Holycrapwe'rebuyingacar!
So, we're about 99.72% sure we've found the right car for us.
The Volkswagen Eos. Yes, the transformer! :D We test drove one yesterday, and were really impressed by it. The only one the dealer had was an automatic (and it was one of two in the whole city - both were automatics), but he said he should be able to get a manual transmission one in by the end of May... Just in time for warm weather driving.
We drove it both with the top up and down. There is some road noise with the roof up, but no more than we were getting in plonq's old Ford. With the roof down, it's great... And when you have the top down but the windows up, there is NO wind turbulence. There's also a wind baffle you can get for the back seat that's supposed to reduce turbulence even with the windows down.
It's a Turbo, and it GOES when you tell it (after the usual 1-sec delay you get in most turbos.)
And - yeah... We liked it.
One of my major waffles on the vehicle was reliability, but the new issue of Consumer Reports (out yesterday! how's that for timing?) gave the car a predicted above average reliability rating. Out of all the convertibles they tested, this one was rated the highest, followed closely by Saab 9-3 and Volvo C70.
My other waffle is going to be price. This is definitly at the top end of what we wanted to spend. And because it's a "rare" car, and we're already getting a low finance rate and the price was reduced this year, our chances of cutting a deal are slim to nil. Now... Even though it's high, we can still pay cash if we wanted to. Plonq worked out this thing with doing 100% financing, putting the "down payment" in a high-interest savings account, have the payments withdrawn from there, and just make "payments" into the savings account (to top it up). Doing this, we actually end up about $600 or so ahead.
But - ack, that's a lot of money. (I knew this going in, of course, but actually seeing the numbers makes me cringe.)
So, we're just about decided here. I'm a horrible waffler, though, so I think I'll need Plonq to just pat me on the head, tell me everything will be ok, and off we can go.
Eeek!
The Volkswagen Eos. Yes, the transformer! :D We test drove one yesterday, and were really impressed by it. The only one the dealer had was an automatic (and it was one of two in the whole city - both were automatics), but he said he should be able to get a manual transmission one in by the end of May... Just in time for warm weather driving.
We drove it both with the top up and down. There is some road noise with the roof up, but no more than we were getting in plonq's old Ford. With the roof down, it's great... And when you have the top down but the windows up, there is NO wind turbulence. There's also a wind baffle you can get for the back seat that's supposed to reduce turbulence even with the windows down.
It's a Turbo, and it GOES when you tell it (after the usual 1-sec delay you get in most turbos.)
And - yeah... We liked it.
One of my major waffles on the vehicle was reliability, but the new issue of Consumer Reports (out yesterday! how's that for timing?) gave the car a predicted above average reliability rating. Out of all the convertibles they tested, this one was rated the highest, followed closely by Saab 9-3 and Volvo C70.
My other waffle is going to be price. This is definitly at the top end of what we wanted to spend. And because it's a "rare" car, and we're already getting a low finance rate and the price was reduced this year, our chances of cutting a deal are slim to nil. Now... Even though it's high, we can still pay cash if we wanted to. Plonq worked out this thing with doing 100% financing, putting the "down payment" in a high-interest savings account, have the payments withdrawn from there, and just make "payments" into the savings account (to top it up). Doing this, we actually end up about $600 or so ahead.
But - ack, that's a lot of money. (I knew this going in, of course, but actually seeing the numbers makes me cringe.)
So, we're just about decided here. I'm a horrible waffler, though, so I think I'll need Plonq to just pat me on the head, tell me everything will be ok, and off we can go.
Eeek!