A New Car!

This post is a complete departure from the usual commentary on my little blog, but I just have to share. We are getting a new car! This car will replace my 14-year-old car that is starting to nickel-and-dime us to death. My current issues with my old car are that my AC doesn't work and doesn't seem to want to allow us to repair it at a reasonable cost (it's been a year now without AC or defrost, though the heat works too well), and one of my tires, which had been patched about 14 months ago, is no longer holding air. I'm too cheap to fix the tire, so I am airing it up every day. Thank goodness for Westside 66 which has free air. And I am tired of dripping with sweat in my very hot car even with my windows down...and it will just get hotter as summer progresses.

Exactly 22 hours after the last time
I filled this tire with air - 14 pounds left.

We have been researching and car shopping online for months now, but yesterday I was just plain fed up. I decided to search Cars.com and get some ideas and then go to a dealership and at least test drive some things after work. Well, you know how it goes once you're at the dealership. They don't want to let you leave without trying to get you into a car right then, which I was expecting. I started with a dealership that I had been referred to by a family friend, but that I didn't think would be able to get me into a car that I could afford - we are on a tight budget.

So off to Jack Ellena Honda I went. I arrived at the dealership in the afternoon and 6+ hours later I was on my way home. S wasn't able to go with me (and thank goodness that her car is still holding out...it's only a year newer than my old car), so I went on my own and kept her (and my mom) updated via texts and photos. I used 35% of my monthly data allowance in those six hours. I NEVER use that much data, but my WiFi is broken on my iPhone 4S so I couldn't use the dealership's complimentary WiFi. Yet another thing I need to get replaced that costs money.

Monty Lala saw me driving in and came outside to greet me when I got out of my car. I told him that I was sent to them by a friend and was supposed to talk to Coop (Tim Cooper). He took me inside to meet Coop and Coop's face lit up when I told him who had sent me (thanks, Carole and Paige). So off we went with the attempt to figure out if my credit (which is crappy, but improving) would even allow me to consider a new car. I asked lots of questions about financing a purchase and about leasing and they answered everything in a way I could understand. Monty took the lead and helped me through the process of filling out the credit application and then talking to me to understand my needs regarding a new car. We figured out that I would be comfortable in their base model 2013 Civic.

When I say base model, let me be clear. My current (domestic) car is a base model and the only features it has are power door locks, power mirrors, intermittent wipers, tilt steering wheel and cruise control. I have crank windows, my rear defrost doesn't really work, it came with an AM/FM stereo (no cassette, no CD) and everything is manual except for the mirrors and door locks. Now, when I say a base model Honda, that includes the following (among other things):

• Tire Pressure Monitoring System 
• i-MID with 5-Inch LCD Screen and Customizable Feature Settings
• Rearview Camera with Guidelines
• Bluetooth^® HandsFreeLink^®
• SMS Text Message Function
• Power Windows with Auto-Up/Down Driver's Window
• Power Door Locks
• Cruise Control
• Illuminated Steering Wheel-Mounted Cruise, Audio, Phone and i-MID Controls
• Tilt and Telescopic Steering Column
• Map Lights
• Floor Mats (why are these not standard everywhere?!)
• 12-Volt Power Outlet
• Fold-Down Rear Seatback
• 160-Watt AM/FM/CD Audio System 
• Pandora^® Compatibility
• Bluetooth^® Streaming Audio
• USB Audio Interface
• MP3/Auxiliary Input Jack
• MP3/Windows Media^® Audio (WMA) Playback Capability
• Exterior Temperature Indicator

I know it could have many more options, but for an entry level car that is a "base" model, that's pretty good.

So, here are some actual car photos.

Same car, same color, different dealership. I wanted
a photo with sun on the car for color.

Gadgets and gizmos (Honda.com stock photo)

Pretty electronic light-up stuff (Honda.com stock photo)

I drove the black one first (I leased the red one
behind it, but I love black cars)

The actual baby I leased

I hate having my photo taken, but
the salesman insisted...it was windy

So happy birthday, Christmas, anniversary, New Year, Valentine's Day, Hanukkah, *insert other gift-bearing holidays here* to us. Car payment = boo! New car = yay!