Both mom and the two of us have new cars! 2007 PT Cruisers both.
Amount financed: $9508 at 7.14%
Not the best, but not too bad either.
You'll notice I'm not going to add that to my debt pie chart. That's only for credit card debt. Once that's complete I'll add another for the car, then for student loans.
I'm so excited!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Finally -- Resolution
I was on break last night and checked my phone messages. My husband left me a very nice message and it was obvious he was both proud of himself and extremely excited. His message would have left a smile on my face even if it had been, "we're out of pickles!"
His message wasn't about pickles. It was about the cars. After a lot of role-playing and discussion on Tuesday evening hubby had the confidence to call last night and talk to the manager.
He explained that we are going to buy two cars. Whether we buy them from that dealer remains to be seen; there are many other dealerships that would love to sell two cars. He said, "the deal is only hinging on one thing." As you can imagine the sales manager was practically drooling all over that little tid bit.
Happy story short, because little bit is going to wake up from her doze soon, is that they are honoring the original really-awesome deal.
Car 1: 2007 PT Cruiser, Touring Edition, Rim Upgrades (which I could care less about, honestly), 9,400 miles (rounded up)
Car 2: 2007 PT Cruiser, Touring Edition, Slightly over 20,000 miles so we'll call it 20,500.
Basically 2 almost brand-new cars. Our walk-out price (tax, etc.) is right around $10,800 each.
His message wasn't about pickles. It was about the cars. After a lot of role-playing and discussion on Tuesday evening hubby had the confidence to call last night and talk to the manager.
He explained that we are going to buy two cars. Whether we buy them from that dealer remains to be seen; there are many other dealerships that would love to sell two cars. He said, "the deal is only hinging on one thing." As you can imagine the sales manager was practically drooling all over that little tid bit.
Happy story short, because little bit is going to wake up from her doze soon, is that they are honoring the original really-awesome deal.
Car 1: 2007 PT Cruiser, Touring Edition, Rim Upgrades (which I could care less about, honestly), 9,400 miles (rounded up)
Car 2: 2007 PT Cruiser, Touring Edition, Slightly over 20,000 miles so we'll call it 20,500.
Basically 2 almost brand-new cars. Our walk-out price (tax, etc.) is right around $10,800 each.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Extra Income: Wish me luck
I've put several things in motion to bring in more abundance in my life. One of them has been selling items on ebay; so far things are going well. I'm getting my feet wet and learning the easiest way to list and ship items so that I can commit to selling more.
The second project, the big one, is to focus on my writing. I have two books in progress, a children's book completed and ready to shop around, and many articles in varying stages of production.
Three minutes ago I sent out my first magazine submission. I should hear in 8-10 weeks. I expect rejection, however I'm picturing that check coming in the mail. I'm opening it, smiling, and running inside to show it to my mom and my husband. I'm picking up my daughter, twirling her around, and then sitting right down with a deposit slip. I'm putting on my shoes, grabbing my purse, and heading to the bank. I'm home again, at my computer, and I've just put the entire amount of the check towards a debt payment. I feel great.
Wish me luck!
The second project, the big one, is to focus on my writing. I have two books in progress, a children's book completed and ready to shop around, and many articles in varying stages of production.
Three minutes ago I sent out my first magazine submission. I should hear in 8-10 weeks. I expect rejection, however I'm picturing that check coming in the mail. I'm opening it, smiling, and running inside to show it to my mom and my husband. I'm picking up my daughter, twirling her around, and then sitting right down with a deposit slip. I'm putting on my shoes, grabbing my purse, and heading to the bank. I'm home again, at my computer, and I've just put the entire amount of the check towards a debt payment. I feel great.
Wish me luck!
My ebay stuff
I've sold a maternity support belt, leftover boxed disposable cameras, and two tee-shirts. I've made about thirty dollars. Not bad considering that paypal makes it so darn easy to print off shipping and USPS delivers free boxes for the asking. I'm certainly getting more for these things than I would at a garage sale.
