For the past year or so, Thomas has been telling me that there is something seriously wrong with my car--it had a loud rattle coming from the back end and drives like it is about to fall to bits. Well, after twelve months of having no problems at all, Thomas and I were heading off to my mom's to exchange house and car key duplicates, and (as can be seen below) the front wheel snapped clean off. After a brief, terrifying moment of sliding to a stop in the middle of a road, Thomas turned to me and yelled, "I TOLD you there was something wrong with your car! Are you happy now?!" I said that, indeed, I was super, super happy at that moment. Nothing like having a seatbelt cut into your surgical incisions!
It was hellish hot that day and waiting by the side of the road for the AAA tow truck was not fun. Though, plenty of people offered to give us rides, make phone calls and so on--even neighbors came out of their houses to make sure we were all right. Simon and Frederick came to get Thomas and just then the tow truck arrived. He was a nice enough person, insisting that the car could get fixed with just a few thousand dollars' worth of repairs---the TRICK, it seems, was finding a garage that would take on the job anytime soon. Yeah, no thanks. Simon suggested we donate the thing to Michigan Radio (an offshoot of NPR) and call it a day. That really was easy--you just fill out the form online, get a phone call to confirm, and then wait for another two truck to take the car, the title and the keys off your hands. (THAT tow truck driver predicted the car was unfixable.) So, no car at exactly the time I needed one most to get ready for the school year, deal with doctor appointments/follow up, get Thomas moved out of the house and set up in his apartment...
So the next day Thomas drove me to the Toyota dealer just as it opened. As Simon gloomily predicted, their selection of used cars was terrible because NO ONE has used cars to sell anywhere in the country. As I have said at least ten times in the past 18 months, one thing the pandemic has taught me is that I have no idea how supply and demand actually operates on a global scale. Why is the foam used to make furniture non-existent? Why are there virtually no cars on any dealer lots? When Simon bought his Prius a few months ago, he had three to choose from. (We realized this week we should have bought two that day and we would have avoided this whole dramatic week. 20/20 hindsight.)--one for a mere $9,000!!! When I went to the dealer this week, there were no Priuses at all--no used, no new--and there were only 8 used cars for sale: 7 Highlanders (the world's biggest SUV) prices starting (!) at $50k and a Camry, with a price tag of $22.5k. I really, really did not want a sedan because I am hauling stuff--lumber, trees, manure, giant instruments--back and forth all the time. But there was no way I was going to buy a car larger than our garage for a price that is more than our house is valued at these days. So, I went with the Camry--and for reasons I am unclear on, the salesman immediately dropped the price down to $18.5 without me even asking. Here it is, from the back side:
The only drawback was that the car was not ready to leave the lot. One of the things I like best about this dealer is that they won't sell a car unless it is "certified" which means they guarantee there is nothing wrong with the car (not the case with the used Nissan I bought two years ago). So, they insisted on keeping it for a day or two while they gave it new tires, new brakes, new fluids, new belts and--and this was the really exciting part--a brand new entertainment touchscreen!
I don't really like touchscreens (that is putting it mildly--I hate them) because (a) they cost a fortune to fix and (b) they break, as happened here. Obviously my lack of enthusiasm showed as the manager came running over to insert himself between Collin, my salesman, and myself, to tell me exactly how much value I was getting...for NOTHING!! A $1000 touch screen was costing me NOTHING!! I don't care about the touchscreen, I just wanted a car that worked that I could drive off the lot that morning! But that was not to be. I finally got the car on Friday at 3:00 and was able to drive it home! Here is the front seat--which is HUGE!! (Though it doesn't have as many secret pockets and storage spaces as my Yaris did, which I still miss.)
Here is the back seat, which is also huge. I could fit two Fredericks back there.
Note the jazzy red threads on the black "leather" seats. According to the financial officer who walked me through the purchasing process, the car originated in New Jersey. I imagine one of the New Jersey Housewives driving this car while her husband is out busting knee caps.
I have 48 payments to make on the car, so I hope it lasts at least 49 months.
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