Saturns

[eloisel]

Okay - my salesman, Dekendrick, called me Wednesday afternoon and said "why don't you come down here after work and take a look at something I found for you." I had other plans so I told him I'd come out Thursday after work.

Thursday I started getting cold feet. I'd been thinking about buying another $30k vehicle when I still owe about $15 on this one and the Blue Book value is around $14k. Going to have a negative equity there that isn't a selling point for me. I have no need to get upside down in a car debt. I'm not that desperate for a new car.

I called Dekendrick and told him I'd changed my mind and wasn't coming out after work. He said he found me a 2009 white, 2 door Chrysler Sebring soft-top convertible. He sent me pictures and it looked good. Then he started talking numbers With the refund of the balance on my warranty/service contract on the Aura, and the Sebring being a gently used car sold at a discount, and the Aura being in primo condition, it would work out to be a lateral trade. Even with the addition of the in-dash navigation system, I'd come out pretty good. With the new car note spread out over 5 years, I'd still owe on a car for 2 years longer than I do now, but, the payments would be less than I'm making now. And, I'd still have it paid off by the time I plan to retire. I don't want to have any debt when I retire - house, credit cards, cars, etc. Plus, I wouldn't have to make a car payment for a couple of months - which means I might take a two week vacation and take a road trip in the convertible early this summer.

Being the pushover I am, I went down to the dealership after work on Thursday. Dekendrick is always so nice to me. It doesn't hurt that he is a tall, dark, handsome, young guy with awesome pecs and a six-pack. We had a nice visit but I was wondering why he was stalling - where was this marvelous car he called me about. After about 20 minutes he excused himself to see what was going on with the car. About 10 minutes after that he came back and asked me if I could come back Friday after work because the car wasn't quite ready for me.

Hmmm..... not a good sign. He and I already had that discussion about me not willing to trade down out of my pristine car into a car filthy with someone else's dirt and I will not drive a vehicle I am worried will break down. Still, I agreed to come back Friday.

I went to my coffee shop after that and one of the regular customers I usually see on a motorcycle was there. He was with his wife so they drove their car - a 2008 silver 2 door Chrysler Sebring soft-top convertible. I didn't drive it but I like it. It looks a lot like my Aura.

Well, Friday, it stormed most of the day. While in a way that is good - can be certain the thing doesn't leak and I can see if driving it will freak me out - it is bad for test driving a convertible. I was just about to call Dekendrick when he called me and asked if we could put off getting together on the car until Saturday. I said fine.

Then, I got an email at work from Dekendrick. He wanted to know if I could come in Monday instead of Saturday. I can't do it Monday. I'm having a colonoscopy early Monday morning and I'm not allowed to drive the rest of the day.

So, now it will be Tuesday before I can see this car and take it for a drive.

I wanted it. Then I didn't. Then I did. Now he is messing with me ..... it is not a good thing to tease me like that.

 

[Tisiphone]

I'm looking to trade in my Saturn Astra.

When I got the Ion about six years ago, and moved to VA with it, I never had any problems with it whatsoever. Moved back to TX, and ended up having a blowout and needing to get four new tires. That's cool, it happens. Then the battery kepty dying, so I decided it was time for an upgrade.

I chose a pre-owned Aura, and it seemed like everything was okay. Then I got a flat tire (tires and I have issues these days) and then was in a wreck. Well, ever since the wreck, the car hadn't been right, and I decided to once again trade in.

This time I got an Astra, and, brand new mind you, barely a year old, it's already needed two new tires (I didn't have any flats, there were leaks in the NEW tires), the alignment is off, and the CD's get stuck and it shakes anytime I go up over 70 (which I do, A LOT)

As much as I loved my Ion, Saturn stopped making quality cars, I think, when they knew they were in a shitstorm, and just didn't care anymore.

So, now I'm shopping around, and it's probably going to be a truck since I live out in the country and my little cars with their little tires can't handle the gravle that much anymore. Although I'm still gonna test drive a VW bug.

 

[eloisel]

My daughter has really enjoyed driving her Honda Element. It looks kind of boxy and the interior looks a little plain when you first look at it. But, it rides comfortable, the rubber matting floor makes it easy to clean, and it is versatile. She camps often and that car is great for that. She drives me around in it too and it is comfortable enough for my rickety butt. The seats not only fully recline, they come out so it works out good for hauling large items. Overall, the car feels good and we take it all kinds of places.

My only complaint about it is coming down steep downgrades it feels to me like it is going to tip forward and we're going to tumble end over end to the bottom of the incline. There are only a few places we go with that steep an incline, though, and when we plan to go there we take my car.

The little trucks are fun too - especially if you do a lot of gardening or going to the lake and doing outdoor type stuff.

 

[Tisiphone]

I'm looking for a diesel, actually. Big ass dooley!!!! TEXAS GIRL RAWR

 

[eloisel]

Ha, ha, ha .... I'm a TEXAS Grrl too!

I like my transport to be able to take me - in style and safely - to wherever I desire at that time. Sometimes it is the wild and wooly, sometimes it is the serene, and at other times it is everything in between. The thing about bug guts is they will wash off the car.

 

[eloisel]

DeKendrick is not listening to me.

I told him I wouldn't be able to look at the car Monday (today) because my schedule was already booked.

He sent an email to work email address and got an out of office message. So, what did he do? He called my cell phone and left a message for me to call him and chided me for being on vacation and not coming to see him on my day off. I didn't check my messages til about an hour ago.

Yes - he is a salesman. That is what they do - annoy and harass until you either buy something from them or have them encased in cement and thrown in the river. But ... I told him I was busy Monday and could not go look at the car. Did he think I was kidding him?

When I see him tomorrow, I'm going to make him feel like he is about 3 inches tall. Considering he is over six foot, that will take some doing, but I will do it and I will enjoy every minute of it before I drive off in the convertible.

 

[eloisel]

Well, Dekendrick had the car brought to me so I could test drive it at lunch.

First, there were a few little dents and nicks - my Aura is perfect.

The interior was nice and clean though.

The key fob didn't work for opening and closing the top.

It has almost 30k miles on it, my Aura has 12,200.

The Aura has many more features that came standard which makes the dash of the Chrysler seem primative by comparison.

Then, it is a front wheel drive vehicle. Wow - that coupled with the extra weight for the convertible top raising and lowering mechanism causes a strain in the front that I can feel on stops. Maybe I'm oversensitive to that because the Aura is a very smooth ride with a quiet interior.

I smelled oil too. I didn't see any leaks but I could still smell it and when I mentioned it to Dekendrick his reaction told me he was aware there had been some mechanical problem with the car.

Then, the offer just wasn't good enough. Not their fault. They were going to give me more than the Blue Book value for an excellent rating. I'd still come up more negative than I'm willing to go. Too many years being a broke single mom to throw that kind of money down just because I want a convertible.

I'll see if I can rent a convertible to drive on those days I've just got to have one.