Another reason why I hate credit cards
They are almost impossible to pay off!
I don't mean as in making payments and slowly decreasing balances over time. Yes, the willpower involved with that is hard. Yes, for many people it's almost impossible. But that's not what I refer to.
The payoff amount at anyone time changes because of how the interest compounds. And then, at the end of the billing cycle, you get even more interest based on your balance over the course of the month. My husband and I both got statements from cards that we "paid" off. One was for less than five dollars, the other less than ten.
It's so frustrating!
I even payed more than I knew was due for one of the cards. They had to send me a check for the difference. And yet, somehow, I owe them $4.50. And of course since the payment won't go through until tomorrow, what about the interest that's going to be added.
I want to call and really bitch someone in the CSR field out. Right now I just don't have the energy or the time. Maybe next week.
I don't mean as in making payments and slowly decreasing balances over time. Yes, the willpower involved with that is hard. Yes, for many people it's almost impossible. But that's not what I refer to.
The payoff amount at anyone time changes because of how the interest compounds. And then, at the end of the billing cycle, you get even more interest based on your balance over the course of the month. My husband and I both got statements from cards that we "paid" off. One was for less than five dollars, the other less than ten.
It's so frustrating!
I even payed more than I knew was due for one of the cards. They had to send me a check for the difference. And yet, somehow, I owe them $4.50. And of course since the payment won't go through until tomorrow, what about the interest that's going to be added.
I want to call and really bitch someone in the CSR field out. Right now I just don't have the energy or the time. Maybe next week.
More on the car deal
The flip side of the standing on principle coin is the "I feel like I'm cutting off my nose" coin.
However, if we walk away from this deal, which we probably will if they don't give us what they agreed to:
I've wanted a PT Cruiser since they came out. Drooled over them. This is, in fact, my third attempt to buy one. I wasn't able to make a great deal the other two times so I walked away. Every time I see one I make a comment, even if it's in my head, that "that's the car I'll be driving some day!"
Now that the reality of ownership is but a few details away, I find myself less than excited. I don't know if it's the effect of all the stress that goes along with the car buying process accumulating or if it's because I've realized that the kind of car I drive doesn't really matter.
It's weird. I'm so close to something I've wanted for a long time and I'm ready to turn my back and start all over. I really thought I'd be jumping up and down and calling everyone I know to tell them. Not really. I don't feel good about the deal. And if I don't feel good about something, I don't do it. I've learned to listen to that internal voice that says, "not right now."
Also, now that I know we can get a 2007 car of several different kinds for an affordable price, we don't have to lease. This has made me realize how much I don't want to lease. This is weird, considering I was gung-ho about it. But for us it's financially stupid and if we can own a car and keep our payments roughly the same, we're good. (I am NOT a payment buyer, however I am conscious about what our payments will be and how much I can spend on a car. I am negotiating overall price, not payment. No way I'm financing for more than 60 months and even that I'd prefer not to do.)
If my mother had air conditioning that worked, I wouldn't worry about this right now. If my husband was comfortable driving his car (btw--airbag light has not come back on since first day) and I knew I would be okay with him putting the kid in it fume-wise, then I would rest for a few months and then start to look for other cars. I've worn grooves into my current car. I don't even have to think about driving it anymore than I think about walking. It's very comfortable and I have no issues with it.
However, hubby's car needs to be replaced soon. It would make a great commuter car for someone without kids. My mom either needs to put $1500 into her car to fix the a/c or she needs a car that has a/c. (She has some health problems and gets overheated very easily.)
I don't know what to do.
In the meantime I'm going to wait until next week, I think, to start the process over again. So I'm going to sit and be still and listen. When something feels right, I'll know that's what we're going to do.
- The price we were given on each car is a fantastic price, even with 20k miles.
- 20k miles on a 2007 car isn't that big of a deal; it's just that we were expecting one of them to have under 10k.
