The first place we went was Kelley, and that had to be the best experience I've ever had with a car salesman. They do it right. Unfortunately they didn't really have anything that tripped our trigger. An '04 Malibu Maxx (that's maybe a bit too old), and an '07 Ford Focus (that's white), but not much else. We will check their online inventory though, because I really liked the salesman. Next we went to the big Toyota/Kia place at the I-69 automall. I was freaking out just driving into the place. But we got a pretty nice salesman who has worked there for 31 years. We test drove an '07 Kia Spectra and an '05 Toyota Corolla. The Spectra was really nice. I also kinda liked the smaller Kia Rio too, but I don't think Jane liked it much. It is really small. She made the mistake of getting in an '07 Nissan Sentra that was pretty cool, but it was a bit too much money. THEN we made the mistake of going to one more place - Dimension Ford - and it was there we encountered the high-pressure sales tactics. We drove an '08 Focus - which wasn't too bad, but it wasn't near as nice as the Spectra - and pretty soon the guy has us in the office crunching numbers, and every time I said "Man, I am NOT buying a car today," and he would come at us with another offer. I think at one point we could have actually had a new '08 Focus for less money than any of the other cars, but we were already bolting for the door trying to catch our breath. I hate stuff like that. So... car shopping ended on a downer. I don't know how in the world people can afford to buy a stinking car anyway. Geesh. It's been a long time since we've had a car payment, and I am not looking forward to it. Does anyone know if Kia's are any good?
OTHER STUFF:
- Glad to see Track & Field has finally started in the Olympics. And did you see that Usain Bolt run the 9.92 in the quarterfinals of the 100 meters? I have never seen anyone do anything like that. He was just jogging at the end. Incredible. I am pumped for the semi's and the finals. The 100 is as much mental as it is physical, so it will be innaresting.
- I'm glad I'm not charismatic. I don't even know who this Bentley guy is that everyone is talking about. I'm sure they are nice people, but a lotta them seem just plain weird to me.
- One thing that I really, really, really don't like is when someone patronizes me.
- I don't know if creating community is just something I'm not cut out for, or if it is downright i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e. But I don't think you can have church without it. It could be that the demon named "self-centered" is the biggest enemy the church faces.
- I want to end this thing on a positive note, and... I don't know... "c" is probably my most positive note. For some odd reason lately, whenever I am stumped and I just pick up the guitar and set out for never, never land... "c" is where I start. Sometimes it's "e." I don't know where this is going, or why it's positive, but... whatever. Lady Jane bought a new copy of Neil Young's "Live At Massey Hall" (or whatever it is), and I can dig it. Neil is the deal in our household. There - that's positive. I'm almost certain of it. Or something like that.
8 comments:
Neil Young? I always knew you were alright. :o) My dad and I saw him live ca. 1990 or so.
I hate car shopping too, but my current employer offers "X plan" pricing with the Big Three as one of the benefits, and man, when you walk onto a lot and a salesman sidles up to you and you say "I get X plan pricing" they sidle away real quick, 'cause their commission isn't going to be much. Then you get to wander around and not be hassled. :o) Of course, that only works if you're looking at new cars.
Hey Jim, good to hear from you again.
Oh, absolutely, we have always been Neil Young freaks. We've seen him in concert a couple 2 or 3 times. He is my biggest musical influence by far.
The X plan sounds nice but, unfortunately my employer doesn't have benefits like that. They're all of the eternal variety. :)
Not that I know anything, but I would lean towards a used Toyota over a new Kia or Ford.
Kia has established a good reputation over the last ten years. My experience this year, though, was that Toyota's financing was actually better than Kia's. I don't know if that's changed in the last four months.
The Kia Spectra is essentially the same car as my Hyundai Elantra (Hyundai purchased Kia several years ago). They have a warranty that can't be beat...
C'mon Dan, I dare you to get a Smart Fortwo.
Many thanks for all the fine comments. No smart cars for me. I need a dumb car.
I'm only a step or so away from you on the positive note, Dan. I usually start with a D chord, or a G. Either one tends to go well with C. Peace.
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