So I have some excellent news to share. I have a new car!

I have been researching cars for quite some time now. During tax season I kept trying to put money aside for a down payment but unfortunately too many emergencies popped up and I couldn’t really save like I wanted. This past Friday I decided to try for a car loan at my bank getting full financing. The first thing I did was go to our local Kia dealer. They had a deal of $0 down and $99 a month on select models so I wanted to find out what those models were. Unfortunately it was only for the Kia Soul, which I am not a fan of.  Instead I told the sales guy what I was looking for (gas mileage, 4 door sedan, etc etc). I wasn’t looking for anything with a bunch of bells and whistles because i knew that no matter what, the car I picked would have more than what my old trooper has now (no radio for two years, tape deck eats everything, most windows wouldn’t roll down, and so on). I got excited about a 2010 Chevy Cobalt that had under 42k miles and a fairly decent price. So I took it for a test drive and was impressed although I have to admit that going from a SUV to a sedan felt odd. It doesn’t feel odd anymore LOL!

I was quite proud of myself overall. The sales guy put me with the financial manager so I could get a work up of the total price of the car to take to the bank. The financial manager really tried hard to see if I would try to get financed through them. But see my credit isn’t great (not bad and not good) and I knew that any of their lenders would offer me anywhere from 10-20% interest. My bank would give me 4.75% if approved. I would rather take my chances with the bank. So I got the paperwork and headed to the bank.

At the bank I nervously went through the process. We reviewed my credit and was happy to see that something that had to be paid off after the personal loan came back as resolved. She took the form and left the office to get approval. I just quietly sat there and emptied my mind. I was going to be okay with a no and understand that it wouldn’t be the right time. But she came back and gave me a thumbs up. I was ECSTATIC! I enjoyed calling up the financial manager to let him know that I would be by with a check. I then set about getting my insurance set up and then got the check and then picked up the car.

Overall I am very happy with my new car. I made cd’s for it until my iPod adapter is in so I can listen to music from the iPod. I made a protection sachet that hangs from the rearview. We don’t eat, drink, or smoke in the car. She is wonderful and I named her Myrtle.

This is the first car I have ever bought. All my other cars have been hand me downs or bought off the used lot for $2k. I am excited about having a car that is newer and with great gas mileage. The kids keep telling me they feel like they are cool kids riding in her. They also love that they have windows that work (and I like locking them so they don’t bust them) and they enjoy jamming out to music (so glad we have similar tastes!). I enjoyed the overall car buying experience. And when this one is paid off, I might just go buy another one so that I can let the girls (who will be driving by then) use Myrtle. And I will probably go back to the same Kia dealership.

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