My New Car

Of the 12 cars we have owned as a couple this is the first car I purchased entirely on my own. In my last post I mentioned that I was contemplating getting a new car. I had narrowed it down to a few SUVs because I liked the elevated seating.

I test drove the Toyota Rav4 and Highlander. The seats on the Rav4 did not feel as comfortable, but I was not convinced that I needed a car to carry 7-8 people. Besides when I finally decided on the Highlander the negotiation did not go very well. I went over to Honda and checked out the new CRV, though it looked nice, I wasn’t impressed. Lexus was my next stop. Big difference in how I was treated. Liked the drive of the RX350, but I was put off by the way the front was designed. Either all cars will look like this or it would be a one time mistake. So that left me with Subaru. I liked my treatment at the dealership, and I liked the cars. I tried both the Subaru Forester and the Subaru Outback.

My test drive at Maita Subaru was very complete. Went for a spin on the freeway. Drove down some narrow streets with many speed bumps. Don White pointed out an albino peacock on the route. Turned around on this narrow street to see the turning radius of the car, and backed up into a parking space at the dealership. This last step was kind of scary since I was among all new cars.

With the poor first negotiating experience I decided to utilize some purchasing assistance. I got some help from both Costco and Consumer Reports. I was put in touch with specific sales people from specific dealers. My Subaru dealer worked with Costco, and so I picked out a Twilight Blue Subaru Outback.

Got my license plate and purchased a frame with bling!

Now I have a bunch of studying to do to be able to work all the “bells and whistles” found on my new car.