The Princess Buys a Car!

Okay so this really has not much to do with miles, but I will tie miles into the story, I promise!

As of this past weekend I was still driving the car I went away to college in, my 1990 Red Nissan 240SX Sport Edition. I thought I was the coolest thing on 4 wheels! Well now this it is 2003 it isn’t exactly the coolest thing nor is the most reliable thing anymore.

My dad and I started scouring the paper for a good deal on a late model used car. My sports car days are over, so I decided a SUV was the way to go. I test drove a few and my dad MADE me walk away from a very cool black 2000 Grand Cherokee. My dad said it was too much for that particular car. My dad said he didn’t understand why women get so emotional about particular cars and didn’t understand why I came home and whined and lamented about wanting THAT car. He said a better deal was to be had. Reluctantly, I agreed and drove home in my old car.

Saturday was a new day and we hit the other Jeep dealership in town. There on the lot was a sparkling 2001 White Jeep Grand Cherokee decked out to the nines with all the things I wanted, and the price was reasonable. Once again Dad, the voice of reason, said I shouldn’t jump into anything without letting our mechanic look at the car first. Of course it was Saturday and the mechanic wasn’t open on Saturday so once again I had to drive off in the old college car.

I had to wait till Monday morning for the mechanic’s shop to open. This made for a very long weekend. I went Monday morning back to the dealership so I could pick up the car and drive it over to the mechanic’s shop. The car was given a clean bill of health except for a few minor cosmetic items and the fact that it needed new tires.

Dad and I drove back to the dealership to do a few more negotiations. Okay really Dad did all the negotiating, even though it was my money. All I did was sit there just ready to burst inside. Every time the guy left to “talk to the manager” I would blurt out to my dad “I WANT THAT CAR.” He just continued to tell me not to get emotional about a car. We all finally came to consensus. I have no idea why I can’t negotiate a car deal. I can wheel and deal at work all day long but the thought of buying a car sends chills up my spine! The manager finally just came down to the little sales guy’s office because the poor little sales guy must have made about 10 trips down this little hall. Part of the agreement was new tires which Dad thought were absolutely necessary and that I shouldn’t go any further without them. The dealership needed to order the special tires that I wanted and they agreed to fix the few problems I found. So, once again, there would be no car for the princess today.

Now here is where my mileage earning came into play. I have heard that a few dealerships balk at taking credit cards for a car, but I figured I should take a chance and see what happens. I asked and they said no problem, we take them all. I whipped out my SPG Amex and asked them to put my $8,000 deposit on the card. The card was run through the little machine and was accepted without even a call. AMAZING! I figured it would take at least one phone call to Amex to get it approved for such a large amount.

Reluctantly I drove off once again without my new car but at least I knew I would have it in a day or two. Patience is not a virtue I have in my repertoire.

Wednesday finally came and my car was finally ready. Bryan the salesman drove it out to the house and I am now the proud owner of 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Sport Edition.