Finally Did It

As most of you know, Leah's Windstar has been in the process of dying for a while now. First, it developed an oil leak which we found out was actually leaking oil into the transmission. Then it started sucking oil up into the engine. We were actually putting oil in it almost twice a week. The silver lining was that I didn't have to worry about oil changes; it always had new oil. After all that, it started leaking coolant to the point that you got to experience a strong antifreeze odor when driving. It was like a scratch-and-sniff sticker that you wished you'd never scratched and hoped you'd never have to sniff again.

We took it to the mechanic last week, and he actually said, "Why in the world do you want to keep this van running? Just go get another one." So we did. I wasn't really ready to have another car payment, but I think that's a little like having kids. You're never going to be ready; you just have to jump in and make the best of it. And this was one of our best car purchase experiences yet.

We started on the internet by researching the vehicles and prices that we were interested in, and then Leah started calling dealerships. The great thing is that they actually emailed us prices and did a little negotiating in that forum. We could call and email different salespeople to find the best deal without ever leaving the house, and we didn't have to get everything done in a single day. We actually spent about 3 days just shopping dealerships until we settled on Bankston Ford in Frisco. Interestingly, we bought both our van and truck at Bankston and were really pleased back then, and this time around they couldn't be beat either.

We were looking to buy and Expedition, and since we had already done our work up front via email, we were able to walk in the door, find the salesperson we had been dealing with, and go to the specific vehicle that we had already been discussing. Here's where I had a minor gripe. It had been 3 days since we got the original quote (that no one had been able to beat), and we arrived a day late to see that truck. On the other hand, they were quick to find another one just like it at a nearby dealership and were ready to offer us the same pricing. I just wish that they had a way to notify us that the truck had been sold and offer a different deal before we drove out there.

Anyway, while the sales lady was looking for an alternative for us, Leah and I wandered the lot, and we found an Eddie Bauer Expedition that had basically the same price as the XLT that we had been discussing. Pretty cool since the Eddie Bauer has more things built in standard. So when the lady came back with an option from an alternative dealership, I asked if they could do a similar price on the Eddie that was right there on their lot. It wasn't exactly cut and dried, but she took us to see talk to her manager (another nice touch that sure beats talking to her, her running to the manager since she can't make any decisions on her own, and all of that back and forth business) and after some discussion with him we got to the same deal.

The truck already had almost everything that Leah wanted, but it didn't have a DVD system. Their standard package comes with 2 headphones, and you all know how well that would work with 4 kids. I got them to get me a pretty good discount on the upgraded DVD system with 4 headphones, and Leah is having that installed today. So, the kids and Leah are really excited about that. I can see it now. We're jumping in the car to drive around the corner to a neighbor's house, and they'll be putting in a movie.

All told, we had a pretty good experience and got a really great deal on a new truck.