I Heart My Corolla

After nearly 3 weeks of non-stop car shopping, I finally decided on the car that I wanted. I drove a 2008 Toyota Corolla on my first day of test driving, and then I found myself comparing every subsequent car to it. There were several really nice cars I could have purchased, including that snazzy Mazda 6 that I talked about three posts ago. But I was absolutely in love with the 2008 Corollas that nothing else would do.

Like I mentioned before, the dealership with the first Corolla was uncooperative and sneaky when it came to price adjustments. Even though they had the car that I wanted, I wasn't willing to buy something from someone who thought I wasn't intelligent enough to calculate the numbers they were presenting. I got all A's in math, and I'm gonna use my smarticals, dangit!

So then I knew what I wanted but then had to find a cooperative seller. I found one on Craigslist, but the private seller was not willing to negotiate the price. And then I found another one on a website for a dealer about a two hour drive away. When I emailed the dealer asking for more information and if they could work within my price range, they said they could and wanted to fax me sales paperwork for me to sign and fax back! I had not even seen the car yet, so I've no idea why they thought I would be willing to purchase a car I had not even driven! And then when I failed to respond to their liking, they started calling me a few times a day! I'm sorry, but annoying dealers don't get my money. Maybe a restraining order, but not my money!

But then I discovered that one of my "honored, loved and revered" school teachers was considering selling his Corolla. I was super excited at the thought of buying a car from someone I knew and trusted! I got all the information about the car, and it was everything I wanted! But by the time I was ready to make a deal, he had traded it in for a new car.

I was so bummed until my mom made the genius suggestion of finding out where he did the trade-in. Why didn't I think of that before?!? Upon discovering the location and finding the car in their online inventory for a nearly perfect price, I emailed the dealership to tell them I would be in after the weekend to check out the car. So for two days, I was both excited about possibly buying the car and nervous that it wouldn't work out.

That Monday, I met the dealer, drove the car for a few minutes, and then sat down in their office to make a deal. My grandfather/personal haggler was instrumental in negotiating the price down to a value that was irresistible. And by "instrumental" I mean that he did all the talking while I held onto my wallet so tightly that my knuckles turned white. After signing seemingly endless paperwork, I drove my new car home! Lookit!!!

I am so ridiculously thankful that God worked all of this out for me. Even though He denied me the first, second, and third Corollas that I saw, He gave me the absolutely best one. Not only did I get it for a great price, but I also know the car's history and that it was very well cared for! I loooooove it and I'm looking forward to many many years with it!