My Unnamed Car

I've known this day was coming for the last three years. I was even able to buy an extra year. But the end was always there. August. It wouldn't go away. Boy did I try. I tried to negotiate. I tried to scheme. I tried to close my eyes and pray that it would just go away. I'd forget about it and pretend it wasn't going to happen. This is a reoccurring theme in my life by the way. I deal with difficult situations by ignoring them. Real mature I know. I came up with some pretty genius plans. I thought about buying a bike (that was not the genius plan). I figured I could get by without a car. I would just rent one when needed. I wished Salt Lake had Zipcar. I thought about at least putting off the decision until the weather got cold and I wouldn't want to walk to work anymore. Oh the ideas I had.

My first car. Oh I loved my first car. A red Mustang convertible with a black top. I wanted the car so badly. I counted down the days until I could get it. I worked hard to earn it. I loved it.

Then in NYC I fell in love with public transportation. I know. I know most of you think I'm crazy. But I loved the subway. I loved the downtime. The time to read. Not having to think. Letting someone else control how I got from A to B. (Yes, I realize how weird that is for a control freak.) Now don't get me wrong, I also dreamed about having a full time driver at my disposal. But not dealing with traffic or car repairs or gas prices. It was nice.

But now here I was, in need of buying a car and I had no idea what I wanted. I really like the look of the Volvo XC60. Sure Volvo is a soccer mom car, but I didn't care. While driving past the Volvo dealership downtown one day I randomly pulled in. I had not done a single minute of research. I had no idea what features the car had. I had no idea how much it cost. I knew nothing. All I knew was that it looked cute. I never realized how little I actually know about cars. So there I was talking to the salesman and thinking to myself, "Wow. Volvo's are considered a luxury car. Wow. This is kind of expensive. It's just a Volvo. I'm not buying the Audi or BMW." I drove away and reality set-in a little bit. I needed to buy a car. Cars are expensive. Cars are a commitment. Cars are a decision.

So naturally, I didn't do a single car related thing for the next month. And that date kept popping into the back of my head - annoying me whenever it dared remind me of the future.

My Dad kept asking, "Have you looked at a Hyundai? Just go test drive it." Um no offense Hyundai owners, but no. No.

And then I finally went and test drove a Hyundai. As soon as I left the dealership I called my sister and said, "I think I'm going to buy a Hyundai." To which I'm pretty sure she responded, "Wait? You're really going to make a decision and buy a car!"

So I kept going back and forth between buying, not buying, leasing, not leasing, walking, biking and not doing anything. Then I would go back and forth about a more expensive car I could afford but probably shouldn't spend all that money on a silly car and a more practical car. Then I would freak out about what color to buy. Or which sales guy to buy it from. The Nissan. The Volvo. The Hyundai. Should I just forget the SUV Crossover and just go buy a Honda Accord. Sunroof? Heated seats? Do I need those? Will a V4 have enough power? Do I really need a V6? No, I'm fine with just any old car that will get me where I need to go. Money. All that money. But it's just money, right? It wasn't about if I could afford it or not; I'm not completely careless. It was just that I didn't want to have to spend the money. Red or Black? Grey or Black interior? Oh the decisions - it's a good thing I don't drink coffee. And then I would start all over again with the back and forth between buying vs. leasing vs. not doing anything vs. holding my current car hostage. Trust me, I really thought about that.

Let me state for the record: I can normally make decisions. I'm actually very good at it. But I'm starting to think I have commitment issues. I'm starting to think all of you are laughing at me now because you've all known this all along. I'm also starting to think that buying a house is going to be impossible. And let's not state the obvious about this being a 39 month commitment vs. a husband.

I know, I'm ridiculous.

So one night I left work and decided to just go do it. I test drove the Hyundai again. I negotiated with the sales guy. I tried to pick which color interior I wanted. And nothing. The sales guy wouldn't give me anything. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt pressured. I felt annoyed. I felt like I was being treated like a stupid woman who didn't know how to do math. So at 9:25pm, twenty-five minutes after the dealership had closed and probably two hours since I first drove on the lot, I left.

I couldn't sleep that night. I pulled up my Excel spreadsheet - don't roll your eyes like that, you knew I had one. You knew I knew these numbers backwards and forwards. I got online. I read all of the reviews and reports I'd already read a million times. I was a crazy lady. The next day I called Kelli from work - she has so much more patience for me than even I have for myself - but even she was done with me and this conversation.

So I just went and did it. A completely different car. A completely different brand. A completely different dealership. I called the sales guy I had already test driven this car with twice (yep, totally that person) and told him I was ready. So I walked into the Nissan dealership and bought (okay fine, technically leased) my Rogue. I told the man what I wanted, below where he had anchored me the last time I was there. We negotiated and made a deal. I signed the paperwork and had a minor (internal) freak out while waiting for the Finance guy to run my credit and finalize the paperwork. He gave in too easy. I had left money on the table. What was I doing!? I just bought a silver car. I didn't want silver! I met with the Finance guy. I looked at the paperwork and it was wrong. It was not the price that I had agreed on with the sales guy. The sales manager came in and agreed to the original deal all over again. The paper work was reprinted. It was still wrong. The Finance guy didn't even call the sales team back in, he just did what I told him to do. I signed the paperwork and walked out feeling like a million bucks.

I had to get the Jeep back to my apartment, so the salesman followed me and then we drove back to drop him off at the dealership. On the way back he told me he was really impressed with my negotiation skills. I kept thinking he had already sold the car, but thanks for boosting my ego. Then he asked what I had studied in school. (I had received a new graduate discount.) I said business, and he started laughing. He looked at me and said, "You said you graduated from grad school, right? You got your MBA. Very impressive." I said thank you, smiled and thought . . . yes, and I can do math.

So here she is. My Nissan Rogue. I love her. And "she" doesn't have a name, just "her" and "she." I've never really named my cars before.



So there you have it. The long saga of my life. Yes, I know, poor me that these are the decisions that consume my Saturdays. But this was big for me. I bought my first car. The first new car I've ever had. All shiny and smelling like a new car.