The car which we are replacing has served us faithfully for the past 6 years and 8 months and has been virtually trouble free. We are strong believers in regular scheduled maintenance to keep automotive surprises at bay. The only components we have had to replace in the past 150,000 km.(90,000 mi.) have been a starter and one oxygen sensor. We have of course bought 2 sets of tires, 3 sets of brake pads, and numerous oil changes. It has been a good car for us, and I imagine it will be a good car for it's next owner.
We reserved a car from Enterprise to leave at the dealership where we were to pick up our replacement vehicle. The manager picked me up and I went to retrieve the rental. The local Enterprise is located in the Ford dealership.
He had a Ford Fiesta waiting for me when I arrived. I am not sure if you are familiar with this vehicle. Ford has developed this car to fit into the "hot hatch" category, previously known to the cognoscenti as an "econobox!"
While this might seem a likely candidate for a short jaunt such as we had in mind, I beg to differ based on my firsthand experience. It was small, noisy had a harsh ride and would best be suited to someone half my size, under the age of 20.
The difference between this vehicle and our Infiniti was monumental. I imagine we have been spoiled having ridden in smooth quiet near-luxury for the past 7 years.
It took about 40 minutes to make it to our first stop in West Vancouver.
I love this time of year. There will be a steady progression of blooms from now until early September. Today it was tulips and pansies in the planter boxes at the Post Office. In spite of the overcast skies and light drizzle flowers always brighten the day. They do a good job with these planters.
We had a good reception from our friend and helper Rhema, who had inadvertently pocketed my keys the previous evening. She felt a little sheepish about walking away with them, but I hastened to ensure her that it was no big deal.
I got to tarry outside while Rhema sat in the driver's seat to have a chat with my beloved ScooterChick. I busied myself with admiring the blooms and taking additional pictures. It does look like a nice car doesn't it. Looks can be deceiving.
Across the street from the Post Office is a building that used to be the Depot and Office of the West Vancouver Municipal Transit System. The "Blue Buses" are the last holdout in a regional transit system. West Vancouver has always resisted efforts to join the crowd. The building is now used as an Art Gallery for local "artistes", but I remember it best from my early teenage years, where I managed to bark my right shin down to the bone (or so it seemed ) on the granite boulders of the jetty, and was patched up by one of the bus drivers who was kind but matter of fact while dressing my "gaping wound".
When we arrived at the dealership and found our vehicle inside the showroom, having been detailed and prepared for the delivery. There were one or two things which had needed to be addressed. Everything was in perfect order.
From there it was into the business office, to meet with a young Taiwanese former school teacher who was cordial and efficient in preparing all the paperwork. She was a pleasure to deal with as we whizzed through the process.
From there it was in for a visit with a young man who arranged the new tags and insurance for our purchase. It was amazing that we went through the vehicle ensuring everything was top notch, then the business and insurance office and still we were ready to drive off in about one hour and forty minutes. This is by far the shortest period of time it has ever taken me to purchase a vehicle.
One of the salesmen took a picture of us with our salesman. This young fellow is very diligent, personable and efficient. He even took time to program the Bluetooth enabled voice recognition system. It's a novelty for us to be able to tell the car to call somebody and it does! Technology eh?
After all that excitement it was time to eat something. We intended to go to a sushi place we know of nearby, but ended up going to another restaurant across the plaza, because there was a long lineup at the sushi joint.
I got Seafood Yakisoba. It was loaded with Octopus, Prawn, Mussels and Clams. Patsy got Pork Bulgogi. I managed to get a picture of mine, but was too slow on the draw to get a picture of hers, because I took a couple business calls while she began eating. We both ended up with enough leftovers for dinner.
By the time it got to around 11:00 pm we were both exhausted and ready for bed. This car buying business is hard work. It's more about emotionally adjusting to new everything, with some features we didn't have before and looking for features which were no longer present.
This will be a good vehicle for us, since it has full "stow and go" capability, all seats fold flat into the floor and in view of the amount we travel, lots of room for all our luggage, along with our cooler and even our Hibachi. After all, you never know when you will have to pull over and "barbecue some beast!"
Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I spent about an hour this afternoon sitting in the car just checking out the various options and familiarizing myself with all the necessitos. What a change from the Infiniti. And so it goes, out with the old and in with the new, or almost new.
2 comments:
Always fun to get a new vehicle. Well, the buying process isn't always pleasant but it sounds like yours was enjoyable.
Soooo, was it the cute mini-van you are standing in front of? You never actually said. A mini van sure would be good for your travels. All that cargo room.
Thanks Brandy.
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