research trip in new car
The last time I bought a new car was 1990. I sold it in 1994 to pay for my first year of grad school. L and I have shared one car for half the time we've been together, but now that we'll be living in two different cities (and I'll be making some regional research trips) we need two cars.
"Now is a good time to get a great deal on a new car." The 2006 models are or will be coming out, and dealers are trying to get rid of the 2005 models. Luckily for me, my bank will do the negotiating for me. (I know! Crazy, isn't it?) So last weekend I did a bunch of research online, printed out various spreadsheets, put them all in my clipboard and went to the closest dealership. The salesman who dealt with me was very nice and very young, maybe 24 at the oldest. We bonded over a few things -- he's from Rhode Island / my grandma was from Rhode Island; he's a army brat / I'm an army brat -- I took a test drive, and two days later, I was driving my new car home.
Things that make buying a new car easier:
- Research all the online information about options and pricing.
- Never underestimate the power of a printed spreadsheet.
- Never underestimate the power of a clipboard.
- Ask your bank if they will negotiate the price for you.
Based on my research, I know I paid an average price for this make and model. I may not have gotten the absolute, rock bottom, lowest price, but I don't care because the salesman seemed like a decent fellow trying to succeed in his new job at the dealership, and if paying a bit more means he got a slightly higher commission and made a good impression on his boss, then I'm happy.
Now here's the best part about the car (yeah, yeah, warranty, gas mileage, reliability, customer satisfaction, yadda yadda yadda): the stereo will hold 6 CDs and will play mp3s off of those CDs. This means that if I load it up with 6 700-megabyte CDs full of music, I essentially have the equivalent of an iPod mini in my dashboard. How cool is that?!
Oh yeah, I'm off on a 3-day research trip this morning to one of the best American libraries for my project.
Comments
How could you possibly write all of that ... and not say what kind of car you bought?? ;-)
Inquiring minds...
Posted by: Jason | August 29, 2005 9:33 AM
'Tis a Honda Civic, laddie.
Same as my 1990 purchase.
Posted by: G Zombie | August 29, 2005 4:36 PM
congrats on the new car -- having got my new toyota in May, I agree that it's all so much easier now that you can get so much info online. hope you have a great research trip!
Posted by: Mel | August 31, 2005 1:22 AM
Dude. Now we both own Civics. I bought mine in 2003, around the same time you did. A silver EX model. How I wish I could have afforded the Hybrid--not for reasons related to gas prices, mind you, but because I'm green.
Posted by: Geoffrey | August 31, 2005 2:25 PM