Anyway, I had done quite a bit of research on vehicles and I had it narrowed down to a very few cars that would work for my needs and within my price range. Or at least what I thought was my price range at the time, but I explain that later. So I really liked the Subaru Outback. I have liked it for about 2 years now since I saw a 2010 at Lowes one day and I had to ask the woman driving it all about it. My fiance loves Subaru and had a WRX wagon that he modified to do all sorts of things that he wanted it to do (hated to ride in that car). I knew that he would not object to me choosing a Subaru. They are really good cars and actually they are worth the money because they have higher resale value (if you can find anyone willing to sell one- most people keep them FOREVER). So I looked up all of the information I could on Subaru Outbacks on the internet. I joined forums and talked to other owners of the vehicle. Then I made my first mistake, which should not be a mistake at all. I went to a car dealership alone, ie without a man. That is when the salesman, whom I didn't want to talk to in the first place made the above comments. What he obviously didn't know is that I knew that the 4 cylinder Outback had a CVT transmission. I can't describe what a CVT transmission is, all I can tell you is that when I drove it, I HATED it. It felt like it had some sort of lag. It sounds like it spools up like a Turbo engine, but that is not what is happening. In any event, it felt slow like I was dragging something and I couldn't just punch the pedal and make it go. I have already made it perfectly clear that I need to be able to jump out in traffic and get up to speed quickly. My fiance didn't like this type of transmission either because he felt that it was going to "have problems" in the next few years because the technology hasn't exactly caught up to what car manufacturers are trying to accomplish. He said the only car that does it properly is the Audi. My fiance knows everything that there is to know about cars, so I trust him.
So, we went all over the Triangle to find a 3.6 Outback. Finally, I did find one that I liked, but the dealership was not willing to negotiate price. Mind you this car was Ruby Red (people who buy Subarus- in particular Outbacks- are granola heads who only like the colors green and khaki) and had been on the lot for over a month and this was the beginning of December. If I were a salesman, I'd be trying to push this car off the lot in order to make a good commission before the holiday. But alas, the dumb kid lived at home with his parents and likely had no motivation to sell any vehicle for less than sticker. Me on the other hand, I have bills to pay and I can't justify paying sticker price for a vehicle, nor can I justify paying $29,000 for something that is not a "luxury" vehicle. And I wasn't in the market for a luxury vehicle right now, that just isn't my lifestyle at this point.
Price also knocked out my second choice which was a Volvo XC60. And no I was not interested in the car because of the Twilight movie, like the salesman at this dealership insinuated. He's lucky I didn't fucking bite him for saying that. Why do these men think that women are that stupid? Oh wait, most women are that stupid. I digress. This car was luxurious. It had so many bells and whistles that I was afraid I wouldn't even know how half of the car worked. I also feared that with so many extra "safety" features that they were more likely to break and then I'd either have to pay a lot for them to be fixed or in the long run they would cause other problems with the car, likely electrical problems since everything in this car is electric. I do understand and embrace technology, but part of me believes if something isn't broke, don't fix it for the sake of just making something seem new or cool. I don't need an electric parking break. I want a real parking break.
All of this lead me to feel defeated and ready to just give up on the entire car buying process. I couldn't find anything that satisfied my desire for a decent car with a 6 cylinder engine that didn't cost a whole arm and a whole leg. BTW, that Volvo was a 2010, and it was not in good shape inside (holes in seats, etc) and the were asking some ridiculous amount like $32,000. I literally laughed in the guy's face and left. Let rich vampires buy those cars. I'm smarter than that. It isn't that I can't afford these prices, it is just that I don't feel like cars should cost this much and I have other things that I want to spend my money on like expensive make up and conditioner. (I know I'm so shallow--- suck it).
