This is the ONE!

I received several questions on my Facebook page about my new car. My brother: "Tell me you didn't buy that Smart Car!" LOL! If he responds like that, my poor mom will have a conniption! I don't want to cause her any more pain than I already have/already DO, so I'm posting a true pic, like a good little girl. 

This is my new baby.  We're keeping the little white Volvo - my sweet hubby's "new" ride - but that huge black man eating doodle bug has gone by the wayside, again, thanks to CarMax - YEA!

I'm told that as we mature, we respond to things differently.  As a kid, a new car was just the thing that we rode around in. (Yes, that was before built-in DVD players!) As teenagers, we scoped out the latest, coolest drive. (I got stuck with the family car because its size kept me safer, but at least all of my buds could actually fit in my car!) Early in my marriage, I drooled over the big Dodge Ram Van with dual AC, that was big enough for my quickly growing family. (The twins were a bit of a surprise - to us anyway!)  Now, I'm more like that kid from the past.  My car no more defines me than does my house.  It's just the thing I ride around in.  (Oh, but it does have those cool little grocery bag holders in the back!  BONUS!)

Okay, going deeper: What defines you?

The Way Car Buying Should Be!

I know that's what the commercials all say, but everyone knows you can't really trust commercials! The whole purpose of ads is to spin the pros about a products in order to make people think they need them, right? 

Besides, who ever heard of an honest used car dealership? Aren't those the types of salesmen that are made fun of in old movies? 

That is seriously what I thought yesterday. While my sweet hubby scoured several sites looking for our next new-ish car, I avoided the whole situation. I'd done it before: find just the right car on some website, call to see if it's still available, get the "they're going fast" spiel, not find the chosen car at the business, and finally get a hard sell from some desperate salesman choosing his best guess at what I need from the leftovers on the lot. No thanks. I'll just come along for the ride with my little e-reader and sign the papers. 

Like I said, that was yesterday. Not being a static character, thankfully, I'm not only willing to change my mind, I'm happy to do it! Today marked my first, but surely not my last, experience with CARMAX of Plano. We found exactly what we wanted online and called the store nearest us to see if the "Free Transfer" promise would be honored. It was; even on a holiday! When the CARMAX representative, Paul, called to let us know the car had arrived in Plano, we went right out to see it and were driving the very car we had chosen within 10 minutes of our arrival. While we drove, the experts evaluated our trade in and gave us an incredibly fair deal. We didn't have any haggling about the price, or bombardment over all the other things we should be buying with this car. Paul proved to be both engaging and extremely well-informed about the car itself and how it compared to others of its class. We knew we were getting straight answers! Even Stacy, the gal who helped us through all the signatures, had me so tickled.  My sweet hubby groaned as we bonded over the paperwork table!

Did this experience erase the nightmares of past car shopping?  No, but I know where to go, now, so that those nightmares can remain in the past! 

So what is your most recent, positive, shopping experience?