The last car shopping update had us narrowed down to a Ford Fusion or a Nissan Altima after several months of thought and test driving. After getting a few price quotes on both, I decided that I really wanted the Altima, so the rest of the month was spent deciding what kinds of features we wanted at what price points. We talked to many dealers through email and phone - in fact, Eric was getting about 20 some voicemails a day from dealers who really wanted to move out their 2010 stock. There was no reason for us to want a 2011 since we plan to keep the car until it dies, so we don't need to worry about resale value in a few years, and there is nearly nothing different on the 2011. Since we've heard the end of the month is the best time to buy, we decided to take advantage of Friday as our in-person shopping day.
Here Eric is on the eve of October 29 - our target buy date - scraping the decal off the Saturn's windshield in preparation for her potential departure the next day, while I removed the car seat and other junk that accumulates in a car from the interior and trunk (yes, I got the better end of that deal - thanks honey!):
Friday morning, the Saturn was all ready to go, despite me not being ready to let it go:
Then the hard part began. We started with the Sheehy dealer in nearby Manassas - they had the car I wanted in the color I thought I would like best (Tuscan Sun - a maroon color...Eric's comment was that it looked exactly like my current car, only larger). However, we couldn't agree on a deal and weren't particularly happy with how we were treated, so we walked. Then we stocked up on some lunch at Chick-Fil-A and decided where to start over. We decided that Brown's Sterling would be a good place and on the drive up there, convinced ourselves that maybe we didn't want to sell the Saturn after all.
When we arrived in Sterling we got into a Navy Blue (my second choice color) car with a whopping 6 miles on the odometer, and little gas, so we test drove over to the gas station and the dealer filled it up. After a bit of negotiation, the dealer decided that we had a deal if they could have my car. That's right, they wouldn't do the deal unless they got to keep my Saturn - that's just how awesome it is! A hour or two later, we drove off the lot in my shiny new Altima!
Yes, it was dark. Yes, we had spent all day trying to get a car, but success was ours! We celebrated with a late romantic dinner at one of our old time favorites...
...with a little tribute to our anniversary (yes, the hot sauce packet we picked up happened to say 'Will you marry me?') :).
Here are the final stats on the car:
Navy Blue Nissan Altima with Charcoal (black) interior
SL package (Power driver's seat, leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, garage door opener, rear a/c vents, sunroof/moonroof, etc...)
Premium Audio (Bluetooth, USB input, iPod controls, Bose speakers, etc.)
and some pictures of the 'new face' of YAP (my license plate for those not familiar) with a little sunlight in our driveway:
Now we shouldn't need another new car for awhile, which is good, because a purchase this big is just taxing! ;)
Friday morning, the Saturn was all ready to go, despite me not being ready to let it go:
Then the hard part began. We started with the Sheehy dealer in nearby Manassas - they had the car I wanted in the color I thought I would like best (Tuscan Sun - a maroon color...Eric's comment was that it looked exactly like my current car, only larger). However, we couldn't agree on a deal and weren't particularly happy with how we were treated, so we walked. Then we stocked up on some lunch at Chick-Fil-A and decided where to start over. We decided that Brown's Sterling would be a good place and on the drive up there, convinced ourselves that maybe we didn't want to sell the Saturn after all.
When we arrived in Sterling we got into a Navy Blue (my second choice color) car with a whopping 6 miles on the odometer, and little gas, so we test drove over to the gas station and the dealer filled it up. After a bit of negotiation, the dealer decided that we had a deal if they could have my car. That's right, they wouldn't do the deal unless they got to keep my Saturn - that's just how awesome it is! A hour or two later, we drove off the lot in my shiny new Altima!
...with a little tribute to our anniversary (yes, the hot sauce packet we picked up happened to say 'Will you marry me?') :).
Here are the final stats on the car:
Navy Blue Nissan Altima with Charcoal (black) interior
SL package (Power driver's seat, leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, garage door opener, rear a/c vents, sunroof/moonroof, etc...)
Premium Audio (Bluetooth, USB input, iPod controls, Bose speakers, etc.)
and some pictures of the 'new face' of YAP (my license plate for those not familiar) with a little sunlight in our driveway:
Now we shouldn't need another new car for awhile, which is good, because a purchase this big is just taxing! ;)
We're car twins! Well, sort of - we've got 2009 Navy Blue Altima (though it's not quite as pimped out on the interior). We'll have to keep our eyes peeled for you on the road!
ReplyDelete-John