I've been very stressed this entire week, hence the lack of entries. On Tuesday, my mom and I were talking. I logged into my bank account to balance my checkbook and it said really big on my bank's front page: "Credit Score Above 640? We offer loans to you!" So, I called my bank to see if I qualified. I was told I would get a call back Wednesday morning... Anyway, Mom and I went to a local dealership. We met with a sales lady. I think my parents bought all but one of their cars from her. We talked about what I was looking for in a car.
First she took me to a 2008 Nissan Sentra. It was bronze colored and really nice. It was 4 door and only had around 23K miles on it. I drove it and it drove really nice, but I didn’t feel a solid connection with it. I thought it was moreso a car for older people.
Then she took me to a 2007 Jeep Compass. I WAS IN LOVE WITH THIS VEHICLE! It was originally a $27K+ Jeep. It had a lot of added extras. An awesome sound system. A sunroof. It was red which I love… It had a little more than 60K miles on it. I was pretty much sold on it. When we went in to talk prices, and the sales lady found out that it had transmission issues and even though they fixed the issues, they couldn’t guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again… plus with having 60K miles on it, it was out of factory warranty. Boo. So, she absolutely refused to sell it to me.
We went back to look at more cars. Next she showed me a 2009 Ford Focus. It was also red, but I didn’t feel it either. I just couldn’t like it like I did the Jeep… I didn't even test drive it. I just got in it and it didn't really seem like an awesome car to me so I didn't want to look at it any more... I didn't like the set up, plus the key was really hard to get in the ignition. I was still kind of heartbroken about the Jeep so I was done...
After that she’s like, “This one is a little more than the price we discussed, but not much and I think you’ll love it.” She took me to a bright blue 2009 Dodge Caliber. I loved this car too. Not as much as the Compass, but I still REALLY, REALLY liked it. It had almost 25K miles on it. It only had one owner which is weirdly my friend's mother-in-law. It had a great stereo system and is in great shape… I drove it home Tuesday night for a test drive.
Wednesday morning, I GOT NEWS THAT I WAS APPROVED FOR THE AUTO LOAN!!! OMG! That's amazing... The only issue with getting any new car was that I would need my boyfriend to take over one of my bills for about a year before I would be able to comfortably pay the payment along with my other bills. He said we’d talk about it after I a) got approved for financing and b) saw if I could talk them down on the price any. With my car going in for trade and the discounts I could talk her into on the spot last night, I would need to finance $12,500. My boss looked in his NADA Official Used Car Guide book and it retails for $12,000. And my friend told me that when her mother in law got the Caliber, there was a bunch of deals going on and they only paid $9,000 for it brand new.
On my lunch hour Wednesday, I talked to my boyfriend. At first we started discussing finances and if there were any bills we could get rid of... He had stopped talking about the car so after a little bit, I was like "So, I kind of need to know what our decision is when I take this car back." We started talking again and he said, "You know, if you're wanting to get married, it can't be your money and my money it's gotta be our money." I couldn't believe I heard those words coming out of his mouth. LOL We talked it over some more and decided that if I could find a car where the payment was around $200 then he'd help me out. So, at that moment, the Caliber was at $240 a month.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to get the price of the Caliber down to my payment range. I talked with the sales lady some more and decided to test drive the 2008 Nissan Sentra again. I decided that I really did like it. My best friend was with me and she told me over and over that it didn't look like an old lady's car. I was worried that it did. So, we went in and talked to the sales lady again. She was about to get it to where my payment will be somewhere in the range of $200-205ish. They couldn't tell me the exact amount until all of the paperwork was done, but I was told over and over that it would be within my limits. It's a really nice car the more I think about it. :)
I brought it home overnight Wednesday night to sleep on it and I had another meeting scheduled there at 5:15 yesterday to fill out paperwork as long as my boyfriend agreed. While at the car dealership, I got overwhelmed and almost started crying. I totally wanted to switch my plates from my old car to this one... they were vanity plates with my name on them... I was informed, however, that since my plates are in my parents' names, but my car title is in my name and my dad's name, it would be a big cluster to get it straightened out. Apparently, in Illinois, the names on the title are supposed to match the names on the registration for the plates. It's a requirement. Mine don't. So, I had to get new plates. The general manager fixed it so that it washed out. I think he gave me $70 more for my old car or something so I didn't have to pay for the plates. Also, since this car is in my name alone, I can't get on my dad's insurance. I did some research and actually found a very comparable insurance for not much more than I was already paying through State Farm.
On my lunch yesterday, my boyfriend looked the car over and agreed that he liked it. I took it back to the dealership so they could get is shined up and gassed up. I took my old car home and cleaned it out... you have no idea how much crap can accumulate in a car in 8.5 years! Then I went back to work... impatiently waiting for 5 pm. At 5, I swung by my house to pick up my best friend and then we went to the dealership. They were doing some last minute things with paperwork and putting the new plates on my car. They made my friend go sit in a side room away from the paper signing while I signed my name on the dotted line about a dozen times. Then we left...
We went out to my parents' house so I could show their friends my new car. We ate dinner with them, ran to Walgreens, and then I went home. I cleaned up the mess from cleaning out my old car and then watched Grey's Anatomy and went to bed.
This blog is supposed to be about weight loss, but my excitement was too much so I had to share it with you!!! And I leave you with a picture of me hugging my old car goodbye...
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| Goodbye, old friend. We had some great times. Treat your new owners as well as you treated me! |
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