We're part of a select few, Ben and me. Not many more than a few million Americans get to share their birthday with the President of the United States. I don't know about Ben, but a birthday is about the only thing I have in common with our President so I'd better let it go at that.
We did do something special for my birthday. We went car hunting. Here is Carolyn trying out one of the cars we looked at. Decided it might not be all that practical though.
Instead, we looked at a couple of SUV Hybrids. I'm discovering that it is much easier getting into and out of the van than it is my own car so I thought we'd start looking at the SUV line. Of course I'd like to help the environment rather than make it worse if I could so gas mileage is also high on our list. Both the Ford Escape Hybrid shown here and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid below have EPA ratings in the 32-33 mpg range which is certainly better than I'm getting with my current car. This would make me feel like I was actually improving the ecology while getting a little easier car to drive in the bargain.
Of course there is the problem of dealing with car dealers. I would really like them to show us the cars that appear to match our interest, tell us about the features and prices, then leave us alone to make a decision. Instead they show us the cars they think we should like, tell us about the features they think are great, won't divulge anything about the price except what's on the sticker or well advertised specials, and (most of all) won't leave us alone. We finally found an excuse to leave to come back another day.
We did do something special for my birthday. We went car hunting. Here is Carolyn trying out one of the cars we looked at. Decided it might not be all that practical though.
Instead, we looked at a couple of SUV Hybrids. I'm discovering that it is much easier getting into and out of the van than it is my own car so I thought we'd start looking at the SUV line. Of course I'd like to help the environment rather than make it worse if I could so gas mileage is also high on our list. Both the Ford Escape Hybrid shown here and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid below have EPA ratings in the 32-33 mpg range which is certainly better than I'm getting with my current car. This would make me feel like I was actually improving the ecology while getting a little easier car to drive in the bargain.
Of course there is the problem of dealing with car dealers. I would really like them to show us the cars that appear to match our interest, tell us about the features and prices, then leave us alone to make a decision. Instead they show us the cars they think we should like, tell us about the features they think are great, won't divulge anything about the price except what's on the sticker or well advertised specials, and (most of all) won't leave us alone. We finally found an excuse to leave to come back another day.
I dont know cars but I know the car industry. Here are some good tips on getting through more quickly.
ReplyDelete1st step: Get an invoice of the car - can be retrieved online, you can badger the sales guys into showing you one, or ask someone who has them. This way you know what their base price is. You can also look online for any manufacturer rebates they might get (you want a chunk of that). Plus, the more of this you know the less they have to try and mess with to sell you.
2nd step: Let them know you have done your homework, know the car you want, and want them to give you the best price they can.
3rd step: Get your car loan quote from your bank/credit union so you have a rate to quote in case they try to give you too high of a financing rate. Figure out your preferred payments and downpayment ahead of time so they dont try to sell you there. (calculaters are online)
You probably (at least likely) also share some of the same ancestors as the President. You're both baby-boomers. You both have the letters 'a' and 'o' in your first name.
ReplyDeleteYou both married brunnettes who are educators. You both had two daughters. Neither of you overseas military duty.
And I'm always just as misunderappreciated.
ReplyDelete