Vroom!
I was so depressed when I went to bed last night, feeling like there was no way I was going to be happy with the car decision (wagon-replacement) no matter what we chose; that, plus fatigue, was making me feel pretty miserable about life, the universe and everything. However, hope springs eternal, and when Will and I saw a few new gently-used Foresters on the dealer's website, we decided to go back to check them out. Even though we hadn't initially planned to buy so soon, we also knew that if we saw something we liked from the pre-owned inventory, we'd have to be ready to act, before it disappeared.
Sure enough: we have a new car! It's a 2008 model/30K miles, which means we get the maximum amount out of the extended warranty while still avoiding the new 2009 version, which we hated. And while we tend to be 'base model' people, without frills, this particular car has a "sport" package, which is sort of midway between base and the much posher level up. It has a nicer stereo (6 CD changer), better rims (which gets us away from the wheel covers Will hates) and some cosmetic stuff on the front end, which we don't really care about. So, anyway, we get some niceties thrown in, which we'll enjoy even if we didn't need them.
The photo in the link is from a 2008 review, but the one we've just bought is the same silvery-gray color, with a dark-gray interior. Maybe not our top choice (we tend to like blue), but one we can definitely live with (unlike moss green, black, white, and beige/gold). We got them to throw in a new cargo cover (for the back) - not much of a bargaining tool, perhaps, but still something important to us and it saves us a little money. We'll be trading in our old wagon, which was a little bit of a sticking point as it's currently in pieces in our garage and thus not up for a dealer inspection. They were able to make a rough estimate based on the info we gave them - it's not worth a whole lot, but given that it's 11 years old, has ~130K miles, and was in a minor accident 6 years ago - the estimate they gave us is about what we had figured, so we're not upset. We've JUST paid for the annual safety/emissions inspection, which is kind of annoying now that we're getting rid of it, but, on the other hand, I think that slightly improved the trade-in value when we told them that, as soon as the axle is repaired, it will come with a freshly passed inspection.
We didn't push too hard for a bargain - neither one of us is very good at that. However, they'd recently lowered the price a bit anyway, we're getting the cargo cover, and we're getting an almost-new car for about $4K less than the Honda CRV we were considering. And, y'know, we're both a lot happier. Even though, in some ways, the CRV might be a better vehicle, I just didn't want to buy it. It didn't fit me.
Of course, we can't pick it up until the wagon is repaired, re-inspected, and then inspected by the Subaru dealership for trade-in; we did put down a deposit, though, and hopefully Will will have the time to fix the wagon within a week. (And give it a major vacuuming: cracker/cereal/pretzel crumbs everywhere. :P)
Will and I took turns with the test drives, while the other parent stayed in the dealership to watch the girls. They kept themselves reasonably entertained given that we were there two hours (I swear, time moves faster in a car dealership) but, again - they brought stuff to do and then didn't want anything to do with it once we got there. *bangs head*
It's always a little nerve-wracking, taking on a used car and hoping it's truly ok, but we did well with the wagon (which was 2 years old/60K miles when we bought it 9 years ago), and hopefully that "dealer-certified" inspection system is worth something. This was the car I've wanted all along for the past two years. I hope we're happy with the reality. *fingers crossed* Still - I'm excited. And feeling better than I did this morning - I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me. I'd slept funny so my back was all stiff and sore, I was absolutely exhausted, and had no ambition for anything, either chores or even any recreational activity.
Thanks to everyone who offered experience, advice, opinions, etc, along the way. Thank goodness for LJ. :D
Sure enough: we have a new car! It's a 2008 model/30K miles, which means we get the maximum amount out of the extended warranty while still avoiding the new 2009 version, which we hated. And while we tend to be 'base model' people, without frills, this particular car has a "sport" package, which is sort of midway between base and the much posher level up. It has a nicer stereo (6 CD changer), better rims (which gets us away from the wheel covers Will hates) and some cosmetic stuff on the front end, which we don't really care about. So, anyway, we get some niceties thrown in, which we'll enjoy even if we didn't need them.
The photo in the link is from a 2008 review, but the one we've just bought is the same silvery-gray color, with a dark-gray interior. Maybe not our top choice (we tend to like blue), but one we can definitely live with (unlike moss green, black, white, and beige/gold). We got them to throw in a new cargo cover (for the back) - not much of a bargaining tool, perhaps, but still something important to us and it saves us a little money. We'll be trading in our old wagon, which was a little bit of a sticking point as it's currently in pieces in our garage and thus not up for a dealer inspection. They were able to make a rough estimate based on the info we gave them - it's not worth a whole lot, but given that it's 11 years old, has ~130K miles, and was in a minor accident 6 years ago - the estimate they gave us is about what we had figured, so we're not upset. We've JUST paid for the annual safety/emissions inspection, which is kind of annoying now that we're getting rid of it, but, on the other hand, I think that slightly improved the trade-in value when we told them that, as soon as the axle is repaired, it will come with a freshly passed inspection.
We didn't push too hard for a bargain - neither one of us is very good at that. However, they'd recently lowered the price a bit anyway, we're getting the cargo cover, and we're getting an almost-new car for about $4K less than the Honda CRV we were considering. And, y'know, we're both a lot happier. Even though, in some ways, the CRV might be a better vehicle, I just didn't want to buy it. It didn't fit me.
Of course, we can't pick it up until the wagon is repaired, re-inspected, and then inspected by the Subaru dealership for trade-in; we did put down a deposit, though, and hopefully Will will have the time to fix the wagon within a week. (And give it a major vacuuming: cracker/cereal/pretzel crumbs everywhere. :P)
Will and I took turns with the test drives, while the other parent stayed in the dealership to watch the girls. They kept themselves reasonably entertained given that we were there two hours (I swear, time moves faster in a car dealership) but, again - they brought stuff to do and then didn't want anything to do with it once we got there. *bangs head*
It's always a little nerve-wracking, taking on a used car and hoping it's truly ok, but we did well with the wagon (which was 2 years old/60K miles when we bought it 9 years ago), and hopefully that "dealer-certified" inspection system is worth something. This was the car I've wanted all along for the past two years. I hope we're happy with the reality. *fingers crossed* Still - I'm excited. And feeling better than I did this morning - I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me. I'd slept funny so my back was all stiff and sore, I was absolutely exhausted, and had no ambition for anything, either chores or even any recreational activity.
Thanks to everyone who offered experience, advice, opinions, etc, along the way. Thank goodness for LJ. :D