Car Shopping! My least favorite thing to do!

Okay, so a few days ago, DH and I were walking in the new neighborhood and he suggests that I really should consider trading in his car, on which we're still paying, and get a newer/better car for me.  He will be driving his dad's car when the probate issues are finalized and we'd like to be able to give my paid-off car to #1 son when he gets his licence.  This all took quite a bit of convincing because as the one who writes the checks to pay the bills, I literally did a happy dance when we paid of the first car!  Getting out from constant financial debt is my personal goal.  I am so tired of seeing it all go away each week.  I was counting down the months till we were done paying on his Jeep Liberty and having NO car payments.  

His thought process makes logical sense though (darn it!) so by later that day, he was able to convince me to go with him to "just look" at a few cars and see what I though!

Now, my husband knows me well, and he knew darn well that once he had me sit in and test drive a few new cars that mine would feel like an old shoe - still loyal and emotionally committed, but no longer stylish and shiny-new!  Darn this man!

For 4 days, we researched in person and on-line, every Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and Hyundai we liked.  We've had success with many Nissans and Hyundai cars over the years and so that made sense.  We also know people who've loved Toyotas and they get such great reviews that it made sense.  The Ford was a fluke as my fist car was an old Escort lemon that needed a new engine in the first 18 months!  I happened to see a beautiful Edge though in the new "cinnamon" color and just had to try it!  I actually loved it, but didn't find the most reassuring write-ups on how it would hold up over the next 5-10 years!  (I must say to Ford's credit  - it felt and drove great!)

In the world of Toyota's, I preferred the models like the 4Runner, Land Cruiser or Sequoia, but didn't like the huge price tags!  I know, I know, you get what you pay for, but as a mom of two teenagers, there are other places the money needs to go!  I was looking more closely at the Highlander but I must say that looking at a new car in this day and age adds dilemmas.  I want something I will love for many years to come, so it needs to have all the bells and whistles.  At the top of the line with the Highlander, I'm looking at close to $40K!  There's no way I can justify that!

The final outcome of what feels like a lifetime of searching, reading, driving and haggling, is that we got the best deal on a new car from our local Nissan dealer!  They were low pressure and great listeners!  They openly heard what my concerns were price-wise and were even going to sell me an extended warranty on a used Murano I was buying elsewhere!  When they said maybe we should just run some numbers with them and see if they could even get close to what we were finally settled on elsewhere, we did.  I am so glad we did because their offer was the best and I will soon be riding in a brand new Murano that's loaded with almost every option I wanted for a great price!  (I guess I'll have to go to Target and buy a GPS!)

I am so glad it's all over with and can't wait to pick up the car!  It does pay to shop around and in my next post, I'll talk a little about what background work I did to be better armed to go into the fight!