A few weekends ago, we awoke to the startling sound of a severe weather alert. There was a tornado warning in our area. Evidence of rotation was identified on radar and headed our way.
Living in a 5th wheel and unsure which buildings at the RV resort would be accessible at 3:30 am, George and I made the call to grab Ellie, jump in the car and drive away from the storm that was moving at an out-drivable rate of 25 mph.
Since having Ellie almost one year ago (!!!), I rarely drive in the dark. I had forgotten how poor the visibility was due to the cloudy headlights on my 2008 Mazda 3. We were abruptly reminded as George focused intensely to keep us between the lines on that dark, rainy night.
We had been researching and shopping around for cars over the past several weeks. We even zeroed in on what best fit our needs – a Subaru Outback Limited edition for it’s positive reviews, safety features, trunk space, AWD and rear air vents. We just hadn’t pulled the trigger after a few displeasurable visits to local car dealerships.
Our desire for a used car coupled with a cash transaction caused a noticeable downward turn in the salesmen’s attitudes. George and I preferred to buy a gently used car to avoid the initial depreciation hit. We found competitive pricing with online dealers, but the options with the lowest mileage seemed to be at the local car dealerships.
The night before the startling wake up, George submitted an online inquiry to the Costco Auto Program. Wishing to avoid the dealerships in our area after our previous experiences, he used an Orlando area zip code.
The next morning as we willed our bodies to get going, George received a phone call from Mastro Subaru in Sanford, FL. The salesman, Francis, was kind and listened to our needs. As it turned out, they had a 2018 Subaru Outback Limited with just under 12,000 miles. While it wasn’t white as I had preferred to match one of my best friends, I knew rationally it was worth being open to – especially after Mother Nature spoke just a few hours prior. It was time for a safer, more fitting mom mobile.
George provided Francis with a maximum desired out the door dollar amount including tax, title, tags, dealer fee, etc that we felt was fair based upon our research. No question about payment plan even arose. Within half an hour, we had a written offer via email that met our request. With that, we packed a day bag and headed to the east coast.
Our full experience from the first phone call to driving off the lot in our new to us car was a positive experience. I even dare say fun, which is a major contrast to my prior car shopping experiences.
While shopping for the Mazda 11 years ago, a saleswomen told me it was people like me who make her hate her job simply because I wanted to shop around. Going into this experience, I mentally prepared myself by saying that we’re buying a car; not a salesperson. But, it sure feels good to do business with kind, respectful and knowledgable people.
Upgrading from manual locks and windows to all the bells and whistles that come with the Limited edition is taking some getting used to. It surely rocks my minimalist mentality a bit. With the extreme heat in Florida and potential to live in variable climates and terrain with our future travels, we feel prepared.