man i haven't been car shopping like this since i was eleven-years old when we bought my mom's "new" (it sure ain't new anymore) taurus. what's even better is that I got to test drive them. oooooo, it was so much fun!!! i test drove four, but i'm only considering three.... well, two when my practical financially-minded side kicks in. it's just so hard to choose!!!!!!!first my mom and i went up to stan olsen by the westroads and i test drove a new beetle!!
oh my god that was the coolest thing ever! sad to say, though, the one i actually drove was priced over $20,000, so if i actually did buy a beetle it wouldn't have all the super-cool features this one has. nope, i'd have to go without the moon roof, heated seats, satellite radio, etcetera, etcetera. my mom was the one who really liked the heated seats though. and once i think about it, i really don't need a moon roof. the car was cool enough on it's own.next i tried a hyundai elantra. they only come in sedan models, but are way cheaper. i'm not considering this one in the slightest. i want a sportier-lookin' car, dammit.
after that we drove down l street and visited h&h chevrolet. there i test drove a cobalt, and the sales guy was really thorough. five-star crash test rating,
weird (but really nice looking) plastic engine covers that muffle the sound and keep the engine cleaner. personally, i thought the engine looked really nice all covered up, but i do suppose it helps that i'm not a teenage guy (no offense, but generally guys like engines more, you have to admit it). the cobalt had the prettiest color: laser blue. it was gorgeous! in certain sunlight it looked a little purple too. oh, so pretty... this one is the cheapest that i'm considering with a base price of $13,000. unfortunately power locks and windows don't come standard (you would think they would in this day and age...) so i'd have to pay extra to get power locks installed or get the more expensive model which was something like $15,000. this one also came with an excellent warranty; the standard factory warranty plus a 10 year or 10,000 mile warranty given by the dealer.lastly we stopped by honda cars of bellevue (down on fort crook) and looked at a civic. this one was nice too!
it had a nice blue color, but not as pretty as the one the cobalt offered. the civic was also rated five stars in the crash test thingamajig, and #1 motor trend car of the year (or something like that). this one came standard with all the stuff that i'd have to pay extra for on the cobalt, but the price was higher, so it almost evens out. it was $17,000, so it's still cheaper than the beetle, but more expensive than the cobalt. the civic had a digital speedometer, and it (along with the temperature and fuel gauges) were located just under the windshield on the dashboard, as opposed to behind the steering wheel. that was just plain awesome. (i haven't been around new cars much, can you tell?)all of them got good gas mileage and the chevy and honda salesmen specifically said that the cobalt and civic were low maintenance cars. which is perfect for me, of course, being that i really don't think about that stuff... ever. now i have to discuss finances and stuff with my dad (i'll be paying for the car, of course, and trading in my cavalier which according to the blue book website is worth a lousy $350 trade in. what a jip!) and then we'll go back and look again, and stuff, but it's gonna be a real drag driving to work in my car tomorrow, what with the memory of driving all those new cars reminding me of just how old my cavalier is. *sigh* what a pain....
