Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Car We've All Been Waiting For

NOTE: All suggestions for car names must be in by midnight eastern time to qualify.

Surely you all are wondering. Assumedly everyone wants to know. Likely there are questions to be answered. So here's the story. It's a little long, but we all know how I like a good saga so read on!


Last Monday our car was hit. My stomach dropped as soon as I heard. We knew eventually we would have to buy a new car, but we were hoping to get the most out of our Cavalier that we possibly could.

The timetable now moved up considerably, we started shopping. AutoTrader.com is a life saver. We immediately found several cars that seemed like viable options and I started calling around to get information as soon as I could.

Friday night we stopped at several dealerships. We wanted to see all of our options, find out more information about several of the cars we had been reading up on. Most of the lots were closing as we came in and it was very cold. But we did get to test drive a couple and got some good ideas about many.

Pretty much everyone we know and everyone who knows someone we know, agreed that Subaru was an excellent choice. They're dependable, we heard. From the pictures of all we looked at, we could tell that it would be perfect for the hauling we would require from it.

I found a private seller who had a fairly new Subaru Legacy for a very reasonable price. We played phone tag a few times and finally set up a time to meet on Sunday after church. In the meanwhile, we did a few more drive-bys through small and large car lots and also stopped at another private seller's to do a test drive.

But I was holding my breath. My fingers were crossed. I was hoping against all hopes that this would be the car. The specs looked perfect on paper: sunroof, manual transmission, bike rack on top, sweet stereo, tons of storage, back seats fold down flat, low price, cruise control, a/c that worked, a very loud horn, and only three years old.

Sunday afternoon came. We met at Matt's* house. He seemed like a very nice, friendly guy and gave us a few details on the car before we took it for a spin. Before I even pulled out of the driveway (Yes, can you believe Andy let me drive it first!? I am one spoiled lady.) I said to my hubby, "Can we get it?"

The only stipulation was that we needed to take it to a garage and have a mechanic look it over. I was so sure this would be the car for us, I hardly wanted to even bother, I just wanted to take the car home! Monday we met Matt's wife and as we gave her our loan approval letter from the bank she gave us the keys to take the car to The Garage. (Really, that's the name of the shop!) The mechanic came out and looked it over, took it for a test drive and determined that we absolutely needed to have the brakes done very soon (we had been noticing the squeaky brake situation anyway) as well as the wheel bearings. He printed out an estimate for us and we went back to the seller's house.

Matt's wife took the estimate and said Matt would give us a call and let us know how much he would be willing to come down in price. We decided as we drove away that we would keep looking, just to be safe.

Though I didn't want to keep looking. I just wanted Matt to take off the amount of the repairs and we would be good to go. I was ready to take it home then and there. We had bonded, you see.

After more phone tag back and forth we agreed on a very reasonable price and set a time to meet at the bank the next day. On the way to the bank I called to let him know we were on the way and to make sure he had the title with him. He didn't, but his bank had said they'd mail it and that he wouldn't need it for closing. Our loan officer didn't agree with this. In fact, she said that we couldn't possibly close until we had it. After several phone calls, being on hold for quite a while, and many differing opinions, Matt decided to go back to check at his parents place and also at his place. Just to be sure.

Finally, finally, it was all settled. The title was found, we signed off on it, he paid the remaining balance due on his loan (we really bought it for less than he currently owed!) and I drove away in my new sube.

We are sube owners. Members belonging to an elite sube club. Waving at other subes as we drive by, we feel like we brought home a new family member. And in a way, we did.

But what to call him? Or her?! Any suggestions for a good name for our new addition? A fabulous prize is promised to whoever recommends the best name!



*We decided that Matt was a new friend and we could refer to him by first name. It was great to work with such a flexible and friendly guy.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

You will probably think this is very corny, how about Ferriswheels! Don't laugh, I liked the play on words.

Anonymous said...

A few thoughts:

1) Wow, you ARE blogging a lot these days! How do you do it? I'm telling you Anne, you should just go full-time blogger. You obviously have the passion.

