New Ride

Most people who know me, know I'm not a big fan of cars. In fact, I usually become physically ill when buying a new car. There's just something about throwing that much money down the tubes that really gets to me. Everyone knows that a car is the worst investment in the world, as it depreciates the second you drive it off the lot.

But, my old Rodeo was finally getting tired. She was 7 years old and the first car I ever bought right out of vet school. The transmission and brakes were starting to wear... and it was time to start thinking about a new car. And, on the day we made the decision to actually buy a new one, the heater went out. It was a sign from above.

It took me weeks - I mean, WEEKS - just to find one I liked. It made Steve crazy. I looked at cheap cars, luxury cars, hybrids, SUVs, trucks... I just haven't been impressed by many. I test drove a Honda Insight, a Nissan Rogue, a fancy schmancy Honda S 2000; I dreamed of a Pontiac Solstice until I drove one. I looked at luxury SUVs - I used to really like the Infinity FX but now I think they are the ugliest cars on the road AND a waste of money (they look like ugly little VW Bug wannabes - no offense to people who drive them. What did they do to that car?? I used to love - or did my tastes just change?) and there was no way I was going to pay $50K for a piece of crap car. That includes the BMW and Lexus also.

I considered American Made but my god, they are ridiculously expensive for what you get! So then I kept thinking I'd just go cheap and get a little Kia Sportage 4WD just to have something I could drive around town but still have 4WD for when we go to Yosemite or the desert or whatever. But just to get what I'd want, I'd still have spent almost $30K! I was becoming disheartened.

I also considered just fixing the darned Rodeo and to hell with the car dealerships.

Then I drove a Nissan Xterra. I really liked it! It was beefy and tall and drove like a dream. So after a while, I decided that's what I'd like to get - the price was right, it came in 4WD and it was a nice car.

Except.... then we discovered we couldn't find one. Oh yes, there are many Xterras out there, but they are all 4x2s! And the FEW 4WDs that we could find were in the base models! Hello, I'd like to have a FEW nice things if I'm going to fork over a bunch of money.

Steve and I searched dealerships all over SoCal for a few weeks and FINALLY found one in Redlands. Yes, over an hour away. The only problem was that it was the Off Road version and I wasn't so sure about that. In my mind we were originally getting the SE in 4WD. BUT - after more research, we found out the Off Road had some features we really liked, and it also just so happened that this particular one had a few extras and it came in white - the color I like.

So off went went! It's amazing how easy it is to buy a car when you're 1.) a small business owner and 2.) have a credit score that is sky high. The entire deal was done in an hour. Signed, sealed and delivered.

Now if Steve and I could just stop bartering for who gets to drive the car next... :)