My New Car

It was time to say good bye to my Subaru.  I had the Subaru for 8 years and it was a very reliable car.  There was only one time that it didn't start and that was a very cold winter morning -35 degrees.  Other than that it was a great car.  However, because it was getting old it was starting to have things go wrong with it.  In December I spent $1300 getting things fixed on it.

I had spent months researching on cars and finally narrowed my choices down to two.  The Dodge Dart and the Nissan Sentra.  Both cars were even on everything but the dart had a better powertrain warranty which for me was the deciding factor.  Now it just came down to numbers and how well they wanted to deal.

The Subaru had things wrong with it, a cracked windshield and the motor on the drivers door was broken and over 93000 miles,  other than that it was in great shape for being 8 years old.  I had checked for the trade in value and it was $6000 according to Kelly blue book.  We had originally wanted $4000 because of the obvious things wrong with it.

Friday we went to Billings and stopped at the Lithia Dodge Dealership. When we arrived at the dealership  there was a little dart parked next to me.  A salesman had just walked out and I told him what I wanted.  I want the Dart SXT with the UConnect features.  I had originally wanted navigation with it but that would not be a deal breaker.  He didn't have an SXT on the lot, but I could test drive the one there as they pretty much have the same driving features.

We piled into the new car, the salesman said that he would have to drive it off their lot, then he would pull over and let me drive.  He took us out on the interstate and didn't pull over until the 27th St. Exit.  I was beginning to wonder if I would have the chance to drive it.  As he was driving he told Gary all about the technical parts of the engine and that good stuff that I don't care anything about. 

I was able to finally drive the car, so I did and it felt pretty good, of course any new car would.  Got back to the lot and now we get to wheel and deal.  First the Billings dealership didn't have the car I wanted with the navigation and the closest one was in Nebraska, Minnesota and Oregon.  He said that the dealership would have to install the navigation program and charge me $600.  I decided that I didn't really need navigation as I already have it on my phone.

They found the car I wanted in Helena.  We asked him how long it would take to get it to Billings and we were told maybe Saturday possibly on Sunday.  It would depend on them getting the drivers scheduled.  Helena is only 240 miles from Billings, how hard can this be.  There was one on their lot, but it was the Rallye and it was the ugliest color ever, the citrus lime green color.

We started dealing on the trade in value of the Subaru, at first they only wanted to give me $3000 for it, their reasoning is because of the cracked windshield, window motor, high miles and paint chips.  We hemmed and hawed some more and they finally agreed to give me $3500 for it.  I also bought a life time oil change which was $600 and an extended warranty for $1000.  In all I paid just under $19000 for my new car.  First time ever in our lives we paid for a brand new car outright.  It's a great feeling.

The salesman said he would call me on Saturday with an update on drivers and when I could expect to get my new car.  Really wasn't happy about paying for something and not having it.

Saturday Gary and I had a HOG meeting at the dealership, so afterwards we stopped at the dodge dealership to get an update, naturally did not receive a phone call.  Our salesman was busy with another customer, so they sent a manager to talk to me.  He did not impress me at all, said that the car should be there on Sunday.  I was finally able to talk to our salesman and he said that they don't have drivers lined up or the paperwork between the dealerships done for it.  He would definately give me a call or text when things get lined up.

We got home and a couple hours later our salesman called and said that my new car would be in Billings on Monday.  He asked what time I could be at the dealership, which was after work and then an hours drive to Billings around 6:00 pm.  I was told that my car would definately be there by 5:00 pm.

Monday morning I got a text from him at 11:00 am saying that the driver just left Billings and would be back with my car around 6:30 pm.  I told him ok, but that makes a late night for us getting home.  What else can I do.

I was able to finally take possession of my car last night.  The saleman walked me through all the whistles and bells, he even programmed my phone to my car.  Then they ran it through the wash and filled up the tank.  It was 7:30 before we left.

It is going to take some time to figure out some of the whistles and bells.  I have a rear backup camera on the car, which takes getting used to, but very nice.  I have a one year free subscription to Sirius Satellite Radio.  I figured out how to make phone calls with the car.  Now I just have to figure out how to answer a phone call.  It has a remote start which Gary tried out this morning.  That is going to be a real nice feature in the winter time.

Now I am ready for a road trip to San Diego.  Here is a photo of the Dodge Dart only mine is white.