Car Shopping

Before shopping we had narrowed our choices down to the Honda CRV, Nissan Rogue and Toyota Rav4.

The first vehicle we drove was the Nissan Rogue at Love Nissan. This is a brand new model Nissan brought out recently. We loved the way it drives - it actually drives better than the CRV. The continuously variable transmission adjusts to the way you're driving and there's never a lag or jump. It had very comfortable seats. The one we wanted had the premium package which included Bose stereo, bluetooth phone capability with controls on the steering wheel, audio controls on the steering wheel, and keyless entry system. On the negative side, it wasn't as roomy as the CRV and I felt a little too crowded, the back seat didn't have a center console, and the window in the back was SO TINY I would have had a hard time backing up. It also didn't have a moonroof or arm rests. But we really liked it and were seriously considering it. They only had a few on the lot but we liked the silver one we drove.

We wanted to drive the CRV (the top contender) with the Rogue fresh in our mind so we passed the Toyota dealership and went on to Lester Raines Honda. The last time we bought a CRV there, they only had THREE on the lot, all of them EX models which were "loaded". So we expected the same thing today. But today they had a BUNCH of CRV's - and not just EX's. Several LX's too, some with just front wheel drive even. We drove a light blue LX and it was about $2,000 less than the Rogue. No moonroof, no bells and whistles, just a basic CRV with all wheel drive. It was actually disappointing driving it after the Rogue, with a rougher and noiser ride (just like the old CRV). And it didn't have all the cool luxury extras on it. But we decided while driving it that economically it was the best thing to do. It was cheaper and we know it will have a good resale value. The other negative thing about the Rogue is it's brand new, hasn't even been crash test rated yet and there's no long term data on it.

So after we got back to the lot, Dave went inside with the salesman and I stayed out in the lot trying to figure out what color I wanted. When I went inside the salesman was showing him a silver CRV in the showroom, which was a 2007 model EX. The EX has a few more bells and whistles than the LX - a 6 cd changer, moonroof, audio controls in the steering wheel, cargo shelf and tinted back windows. He offered it to us for less than the 2008 LX. And since there were no changes to the 2008 models it was exactly the same as a 2008 EX, except it had a few hundred miles on it (I thought he said 800, Dave thought he said 300).

So we did our credit app and committed to buying it. We're having fog lights installed on it and should be able to pick it up on Tuesday. We got our insurance check and deposited it today but they hold it for 5 business days [Which seems ludicrous to me in this day and age - it's State Farm for goodness sake. Okay hold it for 1-2 days just to verify it isn't fraudulent or something, but 5 days?!?]. The Honda dealer is going to let us post-date the check for the down payment and go ahead and take it home so yay for him.

The night before we shopped I was thinking about the cars and wondering which one we were going to get, I tried to visualize it and the first thing that popped into my mind was a silver one. I wasn't that interested in silver but I was open to it. When we drove the silver Rogue I thought that was going to be it. But turned out to be a silver CRV! I had told Dave that earlier, that I saw us driving a silver one. After we left the dealership he said "How did you know we were going to get a silver one??" Just psycho I guess ;).