New Used Car
Today, I traded in my 13 year old 1995 Dodge Neon for a new used 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The process of giving up my “bachelor” mobile actually started earlier this week. I call it my “bachelor” mobile because I have had it longer than I have been married to Yvette. Earlier this week, our primary vehicle, a 2001 Suzuki XL-7, sprung a slow coolant leak that kept filling up the floorboard on the passenger side. The kind folks at the dealership confirmed that it was a problem with the heater core. Repairing it would take approximately $42 in parts and 7 ½ hours of labor; translation $1200. OUCH!
Yvette and I decided that since spring was approaching, we could do without the heater. This morning, I bypassed the heater core using a $6 part from AutoZone. Then we took the XL-7 to the carwash and vacuumed up the coolant and shampooed the carpets. Knowing that XL-7s days were numbered as our primary vehicle, we carpool 90% of the time, we decided to take a trip to CarMax. The experience could not have been better (not a paid endorsement). We had been looking at a new 2007 Trailblazer for almost a year, but postponed the purchase because our vehicles were running fine. Jeff at CarMax showed us our “new” 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and we were in love. Three hours later, my Neon was traded in and we were driving away with our new vehicle.
Now, I am not too sad about losing my Neon. While the AC was still cold and it got 34 MPG, the Neon had many problems. The driver’s-side window would not roll down, the engine light stayed on constantly, it was white but peeling paint made it much more like white, gray primer and rust. It had a standard transmission and we had a constant fear that it would just die one day. Now, we have a beautiful new vehicle.
Tomorrow, I will see if it fits in the garage.
