So, after nearly six weeks of searching, researching, test driving and fending off rude salesmen, I made my decision: the Honda CR-V.
I decided that Les, the first Honda salesman I had met, was the best of the breed: no hard and obnoxious sales pitch, he responded whenever I had a question, kept me informed of specials and deals at his dealership, and was just generally a nice guy. He was getting my business.
I couldn't decide on the color - it was either going to be black (which my RAV4 was) or the navy blue. I made an appointment with Les for the afternoon of March 2 to look at both of them up close and personal. He had the two colors parked side-by-side, which made the decision a little easier: blue. Blue with gray interior. Leather interior, mind you. After committing to the color, it was time to decide on 2WD or AWD. I've only ever needed AWD twice in my life - once last February when my Reno buddies and I got stuck in a snow storm in Truckee, CA and once a couple of weekends ago when I had to cancel a trip to Nevada City to see Ruth and Adrienne (my cousin and goddaughter) because of snow. The difference in price was only about $1100, but I convinced myself that I could use that $1100 in Reno or on gas in the future, so I went with the 2WD.
I didn't think I would purchase that day because my bank was holding up my funding - I had deposited a rather large check on February 25. Because it was an 'out of state' check and for such a large amount, they were holding the funds and releasing it in stages: $100 on 2/26, $4,900 on 3/3 and the remainder on 3/11 (hey - that's today!). When I explained this to Les, he said that they would work with me - I could give them a portion of the money right then, and then they'd hold a post-dated check until 3/11 for the balance. I was surprised but thrilled at the prospect that I could be driving home in a new car that afternoon! I told Les - let's make a deal!
The excitement began. Les had my RAV4 appraised and made me a trade-in offer which was less than $2,000 from what Kelly Blue Book rated it - it was the best trade-in offer I had received so far. While he was working on that, I was seated in a nice area with tables and chairs, and he gave me a book that contained options that could be added to the car. He said "take a look at these options and let me know if there's anything you'd like to add - I can get you the price before we install anything to help you decide." What? No "you need to add this to your car..." talk? I was liking Les more and more.
After a while, Les reappeared and I told him that I really wasn't interested in any of the add-ons and he was fine with that. He said that I should take the one I was buying for a test drive one more time before I make the purchase; he said he always recommends you drive the one you're going to take home just to make sure you're comfortable with it. I thought that was very reasonable; when we got it in, it only had 4 miles on it! He said that the mileage was from the technicians who test the cars when they come in. It hadn't even been test driven by other customers - talk about a new car!
When we returned from the test drive, Les gave me some paperwork to sign, and told me he'd be back shortly - he was going out to have the car cleaned and readied for me to drive home that evening. By now, my heart was pounding and I thought I was going to pass out from the excitement.
A short while later, Les returned and took me in to meet Ace, the financing guy who was going to help me fill out all the paperwork for the purchase and the DMV. Ace was a young guy, but very polite and very knowledgeable about cars, the DMV paperwork and the workings of the dealership post-sale. I think I must have signed my name about 100 times in that 30 minutes. But, when it was all done, Ace stood up, extended his hand to shake mine, and congratulated me on becoming a part of the Honda family. I thought that was a very nice touch.
So, back to Les. He said they were just about done with the car, and it was now time to clean out the RAV. He was going to get the CRV from 'the shop' and pull it next to little RAVie so I could transfer my stuff. This was the last interaction I'd have with my friend of 7 years. I methodically found the 'trash' to be thrown away, and moved the important stuff from RAVie to the new CRV (which needs a name). When I handed Les the key (and he handed me the new keys), I cried because it was like saying goodbye to an old friend. Of course, I felt like a ding-dong crying over a car, especially when I had been a tough, hard sell bitch for the duration of this process. Les said not to worry because many people cry when they trade in their cars. That helped a little.
So, after about 3-1/2 hours at the dealership with my new best friend Les, I happily drove home in my new 2008 Blue Honda CRV EXL!
Now, I'm just having way too much fun driving around. Too bad gas has gone up so much....
Until next time,
Kel
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