Kudos to my local Volvo dealer. Got a sweet deal on a fully loaded vehicle for cash, plus my trade-in, for $12k less than MSRP, delivered price, including tax, title, and registration. Wasn’t looking for “fully loaded” per se, and probably won’t use half the features, but the vehicle I got was the best value they had in stock by far. It happened to have all the extras. I cut the check last night to buy it outright, and took delivery today. Refused to pay extra for an extended warranty, or shit like tire and wheel insurance. The thing is, by the time I make an appointment with a car dealer’s sales manager, I already know what I want.
I lurves it! It’s like driving my old Saab, but 10 years newer. It’s got the same semi-stiff suspension I’m used to, all the controls are where I expect them to be, and if anything, it’s a bit zippier than my old car, which is pretty remarkable for its heavier curb weight. Cruise range and fuel tank capacity are similar. I’ve nicknamed it Helga.
Tomorrow, I sell the old house. After what the buyers put me through leading up to closing, I didn’t even leave them an extra roll of t.p. We cleared out everything that we had left in the house and machine shed this afternoon, which wasn’t much. No bottle of champagne in the fridge for them. Not from me, anyway.
The broker’s fee, and the county transfer fee, will be deducted from the sale price, along with some other minor things, but I get a prorated refund on the muni, county, and school taxes I already paid, so, with no mortgage to pay off, I end up pocketing approximately 93% of the contract price. I could buy 10 Helgas for what I’m going to receive, in the form of a check, at closing tomorrow, which basically is cash, once it’s deposited.
Whee!
What? No Lexus? 🙁
Seriously. Life without NAP drama is nice.
Nope. Didn’t want a Lexus. My dad’s old one drove like a land barge, and my mom’s smaller one still has a mushy suspension with cludgy steering around corners at highway speed. No wonder she refuses to drive it on a highway at her age, when she can barely lift a 6 lb. bag of groceries.
I test drove two models of Volvo. The sales manager wasn’t expecting to go on two test drives, but he was very accomodating (as well he should have been). The model upon which I settled was like driving my old car, even though it’s wider.