Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Buy and Sell

It's that time of my life when I either need or want a new car.

Viggo was my first car purchase since I bought Pteri in 1987. After 10 years and 99,000 miles with Pteri, I leased for another seven years. But with Viggo, I bought and paid off a while ago.

And while I love Viggo, the time might be here to trade him in. He isn't .mp3 capable - and forget retro-fitting him for an iPod feed. Cannot be done. But the bigger reason is the creaking his steering column is making. Just not pretty.

So it comes down to, ditch him now or put a few car payments worth of repairs into him when down the road he's gonna get sick again. David warned me year seven was tough on Volvos and I'm about to enter that year.

I know you think Volvos are reliable and safe - and so far so good. But I hear stories - and as a FB friend of a friend pointed out to me: (and I paraphrase here) - "oh, but you have one after Ford bought Volvo." I replied that I had been "out-snobbed".

So I've done my search - both new and certified pre-owned. I really wanted a used Mercedes 300, probably so I could call her Ruehl (get it?). It really is a nice car, but I couldn't find a new enough model with low enough mileage.

I discounted the Infiniti G37, not only due to price, but it didn't speak to me. I didn't like how it looked, though everyone I know who has driven it raves about it - and even says it makes them smile to do so.

However, I think I've narrowed down to my choices - and they are very different in many ways.


The Hyundai Sonata - 2011. Nice lines. Really good warranty. Fully loaded and still a reasonable price. Downside? No V6. They used to make it but not all models have the same engine. WTF?.

Don't get me wrong, I still got it up to 60 mph on an on-ramp during my test drive. The salesguy wasn't too happy about that, but you know - I'm testing it the way I drive. Not the way he wants me to drive.

Still, I like that little extra power - what can I say?

Oh - and even though this might be the colour I am going for, the sales person said: "oh, they aren't making it in this colour". What? Then get it off your fucking website as a choice. Personally, I think the douche just doesn't know what he's talking about. I've actually seen it in this colour at a car rental place.

Next up: the Volkswagen CC. Slightly sharper lines. A lot more power. A lot more money and a lot less in the warranty department. WTF!!

I do like high performance vehicles - though nothing too fancy. And where I might be high maintenance (no really, ask Denton), I really don't like that in a car. I worry that after the warranty runs out, maintenance will be out of this world.

But as Denton says, I can sell it after three years. Ugh. I hate this.

I was all set on moving on the Sonata, when coming out of yoga the other day, I saw a CC driving out down the road. It really made me stop and smile. It is the sharpest looking car on the road - in my not-so humble opinion.

So, I am doing the internet pricing dance. This is the only part I like about car shopping: not dealing face to face with a salesman. I'm looking at both and see who can cut me a good deal.

We will see. We will see.


Song by: Suzanne Vega

3 comments:

Birdie said...

I gave up response for looks. I'm okay with that. But I sure enjoyed pulling those G's with the Bonneville. She would give me everything.

Have you looked at the car lots lately? They're boring as all getout. Nothing but black, gray and white with an occasional dash of burgundy, maybe navy. What happened to color?

Dith said...

What would you name the CC and the Sonata? May be the deciding factors.

rebecca said...

Well, you'll be INSIDE the car, remember. Not on the outside, looking at it.

Go cheaper! Although...that IS a nice looking car.

CC is a no brainer, Dith: Coco Chanel!