If It Were an Old Clunker, I Wouldn't Care

My car, that is. But it isn't, so I do care...

We are preparing for our trip to see John's family today. So yesterday, John wanted to stop and get the oil changed. (He is obsessed with oil changes, and starts to freak a bit when it goes from 3K miles to 3001 miles between changes.) So the car is due for one, and we are also going to be driving it for 4 hours today, so I agree. What I do not agree with is where he wants to take it. I said dealer. He said no, that we should take it to this discount store chain, who shall remain nameless, as they are cheaper. Not really cheaper, but more convenient because you can do all of your shopping while you wait on your car. I go along with the plan.

So we get the oil changed, and we head back home. I am cleaning the car a little to make it more comfortable for the trip, and John is helping me, when he sees it. A nice fat oil stain in the distinct shape of a handprint. On the headliner by the door. The pale, pale, bone-colored headliner. Of the 2009 car.

I don't even care that I smell like Armor-All at this point. We load back in the car, and John goes in and comes out about 3 minutes later with the store manager. I am standing there, leaning against my car, when they emerge from the store. The store manager lets out a low whistle and tells us how he loves the car and asks if it drives as good as it looks. Are you serious? "Yes it does", I say. "It's brand new." He gets my point and sits in the driver side seat and looks at the stain, telling me how it is better for me that I brought it back right away. All I can think is that these people maimed my car, and that they are not doing me any favors.

The first attempt at a solution is to try to get the guy back at the oil change place to clean it. I watch nervously as he takes a red shop towel to the light fabric. It doesn't come out all of the way. Instead of a handprint, we have a gray smudge there now. He stops, telling me that it is fraying the fabric, and it is going to have to go to a professional, and how the guy who changed my oil has done this countless times, and he isn't even sure how the guy still has a job. (!) Back in the store we go, where the manager tells us they will take care of the damages, that I need to get an estimate and bring it back to him. When I ask if there is any place in particular I should take it, he says he would recommend I take it to the dealer being that it is new.

So now I am in a nightmare. John calls the dealer and speaks to some woman who says she will call back, that they contract all cleaning issues out to this guy in the area. She calls back and talks to me this time, and gives me the number. I must have said something in the conversation that triggered a reaction in her. Apparently John was not clear on the extent of the problem. She didn't know it was a new car, and she didn't realize it was on almost-white fabric. She tells me to call the guy anyway, and then also gives me the number to their body shop, just in case.

Of course the guy tells me that he wouldn't even fool with cleaning it, that I need to take it straight to the body shop or consider dying the headliner. I call the body shop and they are saying that I may have to completley replace the headliner, or I can have the strip of fabric replaced, which would be less of a hassle, but would be just as unsightly as the stain.

All of this is making me wish for the days when I had a junky used car. I wouldn't have cared then.

I Took the Plunge...

I bought the car. I test drove a Gently Used 2007 Caliber. The problem is Dodge only puts a 36 month bumper-to-bumper warranty on their cars. So the used car had about 11K miles left on the warranty. I eat 11K miles for breakfast. And the power train warranty they advertise is for original owners only. Translation: Not it! So I get the figures on the used and the new. And I crunch them a little. If I added a warranty to the used car, it will solve one problem. The used one is also very close to being a base model. No bells and whistles. The new model comes with it all: fully loaded, Sirius radio for one year, roadside assistance, etc. And the price difference for all of these added featurs, a better engine, 2-year newer model? Only $2200. And the warranty? Holy Crappola! Here is the convo:

Salesman: "You'll get the lifetime powertrain warranty..."
Me: "Okay so 100K miles worth of not worrying about the engine. Nice."
Salesman: " No, Lifetime."
Me: "Yes but a car's lifetime is 100K."
Salesman: "No, it will not matter if the car has 500K miles on it. The powertrain is covered as long as you own the vehicle."
Me: "Holy shit!"

I bought the car.2009 model. Sunburst Orange, which is all shiny and pretty. I love it. It fits me perfectly, has all the features I could want in a vehicle. It had 23 miles on it when I pulled off the lot. If what I hear is true, it is now worth half of what I paid, less than 24 hours later. And because I bank with, and purchased the vehicle through my employer's credit union, my monthly payment is divided up amongst each payday, and will be deducted by the fine payroll people before I even have access to it. I had to go to the credit union and sign the loan paperwork after I had taken delivery of the vehicle, and then had to return to the dealership with a check. I swear, when I handed that check over to the business manager at the dealership, I could feel a portion of my pay disappearing each payday for the next 4 years. Ahhhhhh, the joys of financial responsibility.

John and Evan like it. At first, I don't think John was too thrilled about the choice in color. But I have received many compliments on it from others. Now, a day later, he says he loves the color, that it grew on him.