the car buying saga

Up much earlier than I wanted to be.  What is it with sleep these days?  It's very elusive.  

Anyway, here I sit, listening to my dryer whirl and my washer wish-wash, and I'm thinking about the day.  Looks to be fairly typical, save for the fact that Bob is off for a training for work in Ohio for a couple of nights.  

I'm relieved to be back to normal.  Bob's car died last week (a wheel fell off while he was diving - fortunately he was driving slowly in the parking lot where he was looking at a truck to buy for work, so he wasn't hurt and we didn't have to worry about moving the car right away), so we were swept into the whirlwind of car buying immediately.  All of my fantasies about only having one car went out the window when reality hit.  I really like (and sometimes need) the convenience of having a car at my ready, and Bob certainly needs one for work -- not only to get to/from work but also to go out and manage the construction jobs he's paid to, well, manage.  So, a car-buying we went.  

I tried to make it a fun adventure -- and it felt that way, at times.  However, we also felt a lot of pressure to buy the right car.  We buy cars to own until they fall literally fall apart (see above paragraph), so we wanted to make the right choice.  Kids were out of school on Thursday for parent-teacher conferences (more on that later), so off we set.

We dropped my car off to the body shop to get the front bumper replaced (THIRD one replaced - damn low-profile/cheaply made bumpers these days), and picked up a (free) rental car.  Kids were psyched to discover there was a third row of seats hidden in the way back, so we took off in comfort.  We all noticed the smoky smell when hopping in the car, but to me it had a rather, well, distinct odor.  Like that of a blunt.  I wondered who exactly had just lit up in the rental car before turning it in.  


Kids complained about the odor.  I kept the windows cracked and put on 93.1 fm, our local hip-hop station.  When in Rome...


After test driving a Mazda 5 (with 100,000+ miles on it - yikes!), we visited our old trusty 1997 Honda CRV to clean it out.  We all reflected on how much we loved that car while the kids got to work it out.  It has over 200,000 miles on it and many, many memories.  It was a good car - terrific in the snow and fun to drive to boot.  Before leaving it the last time, the kids even kissed it goodbye.  I'll miss the old pine cone.  (When we bought this car, it was the first year Honda made CRV's and I thought the name was stupid.  I decided it needed a more nature-like name, and the first one that popped into my head was "pine cone".  The nickname didn't really take hold, but I've always kind of liked it.)


So, loaded up with the contents of the CRV, we returned to the car lots to check out our other options.  In the parking lot of some dealership, I hopped out of the car to look closer at a car on the lot.  The kids stayed in the car.  I chatted with a salesman, all the while hearing the thump of the bass from 93.1 coming from the car.  When I opened the door to get back in, I heard Snoop Dogg on the radio and the smell of marijuana smoke wafted out.  I laughed, wondering what that salesman must have been thinking.


Dealership to dealership we went, test driving some (Toyota Scion) and just looking at others.  My parents had previously agreed to take the kids so that we could go to Two's parent/teacher conference, so I dropped them off  at their house, drove over to pick Bob up at work, and headed back into central Madison to school.  We had a great conference, and quickly headed back out to squeeze some more car shopping in, sans kids.  (My folks generously agreed to feed the kids and take them to wrestling to give us some more time.)


We test drove a Honda Civic and an Accord - drawn to the great gas mileage.  Bob really needs more of a hatchback to haul stuff for work, so we kept on looking.  We checked out the Honda Element, which is Bob's "dream" car (?? I don't get it) but it's only a 4 seater.  No go for a family of 5.  We test drove a Nissan Cube (again with the boxy!).  Our time was up, so we headed back to get the kiddos.


Back home to regroup, we tried to narrow down our priorities.  How important is a new car?  Do we buy foreign or domestic?  Do we focus on gas mileage or cargo space?  How about all wheel drive?  How long do we want this car to last?  Should we just get a beater that we can pass on to One when he's of driving age in 6 (really?! only 6!!) years?  


I found a very helpful website:  www.cargurus.com   We stayed up late on Thursday and Friday night, searching through the internet, trying to make a game plan for Saturday.  On Saturday morning, we headed out in the cold and rain, determined to find our car.  We were willing to travel out of town (had some possibilities in Columbus, Whitewater and Waukesha).  We test drove a Nissan Versa and a Kia Soul, and by this time, I realized that it was a distinct possibility that we would end up with one of these quirky, boxy little numbers that I would be slightly embarrassed to be seen in.  The kids were fighting and stabbing each other with pencils (you think I'm exaggerating?), so Bob dropped Two and Three and I off at the McDonalds playland for some food and play (both of which were quite depressing), and he and One went back out car shopping.  


And then.  Bob called me, rather excitedly.  He found a 2003 Honda CRV with only 25,000 miles on it at a dealership in Middleton.  He was coming over to pick us up to test drive it, but I could tell in his voice that this may be the one.  The pulled in, and I gasped - it was very close in color to the very first new car I ever bought -- a 1990 Honda Civic.  Felt like good (car)karma!  The car looked brand new.  The story was that a couple in their 80's hauled this behind their RV when they wintered in Arizona, so it had very low miles on it.  I liked the car's back-story.  


We went back to the dealership, haggled a bit on the price, got them down a bit, and made the deal.  So, we are the proud new owners of a 7 year old car which appears to have been in a time capsule (the plastic protective covering is still on the radio).  It has the all wheel drive, which we decided was a number one priority.  We are long-time Honda fans, so we feel confident that this car will take us another 200,000 miles.  It even has a moon roof!  And, in total coincidence, after deciding to buy the car, twice we've been followed by a CRV that looked to be the same year and was definitely the same color.  


I have suggested to One and Two (both of whom have become nice storytellers, in part due to a fabulous "writer's workshop" curriculum in their schools) that they should make up a story from the car's perspective -- how the car used to have this quiet life with an older couple who didn't use it much, and now it's about to have a much different life with this loud, wild group of boys.