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Monday, September 01, 2008

Exhausting Sunday

Yesterday was a long-ass day.

First frustrating event of the day, my run. It was cloudy and breezy yesterday around mid-morning, and while it did look like rain, I figured I'd brave the chances in order to get the run done in slightly cooler temps early in the day. I had planned on doing 8 miles, so I got ready and headed out the door. At about 1.5 miles, the skies opened up and poured on me. The heavy rain lasted about 5 minutes, but by then, I was completely soaked.

However, I didn't turn around. The rain eased up and I figured I'd pressed forth -- soggy clothes and everything. Unfortunately, though, this burst of rain wasn't the last. It continued to lightly rain on me for the next mile or so, but I was just past the 3 mile point when the skies again opened up in a torrential downpour. It was raining so hard, I could hardly see, so I threw in the proverbial towel and turned around. Shortly thereafter the iPod quit (it doesn't handle being wet very well), but surprisingly, the Garmin never lost its signal.

Twice more on the way back, it rained heavily on me, and trudging through such rain in soaking clothes and drenched feet (that's the worst) was miserable. So even though I only did 6 miles, instead of the planned 8, I figured I'd worked as though I'd done extra miles and felt satisfied having just gotten through it.

So, after the rainy run, Jerry and I decided to go car shopping. Enter second frustrating event of the day. You may recall that I mentioned on Friday that I thought my car may be on its last legs? Well, it's old, has incredibly high mileage and, well, little things are beginning to go on it. We've been talking about a new car for about a year and had always tentatively planned on buying something within the next few months, so we decided to start the task yesterday. Ugh.

We went to a few dealerships and test drove some cars that we had been interested in, and after a few places, we found one that we really liked. It had everything we wanted, plus a few extras, but once it came down to the nuts and bolts of financial negotiation, we could not come to an agreement with the dealership. So, after about 8 hours of car shopping, we came home empty handed, and to be honest? I'm glad we did.

See, car salespeople want you to make a snap decision, often based on an emotional choice, but this is a big investment for us and we have to remain rational about it. (And really, a new car is about the most worthless thing you can buy: It's expensive, takes years to pay off, but depreciates in value; so it's not really an "investment.") And I'm not gonna make a decision that factors in so much money on a whim, or because I like the sunroof. Or because I feel pressured by the salesman.

This means we have more shopping to do. Maybe we'll go back out there today (I'd prefer not to -- I felt totally drained after yesterday's experience), but if not, probably in some of the upcoming weekends. I like the part where I get to look at the shiny new cars; I just don't like the 3 hours you end up spending at the salesman's little desk indoors going back and forth over percentage rates vs. rebates, and the "what can I do to get you in this car today?" No thanks.

18 comments:

Marcy said...

Oy, oy, oy I can only imagine how draining the car search was. Believe or not, I've NEVER done it. All the cars we've had, Mr McG has "surprised" me with. His MO is usually "Umm yeah I gotta do some errands I'll be back" and then come back and tell me "Hey I bought a new car" WTF is that LOL?!? Makes no difference to me since I'm just "whatever, can the kids fit in there?" in general LMAO!

Agate Lake Girl said...

I have walked out on them when they've made that comment before. I think car shopping my be one of the worst experiences out there - yuck! But can't wait to see what you decide on... :)

Erin said...

It sucked when I bought my car too. I lucked out and found a salesman on the verge of quitting so he didn't pull a ton of sales crap with me. He needed a sale, I needed a car, and we cut to the chase. That was of course after 2 full days of stopping at every dealership down here and wanting to kill people. It shouldn't be that hard. List the damn price I am really going to pay, let me test drive it, and let me pay for it. I feel for you. Good luck in the search and as long as the Green Hornet is running, there is no pressure.

Laurel said...

The last time we bought a car we were in the dealership for 9 hours and had to go back THREE times after we bought it because of other problems. Did I mention the dealership was a 40 minute drive? UGH! I HATE buying cars. It's such a stupid game.

Jarrett said...

A must read/watch for anyone trying to buy a car.

http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/buy-a-car-without-getting-screwed-298810.php

Neese said...

totally understand. my husband has been in a 95 Jimmy with no air-conditioning for 2 summers now, why? because we loathe the new car shopping and the angst that comes with it

Wes said...

I love running in the rain. Do they not have water-semi-proof carriers for those ipods? I dunno. I don't run with one.

Shopping for a car IS frustrating. Butttt... You sound like you are going about it smartly. Don't forget to look at internet buying as well.

Unknown said...

Car shopping is NO FUN. I was going to buy a new car 2 yrs ago and got so frustrated with the whole thing that I decided to keep my 10yr old vehicle for a few more years or until it TOTALLY died on me.

Mary Gee said...

I want to hear all about what kind of car you get. I need to get a new one, but have been putting it off for all the reasons you just described.

J~Mom said...

We bought our last car "fleet". It was painless and there were no negotiations. We also got a Motorola discount ($1000 or something lame but it helps!) so you could ask about those options. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I agree cars are not an investment. As soon as you drive it off the lot it depreciates. I am due for a new one soon too, but am going to ride out mine as long as possible. Hope all works out well for you guys.

Way to stick with the rainy 6.

E said...

Yuck. Car shopping does stink. Do you have AAA? They have a perk called AAA car buying service, where you tell them what you want, they find it, and give you a discounted price. No haggling, and they take care of everything so you don't have to even step inside the dealership. Some credit unions also offer it. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Wow - your Garmie survived through the kind of weather you ran. I am impressed. Thanks for letting me know.

Psst - you might want to consider looking into pre-owned certified car. I tell you why -- if you are planning to buy a spanking brand new car, once you drive off the dealership parking lot, you lose $10,000+ automatically. It flushes right down the toilet before the blink of your eye. What a waste of $$$. You can always go for 2005 Range Rover with 35,000 miles on it for the same price as new 2008 Lincoln Navigator.

Anonymous said...

Hope you find a better car and a great deal

Unknown said...

Nice job getting through the run and the car shopping. I think I would rather run in the rain for 8 hours than car shop for that long.

Aka Alice said...

Grrrr...hate car buying...who is the guy with the green pen anyway? Why can I not talk to the guy with the pen?...You know the guy, the one who the salesperson keeps running back and forth to check whether or not our "counter-offer" is acceptable...I hate that guy.

I hear that the end of the month is a good time to buy, 'cuz then the salespeople are desperate to make their quotas...

Anonymous said...

Ugh on the car thing. That's one of the reasons that Beer Geek is still driving the 1995 Jeep Cherokee we bought when we got engaged. He thought I was crazy at the time when I said it needed four doors because of kids. Sure enough, we're still driving it and our oldest is almost 7 LOL.

I'd definitely try to find a service to haggle for you. I know some places will offer internet quotes and there are some services out there that will get you the best offers in your area. My Honda is a 2002, so it's been a while since I had to deal with that, but I know there are options for that out there. Good luck!

Kevin said...

I despise car shopping. I agree with you about car sales people they are always like "we dont know how much longer we will be running this deal..blah.blah.blah."

That is definitely when I walk out