Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Broadsheet's New Ride
There was no blogging yesterday because I was busy buying a new car and subsequently playing with the new car.
After a month of lurking the on-line car dealership sites, a car in the style and color I was looking for showed up. A grey/green BMW 325xi. It was being sold as a used car but it only had 5,200 miles on it, was less than a year old, and was packed with the features I wanted (and more). It turns out that it was a dealership car owned by BMW USA. As a company car - it is loaded with every concievable extra they have to offer. Sweet! And by buying a "used" car, I saved about $10,000.
I can attest to two things: (1) documenting poor customer service to the owner of a humongous luxury car dealership is good for a $1,000 "we're sorry" discount right off the bat, and (2)buying a car on the last day of the month, and threatening to "think about it" for a few days, is good for another $1,500.
So, at the end of the day, after all the papers had been signed, and my bank account was considerably lightened, I collected all the belongings out of the old Jetta, patted it goodbye and thanked it for being the really good little car that it was, and stepped into the new car and started to get acquainted.
It's like driving a hovercraft - it's that smoooooth.
One of the coolest features (among many) is that the transmission is bi-modal. It lets you drive with an automatic transmission, or lets you shift to a 5 speed manual mode which allows you to control the shifting - with no clutch to slip! It's a really nice feature for extra power when you want to merge into traffic or pass someone.
So, if you see a grey/green BMW with an insanely happy red head behind the wheel - chances are it's me.
Oh yeah, I'll race you in that. I was worried that its HP/weight ratio was going to be in your favor, but apparently, the Bavarians are building tanks these days... that, and the "my car cost a tenth what yours did" factor ought to allow me the edge...
Zenchick: You aren't old enough either, but I have a feeling you probably won't take it offroading.
Snay: See offroading comment above. Stick to the Jeep.
deanne: You will quickly realize just how attracted I am to shiny things.
Jwer: You're on!
Steve: Thanks sweetie! Play your cards right and I'll let you drive it to the ball game when you visit. And let's do hope the Nats and O's are playing a little bit better than lately when you get here.
niiiiiiiiiice!
can i drive it?