Sold! Or is it BOUGHT!

You might remember that back on Sept 11, I mentioned how much I DESPISED buying a new vehicle.

Well, I do. 

I still do.

But today was a bit easier.

I had looked at a car search online in our area and received a few emails from Mike Raisor in Lafayette.  The timing was such that we didn't follow up on anything with Cindy who contacted us because we were going to be in Myrtle Beach.

Now I have to add that we had been working with Trevor from the Bob Rohrman dealership and he was great with finding possible vehicles for us.  He was very eager, and he was concerned that we would go elsewhere while Gary was recuperating and he would lose out on a sale.

So this was our plan...

We would go to Raisor and meet with the salesman there, test drive a few that we liked possibly, then go to Rohrmans and test drive a few there too.

This afternoon after lunch we met with Heath and he had a black Ford Escape ready for us to drive as soon as we arrived.  He copied our drivers' licenses, slapped a temporary plate on the back, and gave us some advice about where to drive, then sent us on our way.

Well, that was different!  When we test drove a Camry, Trevor hopped in the back seat, told us where to turn, and talked the entire time, asking us questions.  We didn't really have a chance to talk to each other and look at all of the features.   I really liked taking the car ourselves and checking it out, inside and out, without the salesperson along.  I do understand that they may not trust everyone who comes in to test drive, but we must have looked dependable and responsible.  Plus we had just been to Grandparents' Day so that may have helped?

While we did like the black Escape, it did not have 4 wheel drive, and it did not have the eco boost.  The mileage was low and the price was reasonable however.  But we looked at a couple more.

One of the red Escapes had a sun-roof, ecoboost, 4-wheel drive, and a few other features that go along with the Titanium name.  I loved it.  We were ready to take it on a test drive when Gary noticed that while the price was reasonable, the mileage was close to 50,000 which was more than we wanted.

BUT....the other red Escape was also a Titanium and boasted all of the features of the first Red except the sunroof.  We agreed that while a sunroof would be nice, our gray Escape does have a sunroof and we rarely used it.  Not a make-or-break item for us. Plus the mileage was much lower and the price more competitive.  Once again, the plate was slapped on the back and off we went.  This time I was driving and I took a longer route to Dayton (Indiana, not Ohio) and back and loved it.

Moment of truth---price.  When all was said and done with taxes added in, it was less than what we were expecting at the other dealership.  Sounds good, right?

But here I am, thinking about Trevor.  He put in a lot of work trying to find vehicles for us.  He was very patient while Gary was recuperating and while we were on vacation.  He did however send us two purchase agreements to sign on cars we had not even seen, let alone driven.  He was very eager to make a sale.  I suggested that we go to his dealership and see what he had to offer again, do some comparison shopping, and make a decision.

I sent him a text that we would be stopping by after we ran a couple of errands. 

No response.

We went to the dealership and looked at the RAV4's that he had mentioned to us.  All had more miles than the Escape and were higher in price than what we had been offered on the Escape.  Plus those vehicles looked smaller than the Escapes and not as snazzy as the red one that was our favorite. No Trevor appeared or responded.

Another text to Trevor saying "Sorry, but we just aren't interested in the RAV4's now but thank you for your help."

Before we arrived home again, I had sent a text to Heath telling him that we did want to buy the red Escape with 4-wheel drive, low mileage, and the eco boost.  Plus he had told me he would move the rubber mat in the back of the first red Escape with the sunroof (and I really liked that rubber mat!!) to the one we were purchasing!  Even better!

By Monday we will have a new-to-us vehicle.  Blaine is buying the silver Escape.  The white Escape we will use for just running around town, errands, and such.  Longer trips, like to Indianapolis or to Winamac or Medaryville or Rensselaer, will be made in the new one.

As I read back through the text here, I realize that anyone reading it might think we have a 'thing' for Ford Escapes.  Well, I guess we do.  This will be our fourth one.  We have had virtually no issues with any of them, they have been very reliable, and they seem to be perfect for our needs.  Why not stay with them if we like them?

To be fair, though, we did look at other options.  We liked the Camry (but it was too low to the ground for us), and an Explorer (too much money and we really didn't need that much room), and considered the RAV4 and a CRV.  But we returned always to an Escape. 

And the process with Heath was relatively painless.

Giving us the keys and letting us test drive by ourselves was definitely a plus!