2) Ew. You just said "sube." How elitist is THAT.

3) Car's name proposal: "T-Bone" As in, the manner in which this car will inevitably be taken from this world. In 3 months.

Anonymous said...

... Sue Baroo wouldn't be a bad name, either...

I'm putting way too much thought into this...

/gotta get that prize!

Jean said...

i say silver bullet. the way you sped past me the other night...that one fits...

Anonymous said...

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!! I hope you guys will be happy with the car. Subaru's are sometimes referred to as "scooby" like scooby doo. I call mine a scubaru...one person called mine a "eurobus" "urabus" - subaru backwards.

Carbon said...

HEY!!! That's what I have! A subaru legacy outback. It's awesome. Mine is called "scooby" (very unimaginative), as james referred to above but its fancy enough for me :)

anne said...

Cheri, that is very corny...but I'll still put it in the pot.

Nate, I am extremely elitist. Get used to it. And please don't put a curse on my new sube.
You know what's really sad? I had to say the other name out loud before I got it...you have two for the pot.

Jean, good call! It is very speedy and quick like a cat! One down for you so far!

James, thank you, it's a very nice family to belong to. :) And I like urabus very much. One for you.

Carb, even though James said it, I'll put you down for Scooby. Sorry buddy, just trying to even the score.

Ok people, keep them coming. The prize will be unbelieveable!

Anonymous said...

You can't go wrong with "Fred".

If that's not your style then perhaps "Fredaru".

Hillary said...

Wow, any blossoming good idea was blasted out of my head by the aweseomness of "Ferriswheels."

...

...

...


Yeah, I got nothin'

BUT, isn't getting a new car great!?!? Congrats!

Heather Anne Hogan said...

How about Ace? Ace is a great name for a silver little guy like that. :)

Michelle B said...

I vote for Charlie - it just seems like a friendly, dependable name - hopefully exactly like your car.

Anonymous said...

Okay here is another for you. Roo, short, sweet, and is a quick version of subaru. I liked the name T-bone and Bullet too. Wow so many good choices. I like this game.

anne said...

Fred...Fredaru...Ace...Charlie...Roo

So many options you guys! :) Ok, all suggestions must be in by midnight tonight and then the voting will begin!

Anonymous said...

Hey! Neat new car! Yeah, I just called your car "neat." Sorry. It's still early over here for me. ;)

And hey! I have a cavalier. Small car world, it is.

For a name, I suggest: Buckley.
Or: Stan.

I have no idea why. It just came to me. In a pre-coffeeish vision.

Kat said...

Dude! I have a cavalier too - and I am waiting for that thing to take a nose dive off the highway, so I can buy brand new...but I made a pack with my car that I would drive her till she died. Watch - she'll last another 10 years, with my luck.

I nominate Lulu. I used to have an x-bf who would name his cars...they were all female, and the first initial of the name co-incided with the brand of the car...Legacy = Lulu.

anne said...

Kerrianne, I love Stan. And Buckley. Pre-coffee visions are often the most true visions...

Kat, our Cav would have lasted a very long time, I am sure. But there is nothing better than a car that's paid off, am I right? Lulu. It has a gentle ring to it.

Anonymous said...

I know I missed out on the name suggestions, but just wanted to say congrats on the new car! Looks real sharp. My parents actually had a Subaru wagon back in the mid-80's. I believe it was the first brand new car they had ever bought (in fact, I think it still is the only one!) They only kept it for 4 yrs, but it had a great 4yrs. It just wasn't powerful enough for towing a camper.
Tim's parents have one like yours and they really like it. I think they call it Subey.
Did I tell you we got a new car also? We traded Katie's VW Bug for an 06 Nissan Murano.. it's suder duper sweet :) I'll have to send you a pic sometime!
Good luck with name game and have a good afternoon!

anne said...

Hey Shawn! :) You should send me pics of your new car! There's nothing more exciting. Except when you HAVE to buy a car. That puts a little bit of a damper on it all. But not too much... ;)