Merry Christmas To Me!
I just spent more money on a car than I ever have in my life. And, I'm not even sad about it. But, I will be poor.
My 2004 Sonata was at 98,000 miles and needed new tires and some front squeaky stuff fixed. The squeaky stuff was going to be several hundred dollars, the tires the same and I was going to have to do several 100,000 mile services soon.
It all came to a head when I was getting the oil changed two weeks ago. As the tech was showing me the upcoming services, I started thinking it was time for a new car. Then, one of the guys said I had a piece of metal in one of my tires so I headed off to Discount Tire in the hopes they could repair it.
They could, and did, repair it but they said I needed all new tires and showed me how low the treads were. I said, "How long will they last because I just decided to trade this in and I'm going to do it this month." The dude looked at me like I was crazy because one of the tires was totally cracked on the sidewall and you could see in to the core of it. I replaced that tire with the cheapest one they had then seriously started looking for my next car.
It wasn't a big search, though. As soon as I saw the 2011 Sonatas last year, I knew I wanted one. They are so bitching looking, got great reviews and well, they're bitching looking. I talked myself out of it because I didn't have a car payment and my car was still good. And, nice looking. But, not bitching.
So, I looked at all of the Sonata models and hoped I could get the middle one with a sunroof in either Black, Harbor Grey or Indigo Blue. Those were really my only criteria. I checked the online inventory of the dealers in Phoenix and found the biggest selection at Hyundai of Tempe.
I called them on Friday and gave the guy my basics. He asked if I wanted GPS, or the Nav system or leather, etc. and I said I didn't want them but I wasn't averse to getting them. We made a plan for me to come in today and, since he wasn't working, he gave me the sales manager's name to talk to.
When I got there this afternoon, the sales manager told me there was a new potential on the lot for me. It was a 2011 and had been a loaner car. There were only 4,600 miles on it. It was the top model in the series and had pretty much everything.
Here's a (partial because I can't remember it all) list:
Sunroof
GPS (you have no idea how much I need this unless you've driven with me or I've called you because I'm lost)
XM Radio with fancy sound system (CD player, 16 XM presets, 12 FM presets, 6 AM presets)
Rearview camera
Leather seats
Bluetooth
Heated seats (both front and back)
Dual zone A/C
A/C vents and controls in the back seat
Remote keyless entry
Fancy alloy rims
Sport tires
Compass on the rearview mirror (I really need this, too, but I also need to learn how to figure out which direction I should be going)
Automatic headlamps
Power seats (they even go up and down, not just front and back)
Telescopic steering wheel (you can adjust close, far, up and down)
iPod connection
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| Bitching! |
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| Fancy! |
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| I'm in love |
The sales guy helped me sync my Droid to the car so I called Sugar Daddy on the way home and filled him in on my purchase. Then, I headed to my parents' and called Steven from the car and told him to get everyone to come outside. He knew what I was up to but my parents did not.
Shorty, as you can imagine since he buys a new car like every other month (or so it seems), was thrilled and is sure I'm going to love this car. I'm sure he's right. Steven had to take it for a drive (he confirmed that it does have pep) and wanted to play with the remote entry and startup. I escaped the family and called Dawnie on the way home. It was super easy to transfer the call back to my phone when I got home. I'm going to love the bluetooth!
I'm really looking forward to those heated seats tomorrow morning. Because, I'll probably only need them a half dozen times a year and this is definitely the week for them.
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