She's gonna be mad at me

When I had the communicator speak with Promise way back when, one of the things she (Promise) kept saying was that she wanted me to tell her when I would be coming back. I guess she got lonely and was anxious to know when she'd see me again. Since then, I have tried to do this for her, even if it's a "I'll see you later this week." 

Well, since she moved in January, I have mostly been able to say, "I'll see you next Saturday," which is what I said to her last Sunday when I left.

I decided last week that I was tired of pouring money in the 15 year old beater of a convertible I bought just over a year ago when my last car blew a piston. It was 2 weeks before Christmas '07, and car-pooling was extremely difficult because I was not only still in school, but was working at an internship. I didn't have the luxury of shopping...I was looking at cars via word of mouth, or quick ads found on Craigslist. The car, when I bought it, seemed to be in great condition, but I knew I was taking a risk. It was a '94 and was bound to need work eventually, even with the incredibly low mileage of 78,000 when I purchased it. I bit the bullet out of necessity and desperation.

I enjoyed the convertible immensely last spring, summer and fall. Around October, the top motor died on me, so I no longer was able to put the top down and enjoy it. The A/C compressor needed to be replaced...so, without having the ability to put the top down, I was REALLY going to swelter if I kept it through this summer...unless I repaired one...or the other. 

Neither of those options excited me. So, I began to debate with myself. 

I found a refurb'd top motor for about $80, if I sent the old one to the guy to fix and resell. Much cheaper than the two hundred and something dollar new ones. I found a refurb'd A/C compressor for $120. Again, much cheaper than the $3-400 new ones. But I would still be looking at about $200 to install it. 

I won't get into the other things that needed to be fixed, but basically, even at a discounted repair cost from a friend of a friend, I needed to put *another* $850 into the car (I had already done the water pump and master cylinder, along with a starter...at about $1200 for all three jobs.) 

Pass, thanks.

Instead, I went to my budget and began punching numbers. It would be tight until I hit another pay scale in 2 or 3 years, BUT...with a firm idea of the payment range I could do and being prepared to walk away from any sales rep who couldn't (or wouldn't) get a car there for me, I decided I could go buy a car.

So, I dragged the boyfriend out car shopping this weekend. He was actually pretty excited that I was letting him haggle with salespeople to get the best price possible. And he really did work it. He kept telling them, "I'm against her getting a new car, I keep telling her to put the work into the other one and keep it for another year or two. But, she's determined, so I'm here to make sure she gets the BEST deal possible. What else can you do for us?" 

He was great. I couldn't have asked for anything else from him, really. 

He got the first car I liked (a 2008 Suzuki Reno that hadn't been off the lot yet) down to $11,800 out the door (which means it includes everything tax, title, tag, etc. plus the cost of the car) with nitrogen (that was me) and free oil changes and car washes for life. 

And I liked the car. But I didn't LOVE it.

So, we said we'd let them know and went to look at the car whose deal had really inspired me to move quick -- the Chevy Cobalt at 0% financing or a $2500 rebate. I LOVED the Cobalt 2LT. It was a 2008 with 17,000 miles on it. But something with the price the salesman ended up at didn't sit well. Neither of us felt like we were getting a deal out of him. At $12,600 out the door...I felt like I'd be better off financing a 2009. I am pretty sure the ads were saying the 2009 would be around $13,300. 

Anyway, long story short...we went to another Chevy dealer. He didn't have any used Cobalts. He said he couldn't get a new one into my price range, but he went off to chat with finance. A few minutes later, he came back and said he had a Malibu that he could get to my payment range with no problem. My boyfriend almost wet himself when he heard Malibu (he worked for Chevy for a while and that was his favorite car)...and couldn't believe that they were going to make it work. 

Needless to say...I loved the car...I got a better deal (on a better car, even) and...even though I hadn't intended to buy a car this weekend, just to look, I couldn't let the deal go. 

So, I bought the car. And didn't get to see Miss Promise at all.