Our newest addition

Allow me to introduce our newest addition:

 A 2009 Honda CR-V.

I wasn't intending to get a new car two weeks ago. But I'd received a letter - one of many I've received from my area Honda dealer - that my 2001 Civic was in high demand, and they were willing to pay up to $3,000 over the trade-in value for it. I decided I wanted to know how much it was actually worth. We'd talked about looking for a new car for me early next year, after Tim's car had been paid off for several months and we could bank a few car payments. But I also knew that my car wasn't going to be gaining value - especially not with my daily commute to work. We didn't want to have payments on both cars at the same time, so I hadn't really considered any of these "We need used cars!" deals - until now. I had been looking at used Accords for my next vehicle, but then with the baby, I started to think we might want at least one of our cars to be a bit bigger, so I also included the CR-V in my search. I knew I wanted to stay with Honda.

As I played around on the dealership's Web site, trying to estimate my trade-in value, I came across their used CR-Vs. I saw one that seemed too good to be true - a 2010 with less than 7,000 miles, AND it was reasonably priced. I figured with my trade-in, plus the "up to $3,000" additional money, we might be able to justify doing this sooner rather than later.

I decided to poke around to see what my possible interest rate might be. I did a little research online, and then the baby and I headed to the bank on Wednesday afternoon, where the vice president of the bank told me my likely interest rate (which was similar to what I had found online the night before) and also told me of his good buying experience at the dealership.

The next step was to visit the dealership and see what my car was worth.

But of course nothing could be THAT simple. While they looked over my car to assess the trade-in value, Elle and I ended up test driving a 2009 CR-V with a little more than 12,000 miles on it, because the 2010 that had originally caught my eye had sold that morning (of course). I liked this CR-V because it had a leather interior, but I still wasn't sold. The sales manager told me they'd give me $3,000 for my car - which is actually slightly higher than the Kelly Blue Book value I had found earlier that week.And that "up to $3,000 over the trade-in value" offer? Totally a non-issue, because it is based on an average of 10,000 miles for each year of the car's life. For every mile over that, it reduces the offer by 10 cents. My nine-year-old car had a little over 121,000 miles on it (and it being a Honda, I'm well-aware that I could have driven it in to the ground, but the point was I wanted it to have *some* trade-in value). That was more than 3,000 miles over their 10,000/year allowance. And at 10 cents a mile, that was over $3,000 deducted from the offer - meaning there essentially was no special offer.

They crunched some numbers for me, but I still needed to talk to Tim, and I wanted to do my own research on this 2009 vehicle. They tried the "what do we need to do to get you in this car" stuff - and with my educated questions and hesitation, I managed to get a lower interest rate and an extra $1,000 on my trade-in, so I was pleased, but still not committing to buying the car. I told them I'd talk to Tim and we'd be in touch that night or the next morning. They asked if there was anything they could do to have me pull the trigger without hearing from Tim. I said they would have to pay for a divorce attorney, and I wasn't willing to make that decision without consulting my husband, who would also be paying for and driving this car.

Tim ended up coming home 90 minutes later than planned that night. By that point, I was convinced this was a good deal and a good time to trade my car in. As we ate dinner, we discussed driving by the dealership so Tim could see the car. But then Tim decided he wanted to be home in time to watch the World Series game, so we headed to the dealership at 7:30 (they closed at 8). The baby was going to be due for a feeding and a nap, but we figured we wouldn't be there long.

We were approached by several salespeople as we drove up. I pointed out the CR-V I had test-driven to Tim - as two people looked at it with dollar signs in their eyes. I knew it wasn't good, and there was a chance those people might be buying "my" car.

The salesman I had dealt with earlier in the day was gone, but the guy who escorted us in to the dealership had commented on Elle earlier in the day and remembered me as "the lady with the baby." He sat us down and brought the sales manager over. The sales manager confirmed my fears - the CR-V was likely going to be purchased by the couple I'd see in the car. But he said he'd look for a CR-V with similar mileage in a similar price range. He had our salesman bring one - a gold CR-V with 11,000 miles - to the front so Tim could see it, and we went for another test drive.

At this point, Elle decided she was done car shopping for the day. She screamed in the backseat and promptly fell asleep as the test drive concluded.

But this CR-V - the third that I'd been interested in that day - had some extra options and actually cost more than either of the others I'd looked at. It doesn't have the leather interior, but it has a 6-disc CD changer, a moon roof, tinted windows and some other fun stuff. But they lowered the price and gave us an extremely good deal, and we knew that we might not be as lucky if we waited. And clearly, if we waited until the next day, the car might be gone.

So we proceeded with the purchase, and the next morning I left Elle with Tim and went and signed all of the paperwork. The last time I'd car shopped was on my 22nd birthday, when I bought my 2001 Honda Civic EX, which had 27,000 miles. This time, I was getting my Honda CR-V EX on my 29.5 birthday.

Everyone kept asking if I was excited. In the sense that I was getting a shiny new-to-me vehicle, yes. But in the sense that cars are expensive, no. I think it will help a lot having a slightly larger car - it will be nice to have more room for our strollers, groceries, etc. It rides well, and I enjoy driving it to work. It feels basically like I'm still in my Civic, just slightly larger and prettier :)

And I had to say goodbye to my trusty Civic - the car that has moved me three times, "lived" in three states, was with me when I got engaged, married and then escorted me everywhere during my first pregnancy. My first car purchase. But she served us well, and it was time to move on.