in, and their after-sales service was amazing.
Also, when you look at their cars online, you’re looking at what is available. That’s a big thing with them. By the time we got home with our car, it was off the internet
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I own a paid for Toyota Rav and it’s the best car I’ve ever owned. That said, I would love a Lexus SUV.
What did you buy?
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