Sigh. The saga of searching for a new car has
finally begun. We put it off for as long
as we could. We were, in fact hoping to
reach 200,000 miles with the one we have.
But sadly, that goal will not be achieved with this particular
vehicle. It has served us well,
though. 133,000+ is a good legacy. And with the many miles have come many
memories of great shortcuts and grandkids in the back seat and spontaneous
vacations to new and wonderful oddball places.
We
took the car to Mechanic Dennis yet again yesterday. The check engine light was, indeed,
indicating a faulty valve – the one that was replaced twice and is still brand
new. Most likely scenario? Computer malfunction. The transmission slipping was a bigger issue,
though. He said there are no obvious
signs that it is leaking, and the only way to check it is to … insert here
several mechanic-y words, which would cost about $200. Then if the transmission is bad the cost
skyrockets from there. Nope and
nope. We left the shop and drove
straight to the dealership (Well, not
exactly straight. We dropped off the
truck at the house and then stopped by Home Depot first. Chris needed a pot and some dirt).
Now
we have done some research in anticipation of such a somber event. In fact we had already narrowed down our
search to two candidates. The Chevrolet
Equinox (Yep, that’s just a newer version
of what we have), and the Honda CRV.
Best we could tell, either of those will fit our need. The local car dealership (the only one on the Island) had both of
those on site, so we pulled in to check them out. The Chevy was first on the docket. It had all the amenities we were looking for,
including the capacity to install three carseats. It also had air conditioning in the back seat
and a backup camera (I’m fascinated by
those things) and the capacity to interact with your cell phone (Thus making Google Siri a more intimate part
of the driving experience. Not sure how
Chris will feel about that. Those two
have never learned to play nicely together). On the test drive the guy said I could go
anywhere I wanted since I was a local and knew the area. Didn’t think he’d agree to a quick road trip
to Waco, so we settled for a jaunt over the causeway, through Tiki Island, and
back. Very nice ride. I was impressed. But we still wanted to try the Honda, and
honestly we were hoping the Honda would win.
The
Honda had a nicer interior. Chris liked
the upholstery, but the gadgetry was not as impressive as the Chevy. Kind of confusing. Except for the backup mirror. That was cool. It had a top down function so you could see
exactly how close you were to any objects behind you from a bird’s eye view. It could only handle two carseats, though. Almost an immediate deal breaker. It did have a nifty little extra hidden mirror
that you could pop open and keep your eye on the munchkins in the back
seat. Chris liked that feature. We took the same drive route, and that’s
where the real deal breaker happened. I couldn’t
hear the guy sitting in the seat next to me.
The noise level was way too high for an old guy with hearing aids that
amplified the already loud road roar.
Nope. The Chevy won out easily on
that count.
Once
back at the dealership, the guy gave us prices on the Chevy we drove and
another that they had been using as a loaner (It had 1,000 miles on it already).
We took those prices home and checked back online with cars.com. Seems that loaner was listed online – same vin
number and everything – for $3,000 less than his offer. Hmm.
Negotiating point, you think? Now
we just have to figure out how we’re going to pay for the silly thing.
Psalms
65:8 says, “Those living far away fear
your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of
joy.”
Father,
please give us wisdom as we go through this frustrating process again. Amen.
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