Monday, September 20, 2010

Car buyer's remorse!

This is one of the times when I hate being a single woman! The car dealers are like vultures and no matter how much I've studied up on what to ask and look for, I still end up "acting like a woman buying a car", namely, falling in love with how "cute" it is, or how clean it looks or, with my most recent purchase, being tired of looking and talking and dealing and test driving CARS!


My son's car had a total breakdown, he just started a new job so I sold him my "gramma car", as my grandkids call it, a '97 Buick LeSabre. Then, for 4 days I borrowed a neighbor's car to do errands, plus she drove me around to find another used car. The first one I fell in love with (also the first one I drove) was another Buick LeSabre, lol....except it was 5 years newer than my other car. Too close to closing time on a Saturday on a holiday weekend to make a decision, plus it was 25 miles from home and they wouldn't let me take it to have my mechanic look it over. They probably would have had a sale if circumstances had been different.


The second car I drove (and fell in love with) was a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville....loaded! Still within my price range, but my mechanic felt like there were some things that just didn't look right. The main thing, and why I didn't buy that one, was because there was some rust under the hood that had been painted over. I even took it to a body shop to get their opinion and the owner said it would cost about $125 to fix it, but that eventually the rust would eat through the hood. I couldn't see buying a car knowing it has a problem that can't be fixed 100%. That was even more gutwrenching than not getting the 2002 LeSabre.


Third day of looking and I was actually going over to make a deal on the LeSabre, but decided to drive a few more cars so I could say I test drove a variety and didn't make any impetuous decisions. After looking at, driving and falling in love with two basically luxurious cars, why I decided to drive this 2002 Chevy Tracker, I'll never know! And I ended up buying it based on price, gas mileage, 4 wheel drive and ...... it's cute. LOL!


I think I was just tired of looking and depending on my neighbor, but I DO have buyer's remorse because AFTER I got the car, I looked up reviews on Consumer Reports and all the other auto review-type sites and I feel like I made a mistake. It doesn't have a great safety record and they're not even made anymore. 


I figure the best I can do is to pay it off as fast as possible and then start over, but maybe I'll enjoy the 4 wheel drive once the snow starts here in Michigan.  So here's the Tracker (I named her Skippy) and her owner! Aren't we cute? LOL





3 comments:

  1. I agree it is a cute car. Aren't cars really only as safe as the person behind the wheel?

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  2. Absolutely adorable! Good luck!

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  3. You both look darling!! Don't worry about the reviews, just treat it gently and it'll probably be a great car for you! :)

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