A New CAR!!!

Seriously?  In this economy?  A new car?  Well, friends, I have to tell you, deals have never been better.  My wonderful husband was driving around his addled Mitsubishi Diamante with the cracked windshield, sagging ceiling upholstery, and assorted dents.  His final visit to the mechanic with this loyal car was similar to bringing an old faithful dog out to pasture.  Okay, a little mixing of metaphors, but you get my meaning.

So what did we contemplate?  Toyota is having the BEST deal they've EVER offered on new cars - 0% annual percentage rate on loans up to 60 months.  That translates to NO INTEREST on a loan for 5 years on a new car.  Plus, we would be a two Toyota family which would give the new car free service up to 25,000 miles.  That's a screaming deal.  I trotted over to Toyota only to discover the cars we could afford (under $20,000) were either too small for Doug or just not appealing.  I dearly love my Prius - and I want Doug to love his car.  Push on!

So then I trotted over to Honda to see their deals.  The Civic caught my eye!   Fully loaded the Civic is just above $22,000 (U.S. News and World Reports #2 deal) and the dealer assured me we had $2,000 wiggle room for price.  However, when Doug drove the car, it was a no go.  He was unimpressed with the dashboard, interior, and handling - and he wanted more room.  No Honda for us.

Then we struck gold.  A trusted friend suggested a car broker to us who worked his magic!  He's a man who can get you things.  Broker's don't have the overhead dealerships do, so savings passed on to us, the buyer.  Magically, Brian the broker had an amazing low mileage fully loaded gray 2007 Camry Hybrid for a price we could afford; his other client had gotten a new car.  The best part?  When my husband saw the car, the glimmer of Christmas glee shone in his eyes.  Done.