At a last ditch effort I searched one last time for a vehicle on Cars.com. I didn't discriminate on make/model, I just wanted to see what was out there. This brings me to my next point: where do car manufacturers in this economy, after just having been bailed out get off pricing cars so high? I mean do they do that and then offer rebates for 10's of thousands of dollars off to make people feel good? I don't get it. I can't understand why anyone in their right mind would pay $33,000 for a Ford Edge. Are you fucking crazy. Shit, if I had that I'd go back and buy the goddamn Volvo, even with it's deficiencies. A FORD, really???!!! I mean even the Ford Exploder--- I mean Explorer is priced at around $23,000. Are they sniffing glue over there at Ford? This vehicle should cost about $13,000, maybe $15k if it is fully loaded or something. But there is no reason that any Ford (with the exception of like their huge trucks) should cost more than $20,000. Fuck, I could get a Mustang for less than an edge--- that is dumb. I've owned 2 Fords in my life and honestly, I would never again buy an American car. I'm not going to debate this with people, it is a proven fact that American cars are inferior. FACT! You can't dispute it by saying that any car can break down or have issues and if you take care of any car it will be good. Certain cars have design flaws and will break down or have something go wrong more than others. And I'm not being a snob, because I wouldn't buy a BMW or a Mercedes either, or a Volkswagon for that matter. They are all cheap knockoffs of real "luxury" cars. And people who drive them are dickheads. They think they are better than everyone else because they were stupid enough to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a vehicle- something that fucking depreciates. Why do they do this? Either they have a low self esteem and need to impress people or they have small a small penis and need to impress people. Either way, I'm not impressed.
So what car did I end up getting, you must be wondering. Let me preface this with this quick story: the first car I ever bought and made payments on was a Honda Civic. It was a 95- aqua. I bought it in 2000. I was scared to death because I'm slightly commitment phobic (could explain why my love and I have been together for 11 years and are not married, but I digress). My payments were like $189/mo. HAHAHA! Nice, huh? Anyway, I loved that car. I was good to that car and it was good to me. I never ever ever had any problems with that car until some dumb ugly fucking bitch in a giant GMC fucking SUV decided to be a whore and smash into my car because she couldn't wait her turn in traffic. Once that happened my car was not the same. Mechanically it was still perfect, but it ended up leaking water into the trunk and then eventually into the back seat. I tried to get it fixed a few times since insurance was paying for it, but it just couldn't be fixed properly. It is hard to explain how bummed I was when I realized that I had to trade it in for something else. That being said, Honda is not the same company that they used to be. And a lot of their cars that were built in the early 2000's had many issues that made me not trust the brand for a while. Even my fiance was suggesting the new Honda CRV to me and while I would have considered it if I had not found my car, I did hesitate. But alas, just searching through cars on cars.com my baby appeared. Actually, there wasn't even a picture of it, just a price and the specs. I was in love with and it and I had to go drive it so I called the dealership immediately and set up an appointment. Then I did all the research I could on this vehicle to make sure I offered them the best deal. See I'm not trying to make a sales person not make any money. Of course they need to make something, but they don't need to rape people's bank accounts to make money. And this salesman was nothing but professional. He didn't treat me like a dumb woman, he didn't patronize me or act like I didn't know what I was talking about. Actually, he didn't know as much about the vehicle as I did (I bought it from a Mercedes dealership- go figure). We didn't have to haggle much about pricing because he knew that I wanted the car and I had my high amount and he had his amount and either we would come to an agreement or I would walk out. We came to an agreement that we were both happy with quickly. Everything else was a breeze.
So... Here is my new car (well, it is a 2010):
It is an Acura RDX. Now I thought this vehicle was completely out of my price range when I first looked, but come to find out this one was right within my price range (I paid $24,700- people should not be afraid to tell others what they pay for their vehicles, it is the only way that consumers will ever be able to comparatively shop and get a fair deal- otherwise the dealership has all of the negotiating power and how is that fair?)
This really is the perfect car for me. It has everything that I wanted and then some things that I didn't even consider. It is a 4 cylinder but with a Turbo, which is exactly what I need to dart out into traffic. Anyway, I've had my car for about 3 weeks and I am absolutely in love with it. It is the best decision I have made when purchasing a vehicle since my first little Honda.
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