- We didn't "lose" anything because we never "had" the cars. Therefore this is like complaining that we only won $200,000 on the suitcase game when we could have walked away with $450,000 but turned it down. We still have a great offer on the cars.
- I put a LOT of research into different cars, companies, dealerships. I've exchanged quite a few emails. I've made dozens of phone calls. If we pass on the cars then I now need to start all over again and choose a different set.
However, if we walk away from this deal, which we probably will if they don't give us what they agreed to:
- There are MANY dealerships who would love to sell two cars. We live an easy drive from Tampa and St. Petersburg where many many car dealers live and, if needed, could even drive down to Orlando. Worst case scenario is we invest a bit in gas to go pick up our cars.
- I'm sure we can get close to the same deal for two cars in this economy.
- We should be considering cars with better gas mileage anyway. This will be a major expense--actually, it already is--so there's no point in buying a new to us car unless it is one we really love or one that will save us money on gas.
I've wanted a PT Cruiser since they came out. Drooled over them. This is, in fact, my third attempt to buy one. I wasn't able to make a great deal the other two times so I walked away. Every time I see one I make a comment, even if it's in my head, that "that's the car I'll be driving some day!"
Now that the reality of ownership is but a few details away, I find myself less than excited. I don't know if it's the effect of all the stress that goes along with the car buying process accumulating or if it's because I've realized that the kind of car I drive doesn't really matter.
It's weird. I'm so close to something I've wanted for a long time and I'm ready to turn my back and start all over. I really thought I'd be jumping up and down and calling everyone I know to tell them. Not really. I don't feel good about the deal. And if I don't feel good about something, I don't do it. I've learned to listen to that internal voice that says, "not right now."
Also, now that I know we can get a 2007 car of several different kinds for an affordable price, we don't have to lease. This has made me realize how much I don't want to lease. This is weird, considering I was gung-ho about it. But for us it's financially stupid and if we can own a car and keep our payments roughly the same, we're good. (I am NOT a payment buyer, however I am conscious about what our payments will be and how much I can spend on a car. I am negotiating overall price, not payment. No way I'm financing for more than 60 months and even that I'd prefer not to do.)
If my mother had air conditioning that worked, I wouldn't worry about this right now. If my husband was comfortable driving his car (btw--airbag light has not come back on since first day) and I knew I would be okay with him putting the kid in it fume-wise, then I would rest for a few months and then start to look for other cars. I've worn grooves into my current car. I don't even have to think about driving it anymore than I think about walking. It's very comfortable and I have no issues with it.
However, hubby's car needs to be replaced soon. It would make a great commuter car for someone without kids. My mom either needs to put $1500 into her car to fix the a/c or she needs a car that has a/c. (She has some health problems and gets overheated very easily.)
I don't know what to do.
In the meantime I'm going to wait until next week, I think, to start the process over again. So I'm going to sit and be still and listen. When something feels right, I'll know that's what we're going to do.
The importance of principle
I worked out an awesome deal on the car front Saturday when my hubby and I went to the dealership. Their initial offer surprised me; it was $600 ($300/each car) lower than what I wanted. That never happens!
Sunday the dealership was closed so we checked out the Toyotas. I wrote about that in another post. Long story short, my husband cannot fit in the cars and I barely can.
Monday I took my mother to the dealership so she could drive the car that would be hers. She was okay with it. There were a few things she didn't like. As we talked, however, we both admitted that things like the headrests would feel weird. We've both driven our cars for 10 years now. That's a serious case of "being used to" our current cars!
We sat down. I had a check in my pocket for the deposit. It was unlikely we'd get the cars that night since my mom hadn't gotten her Capital One packet in the mail and we weren't sure what financing the dealer could offer. So the check was part "hey, we're serious--don't sell these cars" and part down-payment.
Then the salesguy started talking about the cars we had just driven. My mom had driven the one that we had talked about; I had not. I was very confused. We had been talking about mileage under 10k and rims; I had even joked that if he'd seen my car he'd know they weren't a huge selling point for me. I had written down the exact mileage. Well, if we wanted the lower mileage car he'd get us the best price possible.
