“Escaping” In My Sweet New Ride

Tonight after work, Dad came down and met me at work and we took the rental car back b/c I was ready to make a decision on my car.  Plus, I didn’t know if the AllState agent was able to work it out for them to pay for the rest of the week or not and I didn’t want to pay another $27/day.  So, we took the car back and I found out she did get it extended for the rest of the week!  What a great blessing and I take back all the bad things I was thinking about AllState.  Tee hee hee.  After we dropped off the rental, we put all my crap that I had cleaned out of the Durango into the back of Dad’s Corvette, plus Autumn’s car seat.  Luckily it all fit.

Then we headed over to CarMax to test drive the 2002 Toyota RAV4 and 2009 Ford Escape one more time.  After I test drove them both, I decided I wanted the Ford Escape.  We drove it up to the front of the store, put the sold sign on the rear view mirror and then Dad said he found one more car he thought we should test drive.  It was this beige colored 2010 RAV4.  It was way roomier than the 2002 and obviously a lot nicer.  After driving that, I had a really really hard time deciding between that and the Escape.

I seriously spent 20 minutes debating back and forth on which one I wanted to get.  I liked the back seats of the RAV4 better b/c they could be adjusted forwards or backwards and they also reclined a little bit.  And, it felt a touch roomier in the back seats.  But I liked the color and the look of the Escape better.  Dad said to quit worrying about the back seats so much b/c it’s rare that anyone other than Autumn would be sitting back there.  He told me to focus more on which one I liked better as far as driving and the comfort of the driver’s seat.  I was finally able to make a decision after a long debate and decided on the…

…Ford Escape!  I liked the comfort and feel of the driver’s seat better, so that’s the one I got.  Plus it was $1,500 less than the newer RAV4.  Ted was the guy that helped us and he was WONDERFUL.  He was an older gentleman and was just as nice as could be and we just clicked and got along really well.  He was funny and was joking around with us and was so patient.  We filled out all the paperwork, and I had already gotten financing through my insurance company, but we decided to apply for financing through Carmax’s companies to see what they could offer.  Because we put such a big down payment and b/c Dad co-signed and has such great credit we were able to get a super low rate.  Ted our sales guy and even the finance guy that helped us w/ all the paperwork were shocked at the rate we got.  The finance guy said he has worked there 13 years and has never seen a rate that low.  Thanks for letting me borrow your good credit, Dad!

We got there at 5:30 and didn’t leave until 9:00.  They had to do a little extra work on cleaning the car b/c there were a lot of brown spots on the ceiling.  It looked like someone had opened up a can of soda that sprayed all over the ceiling.  It was finally ready and I was so happy to drive away in a car that I love.  I like that it’s higher up off the road than a car, but it gets the gas mileage of a car (21 city/28 hwy).  I am super happy w/ my decision. 

I really like Carmax, b/c I didn’t have to haggle w/ them over the price.  Like Dad said, “you’re not going to get the cheapest price, but you’re not going to get gouged either.  You get a fair price with Carmax.”  Buying a car this time was infinitely better than the last time, when I bought my Mitsubishi.  No tears were shed this time and I didn’t feel pressured or stressed at all.  I was very impressed with Carmax and the whole process.

It is going to stink to now have a car payment, but I keep reminding myself how blessed I was to not be in the Durango when it was hit, how blessed Dad & I were that we weren’t standing in front of the Durango it was hit, and how blessed I am that I can afford to get a good and reliable car.  As I’ve said before, “cars can be replaced (even if that means having a car payment) while people can’t.”  I’ve always had good luck w/ used cars (knock on wood) and hope that this car will be very reliable and last for a long time.

We finally got home at 9:30 and Autumn was asleep.  Mom & Dad went home and I stayed up w/ Nick and made some food for dinner and we watched Whose Line.  I only made it through one episode instead of two b/c I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.  I don’t know why, but car buying is a tiring process.  I’m just thankful it’s over and I got a car that I love.  Let the car payments begin!