Thursday, April 9, 2015

No No, It Wasn't a Dream

So I woke up this morning to the alarm almost forgetting.  As I crawled out of bed and headed into the bathroom to wash my face, I questioned...DID I REALLY BUY A NEW CAR LAST NIGHT?!?!?!  After my hazy brain cleared, I remembered, yes, yes I did.  A quick trip down to the garage confirmed my suspicion that I am in fact the owner of a new car.
 Car buying is such a frustrating endeavor.  There are ups and downs and ups and more downs.  You feel like you should have a cigarette after the multiple ways you know you've been screwed.
On Tuesday evening, I went searching.  I had a few models I wanted to look at further and test drive. This one was by far my favorite, but it had a plethora of bells and whistles that I really didn't need and bumped the cost up quite a bit above what I was able to pay.  The salesman told me that their network of dealers was large, and he'd be able to find me pretty much whatever I wanted so finding one that came without all the packages wouldn't be hard.  I went home seriously considering if I was ready for this new purchase and did some further research online.  In my research I found the exact model/color/interior/standard features I wanted at a dealership across town.  After contacting the salesman to see if he could bring it here or if I should just go there, they got in touch almost immediately.  You see, the color is sought out but there aren't that many.  The other dealer would not let it come here (they wouldn't want to lose out on the sale) and my salesman didn't want to lose my business.  Within minutes of contacting him, he offered me the upgraded one at below the cost of the standard one.  What!?!?!  There were a few glitches with charges and rebates and what not that made the deal seem less sweet.  However, after all is said and done, I am pleased with the deal I got, and at 10:30 last night, I drove what I think is the prettiest car in the whole wide world safely home into the garage.
A lot has changed on cars since 2003, so I'm now learning how to drive in a tech-heavy car!  It's amazing what it can do!

12 comments:

  1. I'm delighted for you. Really glad. What is it ?.

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    1. It's a Nissan Rogue SL. I've been looking at it along with a couple of others, which is why I recognized yours. Great minds!!! :)

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    2. I had a look on the site. They are calling it a crossover half car half SUV, so you have the umph of the SUV with the drive comfort of a car. It seems a lot higher than the Note, making it vastly easier to get in, and out. I reckon you'll have good fun with it. But what I think you'll find most shocking is the gas/pertol/diesel. That thing will drive three times further -if not more- than your old one.
      (chuckle) Were the puppies deployed ?.

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    3. You're telling me. The mileage is almost double of what I was getting. My last one was a 6 cylinder, and I did take advantage of its get-up-and-go. But this one doesn't feel lagging at all. I haven't been on the freeway with it yet. Just around town, but it gets going too. I was hoping to trade in the old one, but it's so low in miles that the dealer talked me out of it since he said I could get twice as much than he could give me on a private sale. I really just wanted it gone and don't want the hassle of selling it. So right now I have TWO cars.
      I actually didn't have to pull out the big guns really at all. Most of the dealing was on the phone or via text. I think it really made them nervous when I texted him about getting me the standard one. They hustled and their offer was made over the phone. The only glitch I hit really, was the trade in, which may turn in my favor anyhow. Or maybe it was my winning personality! :)

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  2. What special extra bits did you get I cannot open that part of the site for I need a post code.
    Oh when you do go on the freeway be careful, bet very watchful of the speedometer. You won't have the sound of the 6 to measure the velocity, nor will you have the speed shake on anything over 40.
    Oh the limiter IS your friend. :-)

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  3. Scratch that...sold the old one about 8:00 tonight, back to one car and will sleep much better tonight.
    That whole quiet engine and lack of automatic shifting is definitely new. It's an automatic, but I guess the Nissan engines don't shift when you gain speed. Again all that technical stuff sounds a bit like wah wah wah. But I did notice the difference.
    As for the extras, they're all extras to me compared to the 2003 - the push button start floors me! But there's a backup/side camera, power lift gate, navigation (which was one feature I really didn't want to pay for because I have it on my phone) but it came with it and that includes other info like movie times and restaurants etc., homelink. And then other accessories that were upgraded from standard like 18" wheels, floormats, chrome details, cargo covers, etc. All stuff that I didn't need upgraded, but it came with it. It's just the FWD. I don't have the need for AWD, which is a cost saver.
    Is the Note what you purchased? I think we call that the Versa here. Have you been happy with it? It gets great gas mileage - I guess it's not mileage there is it? Kilometerage? ;)

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    1. Shows how much they wanted the sale. But in truth I think they have a LOT more leeway. Yes they have a base, the garage price. Then you have the commission. But the salesperson would have a target, say 30 units a month. So if you hit the sweet spot where they haven't got to the target and the month is ending you really can do a deal. Thing is unless you're in that business you never know their accounting month.
      I smacked myself on the head reading my humorous add-on. I forgot you are in LA where getting the guns out wouldn't be as unusual as here. Mind you in SF having a hot rack might well have vastly lesser impact.
      And yes, a Note. I think there's an accent, grave umlat or something. As in Nooote, or No-Té.
      The only thing I find annoying and it here for just two months now. There's way too many controls on the face of the steering wheel. I way prefer them at my finger-tips under the wheel. Or on the column. Or on the dash itself. I find I'm looking down at inauspicious times. And I don't like the blister buttons, I prefer actual switches.
      Of course, it will not be long before we'll be doing all the bits from a touch screen

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    2. Yah, there are a lot of big fake ones here that would probably work better for that sort of thing than mine would. :)
      I'm trying very hard not to get distracted by all those buttons and to only look at them when I'm at a light or parked at home. I'm sure it becomes 2nd nature once we know where they are and what they do, but I feel like I'm looking down and around a lot right now too. I think my favorite feature so far, just due to convenience, is the home link buttons I have on the rear view mirror. I was able to program my garage door to one of those buttons and now I don't need the garage door opener/controller. It was set up last night and makes me cheer every time I use it.

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  4. The first car I ever had was a NIssan....but it was called a Datsun in those days. It was a dealer demo and I loved that car. I am not sure I could drive a car with too many bells and whistles...but it would have to have heated seats like my sweet 2004 CTS.

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    1. Ha! My dad used to tell a joke about the Datsun. :) Yes, the bells and whistles are something. I keep thinking, "It can do THAT?!?!" :) It did come with heated seats, but it's kind of anticlimactic here since we seem to be in a perpetual summer. But if my bottom does get cold, I'm all set!

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  5. Congratulations!! A new car is always a fun thing!

    I am not one for all the haggling that goes with the purchase. Fortunately, my BIL is a 40+ year GM employee, so there are benefits there.

    It really, really looks nice - both on the inside and the outside. I know you're going to enjoy it!

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    1. There was that Saturn company that was around for a few years who promoted a no haggling approach. The price was the price, supposedly. I'm not sure if that was the case, but they are no longer in business. So maybe people do like it. I don't.
      I had a GMC Jimmy in college and I loved that car. They've priced me out of their small suvs though. It's always nice to have an "in".

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