VW (Or, Like A Good Neighbor, State Farm Went Away For The Weekend) (SuperInformation)
I finally got some pictures of the shiny red new car. It's a great automobile. :-)
I had an interesting experience buying it. I first went to Edmunds.com to do a little research about it and get the invoice price. From there, I was able to request a quote from a local dealer. The only one that responded halfway decently was Sunnyvale Volkswagen. Joe was pretty low pressure and he quoted me near invoice price.
I wanted to see how the other VW dealer in town was, so Dave and I went to take a test drive at the dealership on Steven's Creek. Nick was a typical car salesman and was very high pressure. I came prepared however, and Dave says that he thinks I made Nick cry. :-) The book we have is a lot older, but I think I did pretty good - I got Nick down about $5,000 by the time we left. But did I really want a license plate cover that said "Steven's Creek Volkswagen" or the obviously more cheery "Sunnyvale Volkswagen" ?
So back to Joe I went, and got my little car for about $65 over invoice. It didn't go perfectly smoothly however....
In order to get the car, I needed proof of insurance. Since it was Sunday, I couldn't reach my agent. I could have possibly reached him had he been a "24 Hour Good Neighbor," but he isn't. He isn't really even a M-F 9-5 Good Neighbor, either, in my opinion. I went to State Farm's website to see if they had a 1-800 number; perhaps my current coverage on the Alero I just returned would be good enough? Unfortunately, there is not a 1-800 number to be had dealing with insurance on the State Farm website. To make a very long story very short, I had to buy insurance from a "roving broker" only to find out that the car could not be delivered that day.
The next day I learned that I could have used my State Farm coverage on the Alero for an entire 30 days! Now if it just would have mentioned that somewhere on the website... or perhaps someone on the other end of a 1-800 # could have told me.... Hmmmmm. So there you go, everyone - My little tip for the week.
So far, it's been a lovely little car, and I love how it looks at night. Now I just need to get the JVC in so that I can hook up the pod... :-)
Posted by
geena
on Saturday, July 19, 2003 at 10:16 AM
Comments (4)
Comments
Posted by Tom on July 19, 2003 10:13 PM
i bet that if you parked it in the bedroom, you wouldn't be able to find it :)
nice car!
Posted by amy on July 20, 2003 08:33 PM
Wait, you can buy a car on a Sunday?? California IS better than Illinois! It's a beautiful car - the red is fantastic.
Posted by Amy H on July 21, 2003 01:56 AM
You got a new car? Where are the pics??? It sounds like a delightful time as always dealing with car salesman. Kudos to you for making one cry!!
Posted by petehed on July 23, 2003 09:07 AM
WOOOO! I love my VW... except when it breaks... I have a 2000 Golf. The thing everyone comments on is those cool dashboard lights.
Did I mention that I love it when it doesn't break?
Since you are now an official member of the VW club, I'll give you my car's repair history in the past three years (and 73,000 miles)...
1) front O2 sensor went (covered by warranty)
2) rear O2 sensor went (covered)
3) front O2 sensor went again... replaced back O2 sensor due to recall (covered) since then, O2 sensors have been fine...
4) random acceleration (thank god it is a standard so I could toss in the clutch). Turned out the mass air flow sensor and throttle body kicked it (probably due to stress from 1), 2), 3)). (covered)
5) starter motor sticking... needed replacement (not-covered)
6) check engine light comes on during the winter due to 'idle adaption at limit'... likely caused by a faulty ICV (idle control valve). not a big deal... just masks any real problems I might have... (not fixed yet and not covered)
7) windshield wiper motor went (not-covered)
8) glove box broke (probably my fault for stuffing it too much).
9) leak in the molding on the driver side door... causing interior molding to bubble... (not fixed)
10) other interior molding shadiness... (not fixed)
11) creak in driver's side front door. (not fixed)
12) assorted maintenance (break jobs and timing belt... expected... but expensive cause it's a VW)
Now, with all this trouble you'd think I would be cursing my car... but I don't (well... the random acceleration problem freaked me out alot). I really love the car... it's very useful, good gas mileage, drives so nice, feels so tight, and it makes me very happy when it doesn't break. People ask if I'd buy another one, and probably I would, except I'd get a VR6 with the sport suspension and the 6 speed shifter... 200 hp... *drool*.
And I'd try to get one made in Germany, not in Mexico...
At any rate... love your VW, and expect it to be bitchy.
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