Meet Ginger

[mamagotcha]

About a month ago, my 2001 Honda Odyssey started making the same noise Lilith produced a few months before her transmission imploded and we had to junk her (she went to a program for veterans, so she's not in a landfill somewhere at least). I've had a couple of mechanics look at it, and they all said, eh, nothing to worry about... yet. But I was worried... I had the feeling, as woo as it might be, that the van was approaching catastrophic failure and giving me as much warning as possible so I could do something about it, that same as Lily did.

This time, I listened.

Since 90% of my driving is just me and Linc, and we're getting ready to drive out to California, we thought we'd downsize. We figured that even with 90K miles and a potentially iffy tranny, the van should get us some amount of trade-in if it was still running (certainly more than if it wasn't). After a couple of weeks of Internet research, I decided to start test driving. Friday and Saturday, I visited dealers, got trade-in quotes, and dove into negotiations.

Monday, we finished signing all the papers. It's official... she's ours now (or rather, she belongs to the bank and they are very kindly letting us drive her). We never would have considered a new vehicle, but the dealership was doing a 0.9% financing deal, and the resulting cost for this 2011 car wound up being around the same we paid for an eight-year-old van 18 months ago. The track record on the Honda Fits are terrific, the resale value is great, the mileage approaches that of the Civic Hybrid (we're getting 26mpg city driving so far, and can expect 35mpg... or better... on the highway), and their owners are really happy campers.

I'm also a little bit proud of myself. I walked away from several dealerships during the info-gathering phase (which sales folks really don't like), managed to not get my credit report queried until the deal was almost done (last time we went looking, a mad salesman ran our credit something like eight times, which slapped a big red flag on our already foreclosure-crippled rating and got us stuck into a really horrible high-rate loan... I was NOT going to let that happen again!), and got a good chunk knocked off the sticker price.

She's a Honda Fit SE, which means Sport Edition... I really needed cruise control, and that was the only model that offered it. There were 14 miles on the odometer when I got the keys. For a compact car, there is a surprisingly large amount of room inside... even for my considerable rear. In fact, that was where I first started considering a really small car... I thought all the compacts would be way too dinky for me, but some of the folks over at Fatshionista convinced me otherwise.

Now to get this road trip organized!

Comments

[jillcook.livejournal.com]

I am looking forward to meeting Ginger and taking a spin in the passenger seat :)

Congratulations!

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's actually been more stressful than I thought it would be... part of it was fun, the thrill of the hunt and all that. But there's a lot riding on this... no do-overs, and the payments are going to stretch us a bit. I'm kicking up the braid work a few notches, because even one wedding a month would make a huge difference (heck, would cover the payment).

Can't wait to see you! xoxo

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Wow! You rock! I should get you to come with me next time I buy a car. Congratulations!

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I think the hardest thing for me to get over was my instinct to be polite, to make people happy. I've seen how car salesmen start acting like your best friend, and really try to capitalize on my natural people-pleasing behavior. I needed to put on my bitch hat... I said right off the bat, "I'm not afraid to walk out of here, and if I sense any pressure or manipulation, that's just what I'll do. I need you to answer my questions, make suggestions when I ask for them, and listen to what I'm asking for and not try to talk me into anything I say 'no' to."

I walked out on two of them (politely, but I still left), and asked for a second rep at the third place. Number Four finally got the message, and pretty much shut up for most of the time we hung out together (about seven hours in total). He was so quiet, I actually wasn't sure exactly when the deal was closed... he went right into the insurance and transfer information without really announcing that our loan had been approved.

As I told Bill when I left for the hunt on Saturday morning (as he made me a double-shot mocha, when he questioned whether I might be too jittery): "I think it's probably good if they're a little scared of me."

[gsharper13.livejournal.com]

Congradulations. You may find small doesn't mean uncomfortable. C and I just spent 11+ hours driving 640 miles in my Kia Rio yesterday. Other than 1 sore leg from holding the gas peddle for many hours we are fine. We took it to the east coast and back when it was new. It rides very good, and at 34-40 mpg highway it makes trips affordable.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

This was by far the most comfortable car I test-drove, and most were bigger! The one extra I insisted upon was the cruise control for that exact reason... I've done enough long-distance driving to appreciate that particular modern luxury. And welcome home!

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the Kia Rio and the sore leg. That was the worst part about driving from Boston to Seattle last year. :P

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

This time, I'm coming to see YOU! Or... if you can get down to Davis for Whole Earth, you can stay with me at Tosi's and I'll drive you back. Cord will be there, too.

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

That could work!

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I'm also hoping to dash down and see Caren (and Dan and Journey) in there, too. You'd be welcome to come along with!

[essaying.livejournal.com]

I know a few people who have Fits (hmmm... That's slightly unfortunate phrasing, isn't it?) and they all adore them. We need something the size of the Forester, but if I could do a small car, I'd look carefully at the Fit.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think of it as a Good Fit.

My sister LOVES her Subaru. If my ass fit into it at all, I'd consider it... but I've tried several different models, and no go.

You can get a LOT into a Fit. I'm actually pretty astonished at how big the cargo area is.

Are you looking for another car?

I'll be coming through your way in mid-May... perhaps we can do lunch?

[essaying.livejournal.com]

No, not looking for a car -- we just paid off the Subaru two months ago. If a little beater pickup wandered into our life for not too much money, we might buy it, but the Subaru is still running perfectly and is an excellent car for our needs.

And, yes, of course I'd like to see you when you're in the area. Keep me posted.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thats awesome. Congratulations. i hope you love it.
(ps. i think it is a really good choice - both the new, and the model.)

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I totally got flashes of driving Josh's Insight when I got into it. I wish it was a stick, but they didn't have any (and they said they were more expensive, too).

[lunacow]

Congrats on the new car! The Fit is a fantastic pick!

[jeninmaine.livejournal.com]

I happened to peek over here from your haircut post and I'm sure glad I did! My husband and I were just considering replacing one of our cars with something smaller that can still fit the kids and a load of groceries and had looked at the Fit. I really liked it, had read lots of good things in Consumer Reports, and the size/mileage seems perfect for us. It's nice to read another consumer opinion on it!

There's one in blue with a manual transmission I've had my eye on ;)

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Did you check out the Fatshionista discussion on cars? There were a lot of other great ideas and feedback there, too.

So far, she's been going GREAT. I wish I could have gotten a manual, but DH doesn't do a stick and they didn't have any on the lot anyway.

Good luck and have fun!