So, I went out and bought a new car today

[RetroLounge]

My old car was getting long in the tooth and starting to fall apart. Every few weeks something else needed fixing. And it was always hundreds of dollrs. Figured now was a good time before the credit rating really ends up in the toilet. Lots of finagling on price, bargaining on trade-in value, and having several friends at the dealership helped, and after getting turned down for 3 cars on an all-day saturday shopping binge because of my credit rating, not enough cash down, you're a loser, etc, they finally called me today and got me approved for a car. Not what I really wanted, book-hauling-space-wise, but really nice nonetheless.

So here it is, my 2006 Hyundai Sonata, in silvery blue, Korean in origin, built in the USA. Low mileage and with 9 years of warranty still left on it.

(pictures are not my actual car, obviously, unless the Golden Gate was moved to Milwaukee. or that other unknown bridge in the 2nd pic.)





RL

[lost-in-nj]

1. Good Luck with it!!!

(throwing coins on the back floor)
does it have all wheel drive for the Wisconsin winters???

:hi:


lost

[RetroLounge]

2. Nah, 2 wheel is fine if you know how to drive

:hi:

RL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear Retro!

Now that sounds wonderful!

Good for you, sweetie!

Those are well-made cars, and I hope you'll enjoy it for many many years!



:toast:

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

5. Thanks!

I know it's just an object, but still, to have something go well in my life is a blessing.

and I have a few things going well now. Lets see if they can keep adding up...

:hug:

RL

[BarenakedLady]

4. Cool

I hope it lasts you a long time, my friend.

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

7. thanks!

and a new car makes the idea of a, hmmm, oh, maybe 9 hour eastern-drection road-trip more bearable...

:hi:

RL

[BarenakedLady]

8. I was thinking just that...

:D

[RetroLounge]

11. ...

:D

RL

[mzteris]

6. Great! Now you can drive

to the meetup I'm trying to plan for Milwaukee -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=186&topic_id=22013&mesg_id=22013

Since Madtowners don't seem to like to party or anything. :(


BTW - that reminds me : WHEN is the Grand Opening :party: ??

[RetroLounge]

10. I will see if I can make that...

and probably no grand opening. We're just open...

So come on by.

:hi:

RL

[mzteris]

38. you should offer up some suggestions

I know nothing about Milwaukee and there are a couple of suggestions - but no resounding endorsements, ya know?

Any ideas?


Also, I do plan to stop by at some point that day or maybe when I go up to pick up my daughter.

What are your hours again?

[RetroLounge]

66. Maybe I'll just join wherever we meet up

I'm open 6-9 tuesday thru Friday evenings and noon to 6 on weekends.

:hi:

RL

[Rising Phoenix]

9. congrats

enjoy! :hi:

[RetroLounge]

12. Thanks!

:hi:

RL

[Rising Phoenix]

18. ...

:loveya:

[SeattleGirl]

13. Nice car, RL!

Now you have good wheels to make it out here! :)

[RetroLounge]

14. That would be a 3 or 4 day drive, right?

My old Saturn would be dead before I saw Colorado...

:D

RL

[SeattleGirl]

15. Roughly that.

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

17. I figure if I drove to Seattle it would take 2 weeks

Just me and my camera, and several stops along the way to visit DU friends...

RL

[SeattleGirl]

22. That's absolutely the way to do it.

I think there are a lot of DUers between your place and Seattle.

[RetroLounge]

23. Yeah, at least 3 I know of

Minneapolis, Colorado and idaho are ones that come to mind...

RL

[wildhorses]

16. nice ride and cool sigline pic

:hi: :loveya: :hug:

[RetroLounge]

20. Hey You!

Got the sigline pic from another DU'er...

How are you?

:loveya:

RL

[wildhorses]

24. doing ok.

just got home from the mountains. look for a pic thread in a few days ;)

i hope i got some decent shots. tell santa i want a digital camera for x-mas :rofl:

[RetroLounge]

31. I'll tell Santa when I see him.

:hi:

:rofl:

RL

[LeftyMom]

19. Congrats!

Still beating up my '97 here but I'm starting to keep my eyes open for a good deal, since it's got over 150,000 miles on it.

I'm thinking an Escape Hybrid for my next car, I don't really think I could get by with any less cargo space.

[RetroLounge]

21. Yeah, less cargo space may be a challenge

But it has a big trunk, and the seats fold down.

and I am co-owner for now on an SUV the STBE drives and lets me borrow.

RL

[LeftyMom]

26. ah. Mine is the vehicle everybody borrows to carry stuff.

So as much as I want to go smaller (there was a Honda Civic Hybrid for sale for $6K on CL here a few months back- I was SOOOOO tempted, especially since they get to use the carpool lane anytime and that would shave a good 15 minutes each way off my commute) I really couldn't unless I got a beater pickup or something as well.

[skygazer]

25. A dependable car does a lot toward stress relief

Congrats - and I think that second bridge is the Bay Bridge. :hi:

[RetroLounge]

27. Stress Relief!

That's It! What an odd feeling, not being as stressed...

