A Tale of Two Cars

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was a tale of plenty, a tale of scarcity. It was totally predictable. It was totally unpredictable. But I wax too poetic.

We did indeed have the Sable towed in to the dealership where they diagnosed not only one problem but two expensive problems - an alternator problem and an emissions control problem. I was aware of the emission problem which relates to a faulty oxygen sensor that has been acting up for over two years. I managed to squeak by for the smog check two years ago but was pretty sure it wouldn't pass this time. And the Sable is due for a smog check.



The more serious problem in my estimation was the one that almost left us stranded in the middle of an intersection Thursday evening. That turns out to be an alternator problem and on this model Mercury that is a serious repair job. We'll get both problems fixed after which the car should be in really good shape - not perfect but good.



Now for the real expense. I have been doing a bit of homework for the eventuality of replacing the Sable. I have bought a car for me almost exactly every 11 years. The Sable is 11 years old in August. I have noticed that getting in and out of the Sable is much more difficult than getting in and out of the van. So I starting thinking about a van or truck but really didn't want either. We already have a van and Ed has a truck. The next option was an SUV but they have such a bad reputation for gas mileage.



I downloaded the EPA fuel mileage report and noticed two SUVs that stood out - the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Carolyn had several appointments on Thursday at Kaiser Roseville which is just a half mile from the Roseville Auto Mall - home of more than a dozen dealerships including Ford and Toyota. Thus, we tried out both hybrids, favoring the Highlander. The only homework we didn't do is ask Philip who has become a real expert in car dealerships having audited several. I'm sorry we didn't involve him sooner.

Last night, just before midnight, we drove home our new Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Limited Edition. It had a total of 21.7 miles on it as we drove it off the lot and 4 of those miles we had put on test driving it. I think that's as new a car as I've ever driven and certainly as I've ever bought. Roseville Toyota sells 900 to 1,000 cars a month and one of the ways they do so well is they stay open until the last customer leaves each evening. I don't think we were the last.



Now I've got my homework cut out for me learning how to run all the bells and whistles of the new SUV.