November 2008 Archives
The DH Cruiser
It's been a long time coming, but K & I decided to buy a new (to us) car this weekend. We've been talking about it for a long time, because frankly it was an expense that we weren't keen on making. However, with K out of town, I was a little uncomfortable with not having my own set of wheels.
Building a list...
We had a price in mind, and so I started looking through the Auto Trader, Craiglist, and the Buy & Sell websites a couple of weeks ago to see what we could find. As it turned out, there wasn't a whole lot... but there was if we raised our limit a little.
So, armed with a list of cars to look at, and the assumption that I could negotiate the price down, I started going to dealerships. I'd lined up a few candidates: a 1996 Volvo 850 sedan, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, a 2003 Chevy Cavalier, a 1998 VW Passat, a 1998 VW New Beetle, and a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser. The Volvo was taken out of the running quickly, as I discovered that the dealer was notorious for selling previously written off cars (that he repairs). I discounted the New Beetle the moment I sat down inside it, as it was cramped as can be. When I researched the 98 VW Passat, I discovered they are quite unreliable and problem-prone. That really only left the Grand Am, Cavalier, and PT Cruiser, which I decided to test drive even though its windshield needed replacing. I planned on visiting the dealers on Saturday morning.
Why it's important to pay attention to your gut
On a lark Saturday morning, I decided to drop by the local Chrysler dealer and hit up one of the salespeople. I didn't expect anything to be in our price range, but figured it was worth a try. As it turns out, it was. I explained to the salesperson what our all-in, taxes and everything price was, and asked if he had anything on the lot that might fit. He took me to three cars - a 2003 Grand Am, a 2002 PT Cruiser, and a 2001 PT Cruiser Touring Edition. I started looking at the Grand Am and took it for a test drive. It was okay, but a little uncomfortable, and felt really low after driving the F350 I've been borrowing from K's dad. I wasn't too keen on it, despite the fact that I've liked the looks of a Grand Am for quite some time. It just wasn't comfortable for me.
The next one up was the 2002 PT Cruiser. It had some slight damage to the front grill and a couple of dings, and was the base model without any options, so I put it aside and went to look at the 2001 Touring Edition he had on the lot. It was a plucky little thing, white with a grey cloth interior, and in very good condition. I took it for a spin and it felt extremely comfortable. I'd read that the automatic, with its 4-cylinder engine, suffered from a lack of acceleration, but I didn't notice. The one I test drove was a standard, and it had plenty of get-up-and-go. I was a bit rusty on my clutch skills (though no stalls and no lurches - yay), but the car handled well and was smooth to drive.
After the drive...
When we got back to the lot, the salesperson started into "let's make a deal" mode. I was definitely interested in the car, but I also a) wanted to take a look at a couple other lots to see what else was out there that I might have missed in my online looking, and b) couldn't stand the idea of sitting in his territory while he "talked to the manager". I told him to work the numbers on the best price he could give me, and to call me on my cell when he had it. Regardless, I had to talk to K about it before I could do anything anyways, and getting pressure in the sales office wasn't going to help that.
So I left the dealer, and hit a few more in our area to see what else was out there. I'd already knocked the Grand Am out of the running because it wasn't comfortable (and I do make at least one trip down to Vancouver a year, so comfort is important), and I've never liked the Cavaliers, so that got knocked off the list as well. The cars I found at the other dealers that were in my price range were generally in poor condition; there were dings and scratches, rust, missing body parts, etc. Nothing was in as good condition as the PT or had under 150,000km. My mind was made up as far as what our choice for a car was, and I went home to await a call back from the salesperson and talk to K about what I'd found.
And now, we wait...
It was one of the longest weekends I've had for awhile. The salesperson didn't call back - I finally had to call him near the end of the day to find out what price he could come to. As it turned out, he was able to come in a fair bit under our price limit, and quite a bit under the sticker price of the car on the lot. It was definitely a good deal, but I still had to talk to K to make sure we were both okay with the purchase. There were a couple of reasons why it wasn't a done deal. First, it was a big purchase to begin with - it's not every day you're spending money on a car, and we'd just bought the washer and dryer. More important, however, was the fact that the car was a standard. K doesn't feel comfortable driving standard, and so it was a negative point against the car from her point of view - it effectively means that she can't drive the car, whereas if we were to purchase an automatic, either of us could drive. Likewise, although she thought it was "a very Darren-y car", I'm not so sure she liked the styling. So we talked, thought about it, talked and thought some more, and decided Sunday afternoon to go ahead and get it.
Introducing the DH Cruiser
On Sunday I wandered over to the dealer and signed the papers. They ran it through a last mechanical check on Monday, gave it an interior detailing, and I picked it up Monday night.
Here it is from the front. One of the things I like about the PT is that they haven't fundamentally altered the appearance over the years -- a 2001 looks a lot like a 2007. It's a nice bright white, and it's in great shape. It even has a luggage rack (though interestingly, it's suggested that the rack be stored at the back when not in use to reduce wind noise). You can't really see it in this picture, but it has some pretty spanky chrome mags.
One of the things that has really sold me on cars like the PT and the Chevy HHR is the vintage styling. I love the look of an old De Soto, Studebaker, Merc, etc, and I've wanted something like that for a very long time. That being said, De Sotos and Mercs don't come with fuel injection, shoulder harnesses and airbags, and aren't really meant for frequent driving. The PT gives me the styling of those cars and the safety/performance of something newer, and that makes me pretty happy.
Here's a shot of the interior (through the windshield, sorry for the glare). The interior has some minor quirks (like the window controls being mounted on the center console), but is roomy and comfortable inside. It also has a fun round shifter knob that is very comfortable in the hand. Aside from the window controls, everything is laid out nicely inside.
K likes to name our vehicles, so I started thinking what we could name the new car. K suggested we name it the DH Cruiser, partly because of my initials, and partly to celebrate our involvement in the digital humanities. I like it, though I may secretly replace the DH with a great '40s name like Darcy Hawk or Dora Hess. :)