OK… I bit the bullet…

Ok, so I bought the Jetta from Andrew for $300…and it runs really well. Except for the wheel bearing that needs replacing in the front end. That makes driving anywhere at more than 15 mph a scary proposition. Manual says that replacing said bearing is a mechanic-shop only deal. *hrm*

While I was up in Loveland taking care of the car purchase, Andrew and Tommy had to drive up to Ft. Collins to get a new (proper) bill of sale to them from the original owners. This gave me time to go to the Subaru dealer, and I went for a test drive in a 2005 Legacy GT.

Nice NICE car. Also 27,000 Simoleans.

But the bug bit me. Just on a lark, I pulled my Equifax and Experian reports, and as a result am disputing just about every item (OK, all 3 items) on them both as being somehow incorrect. We’ll see how that goes.
Anyway, also on a lark, I applied to an online car-credit place (totally expecting them to laugh at me), and lo, and behold, I got a call from Freeway Ford’s “Special Finance” department. Yeah, those guys. Same kinda deal as the folks that Meg went through to get her car loan… 2000 or newer, 60kmiles or less, $20k or less out the door, and don’t forget to bite the pillow when we tell you the interest rate. On the up side, their intention is to build customer loyalty to the dealership, build some car credit, and get your repeat business *long* before your loan term is up. Additionally, they have a pretty low “cap” that they can finance a vehicle for (115% of wholesale).

I put together a “short list” that consisted of:
2002 Subaru WRX Sedan
2002 Subaru WRX Wagon
2000+ Audi TT Quattro 1.8T
2000+ Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T
2003 Neon SRT-4
2001+ Mini Cooper S
2000+ Mazda Miata

Many days, looking at too many cars, and MUCH information gathering and haggling and wrangling and explanation and “lemme do some research and I’ll call you back, but I don’t really think a 2003 Monte Carlo SS is gonna do it for me…I’d feel compelled to put a ‘Dale Earnhardt (3) Rest In Peace’ sticker on it or something..” later…I’m officially a grownup, I guess.

Wasn’t on my short list, but I drove it, walked away, researched it, drove it again, argued over the price and the terms, walked away again, and ultimately got the deal I was comfortable (not *happy*, mind you…this *is* “special finance” we’re talking about…) with…

2003 Pontiac Vibe with 16500 on the odometer, for $13000 + tax, title, bank fees, blah blah…
It’s not AWD, it’s not turbo…
It’s the fact that
1.) It’s really a Toyota Matrix in disguise. If I decide to keep it forever and ever, it’ll be there for me. (Oh What A Feeling!)
2.) It’s got the same 180HP “variable valve timing” (read: “Toyota VTEC”) engine as the Celica GT-S, but in a much more practical package for my lifestyle (*cough*AIRSOFT*cough*)…
…that really sold me on the car.

The REALLY hard thing to get used to is the 8150 RPM redline…Mosts cars redline at between 3500-6000RPM… This sucker sounds like a jet engine if you wind it out…
Such a high redline makes getting on the freeway from a dead stop a two gear affair. Shift from first to second at around 40mph – and be mindful that you don’t hit the end of the ramp going 75 MPH…

(…and I know a certains someone’s gonna see it and wonder… The Jetta Money (it’s being sold) will be buying the Computer Hutch from you, as well…)

I’m *mighty* happy with it so far… it’s nice having a car that’s less than 10 years old, and worth more than $1000.