Car Shopping 101

Well, David and I obviously had to do something about a second vehicle. Thank God we purchased GAP insurance when we bought the Equinox. We will end up free and clear, only owing $250 for the deductible.

Yesterday, David went to a couple lots and was getting a little frustrated. The place we bought the other two cars had something that he liked. But, when I saw it that night, I realized how close his head was to the ceiling ~ in another accident, his neck would be broken!

We went to a dealership in west Omaha that night. The salesman did NOT listen to what we were wanting. He convinced ME that we needed a 2009 Ford Focus because of all the safety issues. But, he wasn't listening to David. David had some serious concerns about a payment that would have been $75 more than we wanted to spend ($25 more than our absolute max). So, we walked away and said we would come back tonight. After they called David FOUR times throughout the day, and continued to frustrate him, he decided to go somewhere else.

David called me at 3:50 and said, "I want to go to CarMax." He had been yesterday and talked to a salesman, Tony, today. He was really excited about a car he test drove yesterday and he saw a couple new ones online today.

When we walked in, David told Tony he wanted to look through the computer again ~ he set our budget limit as the search and we started going through. He set it just a little bit higher, but as soon as David said, "I've seen 3 possibilities in our price range. I don't want to go higher," he stopped. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. He also asked about a van ~ David's response was "we already have one van, and I'm not ready for a high-profile vehicle after the accident." Tony said "okay, so only 4 door cars? That narrows it down a little more."

Seriously - when they say no-haggle pricing, they mean it! They price their vehicles to get customers the best deal. Their warranty is one of the best we've seen, and they really listen to their customers.

We were worried about the loan because the Equinox hasn't been paid off yet - still waiting for Insurance to do their thing - but 4 lenders came back with offers. We took the offer with a slightly higher interest rate and longer loan BUT under our "like to be" budget and FAR under our "absolutely no more" budget. So, we can pay extra every month and pay it off sooner.

So, here is David's car (well, one like it until I can get a pic in the daylight!):
A 2005 Ford Taurus in gray. I will get a pic of our car as soon as I can. He loves it, it rides really smooth, and it is safe.

YAY! Now we have a payment we can manage much, much better and get back on our feet much quicker!