:hi:

RL

[opiate69]

28. Sonatas are nice cars.. I have a 2000..

it's currently down waiting for me to come up with $400 for a new catalytic converter, but aside from a couple of sensors and regular plug/wires, I've never had any other problems with it.

[RetroLounge]

29. Good to hear..

We've had 6 Hyundais in our family. Always liked them.

RL

[lizziegrace]

30. Congratulations!

I ended up with a 7 year old Taurus with 53k on it because a Japanese import I could afford had too many miles, The bank wouldn't consider financing an old car with a lot of miles. :( I got turned down by too many banks and finance companies to count, but one took a chance.

:hug:

I'm glad for you.

:)

[RetroLounge]

32. Yeah, I really thought no one would finance me

and the weird thing? The monthly payment is $75 a month less than they told me on Saturday. :shrug:

RL

[lizziegrace]

33. a bonus!

:)

I learned they anticipate a rate and usually don't adjust if the bank actually comes in lower. You got a more honest dealer than I did. :P

[XemaSab]

34. Bay Bridge

n/t

[Crabby Appleton]

40. yep, it is. nt

[panzerfaust]

43. Yep

I do miss living in SFO - EVEN the Bay Bridge

[NMDemDist2]

35. i have several acquaintances/coworkers who have that car and they LOVE it

well done!

:hi:

edit stupid spelling error

[RetroLounge]

46. Good to hear...

thanks

:hi:

RL

[datasuspect]

36. good on gas

clean looking ride.

very nice

[RetroLounge]

47. Thanks

24 city / 31 highway so they say...

RL

[Initech]

37. Nice! Hyundais are supposed to be really solid, it should last a long time.

I just got a new Nissan Altima, mine is really great as well.

[RetroLounge]

48. Nissan Altima

Nice looking car, too...

RL

[Initech]

58. The push button start kicks ass.

And so does the GPS. I love the backup camera and the XM Nav Traffic feature.

[BreweryYardRat]

39. How much did you cough up for it?

I'm in the market for a new or lightly used car myself, but everyone seems to be asking a lot more than the ones down here are worth, to the point that even with haggling, I'd still pay more than the car's value.

[RetroLounge]

49. It was stickered at 17k

Marked down to 13k as a special offer.

We began bargaining from there...

RL

[xchrom]

41. congrats -- and boy -- i'm gonna look good in the passenger seat.

[RetroLounge]

44. I was thinking you'd look good in the back seat

:evilgrin:

RL

[xchrom]

50. lol -- i like the way you think.

:smoke:

[RetroLounge]

67. I thought you might...

:evilgrin:

RL

[Callalily]

42. Congrats on the

new car. I keep putting off buying a car for fear of being taken. But I really have to get going. My poor little Honda's creeping up on 250,000.

[RetroLounge]

45. That's a lot of miles, even for a Honda...

:hi:

RL

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

51. Congrats on the car !

Happy driving !

[RetroLounge]

59. Thanks!

:hi:

RL

[edbermac]

52. I just got a new car myself

The girls were extra. :evilgrin:

[RetroLounge]

60. Ew, too skinny for my tastes

But they would all fit in the car...

:hi:

RL

[Gormy Cuss]

53. I've got bad news for you, Retro.

That second bridge looks very much like the San Francisco Bay Bridge and that means that your perky little car is gonna scream for mercy when winter comes along..poor thing was promised a temperate climate in the travel brochures and look where it ended up.


;-)

[RetroLounge]

61. Ah, the old Climate Bait & Switch...

Damn.

RL

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

54. I assume this is a symptom the library business is booming, eh?

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

62. I wish...

It's a sign of the old Saturn dropping parts on the road...

RL

[cloudbase]

55. I got one as a rental car last year

and was really impressed with the overall quality. Congratulations and the best of luck with it.

[RetroLounge]

63. Thanks

It really drives nicely...

RL

[bullwinkle428]

56. Hyundais have made absolute quantum leaps in the areas

of initial quality and reliability since they first began selling in the U.S. starting in around 1990 - the car should hopefully give you years of problem-free driving! :thumbsup:

[RetroLounge]

64. I sure hope so....

:hi:

RL

[KitchenWitch]

57. Nice car, but moving bridges still ook me out.

:scared:

[RetroLounge]

65. Yeah, I drove over the Golden Gate

and as cool as it was, it also freaked me out a bit...

:hi:

RL

[TommyO]

68. I did the same thing today, almost!

Compliments of a bad breakup, and some bad financial mistakes on my part, my previously decent credit is shot.

My car (a 2000 VW Passat) died last week, and resurrecting it is going to be a pricey endeavor. I started looking for "new" cars and found that the six cylinder, 2004 or better, Chevy Malibu fit my needs. It offers all of the equipment that I need, including a decent engine and transmission combination, plenty of driver's room, and reasonable cost. I did some searching and found one that was perfect. It is a Chevy sales manager's demo car, low mileage, and well cared for. Even with my crappy credit, they said that financing wouldn't be too much of a problem, and they were right. The car isn't mine yet, but will be before the weekend. Happy Days!