Mike took a week of
vacation this last week. It was very nice to have somebody else to watch Baby
Lisa. It’s all over now. For the past
two weeks we had been looking for cars. This time around Mike was extra cautious
about buying it though. Mike and I are so different in so many ways that
sometimes it is challenging to reach an agreement, on pretty much everything. I
am sure there is a lot more than different tastes, and I guess is
understandable since we come from totally different places, cultures, and
costumes. I don’t know if it was a “new mom” thing, but I like to ride with
Lisa in the back of the car. Black widow was so small in the back that there wasn't
much space between the front and back seats, so the car seat was tight upward.
I am not sure how to explain it, but the thing is that Lisa’s head would always fall
forward no matter how much I adjusted the angle of the car seat so I felt the need to make sure her head was up at all times. That, the fact
that it was a pain getting in and out of the car, and the no air conditioning
made riding the black widow such a miserable experience. I remember Mike telling me when he just bought it that he was going
to drive Black widow until it died, and he did. Since I know my husband much
better now I knew that the car we were going to get was going to be driven
until its last breath. So I was very picky when choosing a car. I wanted a car
that had no space problems, he wanted a hatchback. I was willing to consider
one until we drove one and I realized how small they are in the back seat. I am
5 feet tall and my knees were against the seat (I made it a point to ride in
front and in the back of each car we test drove) so hatchbacks were out of my
list. Mike’s number 1 priority while getting the car was the miles per gallon
number, which eliminated some of the car I was considering. We have had 3 long
weeks looking for cars. The only thing we agree on is the color, we both love
black cars. He also set up a really tight budget, he told me that I was to look
only for the cars within the budget, not ONE penny more, his words. We wanted
to stay within a certain number for the payment so it was actually a good thing
to have in mind. We knew that Hyundai cars not only have very good MPG, but
also they offer a very good warranty. We looked at the Elantra and we really
liked it, but the back wasn't as big as I wanted, so we moved onto the Sonata,
which is perfect. If Mike can have his seat all the way back and Lisa’s car
seat fits perfectly that’s the car I want. Soon I found out that Sonatas are
not within the price we wanted to pay so we started looking at different cars.
One day Mike found a Black sonata within our price range, I was so excited. We
went to see it, it even had GPS, we went to see it that day and we both loved
it. The next day Mike told the sales man that we were going to buy it but that
we wanted to have the car checked by a mechanic. It was a Honda dealership, so
Mike found a Hyundai dealership close enough so the mechanics there could take
a look at the car. When we dropped the car off we went inside the dealerships
and asked them if they had a car to match the one we had found. The Hyundai guy
started looking in his computer and then excused himself and went to talk to
another guy, when he came back he shook Mike’s hand and told him that he had
some well because there was no way he could match the deal we had found. We
were feeling pretty good about ourselves. When we got out of his office another
sales man came to us and congratulated us again. By the way the Car Fax for the
car was clean. We went to the back to wait for the car when the mechanic called
mike to the back of the shop. I thought that they had found something but since
the car fax thing was “clean” I didn't think much of it. When Mike came back he
told me that the mechanics had the car on the lift and that they had
showed him that the frame of the car was bent. Not such a good deal after all.
I was bumped, but at the same time proud of Mike for being careful and having
taken the car to be seeing by people who deal with Hyundai car on a daily basis. A week before we were in a
different Hyundai dealership looking at the Elantra, and while there we met our
favorite sales man of all time. His name is Fred and he was so nice to us. He
did try to get Mike into leasing a car and also buying a new car, but we really
liked him. After our black sonata deal fell through I went online and was
specifically looking at the cars that were in Fred’s dealership. I found one
Sonata that was one thousand dollars over our budget. I knew Mike was inflexible
on the budget but I still asked. He told me that if I wanted that car I had to
work for it. He told me to call Fred and negotiate the price. I though he was
crazy, I am not that tough. Although I felt very insecure I thought I couldn't lose
anything by trying, so I called Fred. I told him our situation and that Mike
was not going to agree if the car was 1000 dollars over our budget, he talked to
his boss and after 10 minutes talking back and forth they agree to reduce the
price by 300. Not much I thought. I went back to Mike and he said no. I understood,
it wasn't like I was demanding to spend more money,after all I know nothing about cars and I didnt want to pay more every month but I felt like it was a
good deal, the car looked better than the one we were going to buy, with less
miles, and we could get a warranty since it was from Hyundai. I told Fred the
news and he asked to speak to Mike. Long story short, Fred convinced Mike to go
see the car that same day. When he came back he told me he loved the car (I
didn't go because Lisa was already in bed), he said it was much nicer that the
one we were going to buy, it looks like the previous owner was very careful,
the car is well kept and nice. Mike is a very good buyer, he took forever to
close the deal because he kept asking for things, at the end they gave him an
extended warranty so now the car is covered up to 100 000 miles.
So we did end up
paying 700 dollars more than we wanted, but I thing is worth it. I can’t even
believe I have air conditioning, or that the car doesn't announce our arrival
with its squeakiness, I can’t believe Lisa’s head is dry when I get her out of
the car. I am so grateful I listen to my husband even though sometimes I don’t agree
with his decisions. Last year we were having a disagreement about renting. My
idea was to rent until we found a home that we both liked. His idea was to buy
something while the houses were going for so cheap. He kept telling me that he
didn't want to rent anymore. I didn't want to buy something because I loved our
apartment and I knew we could afford something in the area I wanted (even
though we did found something) I just didn't want to buy something just to buy
something. Our mortgage is almost 400 dollars less than what we were paying for
rent, and if we were still renting there is no way we could have been able to
have a car payment (which is not 400 thank goodness). We are doing well. I am
grateful that my husband is much smarter with money than I, and that we are
both making right decisions. When he brought the car home he told Lisa “Happy
16th birthday”, so I know for sure he is planning to keep this car
until it dies, just like black widow.
 |
| Is not black, but we still love it |
That beats the black widow.
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