We went home instead of putting down a deposit. I was confused but I had an appointment. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the phone with the salesguy trying to get him to understand that we wanted the cars we had talked about for the price we had talked about. We got some hemming and hawing about the stock numbers and I told him straight out that it would be a matter of principle with my husband. Even if it's, "only $700 difference for 10,000 miles--what a deal!" the fact is that we were quoted the price on the lower-mileage car.
He didn't get it. He supposedly talked to his manager and the big boss. Sorry, couldn't do it. But for his money, he knows what he'd do.
We went in later to have them appraise our cars. I figured maybe since he'd backed himself into a corner about the price of the cars he'd be able to offer us more for the trade-ins.
Nope. $800 trade-in value on two cars. (I didn't expect much; they both have close to 100k on them and they are in "fair" condition.) $200 was for my hubby's, $600 was for mom's. I know I could sell either car for over a grand. (Guess which we'll be doing?)
Yesterday we didn't talk with them at all. The store manager called and left a message with mom--he wanted to thank us for coming in and see if he could do anything for us. Hubby and I spent a long time talking strategy about what he should say and how.
We also called my best friend Brian. He's the son of the mechanic that works at the dealership and one of the reasons why we were given a damn good price to begin with. I asked if we were being crazy for standing on one part of principle. But, like he said. It's not the $700. It's not the 10k miles. It's the fact that it's not what we originally agreed to.
So hubby will call today and we'll find out what's going on.
Sunday the dealership was closed so we checked out the Toyotas. I wrote about that in another post. Long story short, my husband cannot fit in the cars and I barely can.
Monday I took my mother to the dealership so she could drive the car that would be hers. She was okay with it. There were a few things she didn't like. As we talked, however, we both admitted that things like the headrests would feel weird. We've both driven our cars for 10 years now. That's a serious case of "being used to" our current cars!
We sat down. I had a check in my pocket for the deposit. It was unlikely we'd get the cars that night since my mom hadn't gotten her Capital One packet in the mail and we weren't sure what financing the dealer could offer. So the check was part "hey, we're serious--don't sell these cars" and part down-payment.
Then the salesguy started talking about the cars we had just driven. My mom had driven the one that we had talked about; I had not. I was very confused. We had been talking about mileage under 10k and rims; I had even joked that if he'd seen my car he'd know they weren't a huge selling point for me. I had written down the exact mileage. Well, if we wanted the lower mileage car he'd get us the best price possible.
We went home instead of putting down a deposit. I was confused but I had an appointment. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the phone with the salesguy trying to get him to understand that we wanted the cars we had talked about for the price we had talked about. We got some hemming and hawing about the stock numbers and I told him straight out that it would be a matter of principle with my husband. Even if it's, "only $700 difference for 10,000 miles--what a deal!" the fact is that we were quoted the price on the lower-mileage car.
He didn't get it. He supposedly talked to his manager and the big boss. Sorry, couldn't do it. But for his money, he knows what he'd do.
We went in later to have them appraise our cars. I figured maybe since he'd backed himself into a corner about the price of the cars he'd be able to offer us more for the trade-ins.
Nope. $800 trade-in value on two cars. (I didn't expect much; they both have close to 100k on them and they are in "fair" condition.) $200 was for my hubby's, $600 was for mom's. I know I could sell either car for over a grand. (Guess which we'll be doing?)
Yesterday we didn't talk with them at all. The store manager called and left a message with mom--he wanted to thank us for coming in and see if he could do anything for us. Hubby and I spent a long time talking strategy about what he should say and how.
We also called my best friend Brian. He's the son of the mechanic that works at the dealership and one of the reasons why we were given a damn good price to begin with. I asked if we were being crazy for standing on one part of principle. But, like he said. It's not the $700. It's not the 10k miles. It's the fact that it's not what we originally agreed to.
So hubby will call today and we'll find out what's going on.
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