'nother car thread

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   On the 16th around 9:40pm, I'm on my way to work.  I get about three miles away and decide to change the channel on the radio.  I take my eyes off the road for a half second when I hit something.  Didn't even see it.  I'm doing about 55mph and the noise of the impact put my anus at pucker-factor 9.  The engine light comes on and the transmission starts to slip and I limp the car about an 1/8th of a mile down the road to a party store.

All I could think was, "please don't let that be a person, please don't let that be a person, please please please...."  Park it and get out to look at the damage.  There was a copious amount of deer fur all over the shattered front fascia of my Neon.  What's left of the coolant is pooling under the front end.  I look back and see an ugly dark streak that trailed behind the car right after I hit the deer.

Insurance company gets in touch with me two days later and tells me they'll pay up to $3800 to fix it, or $5300 to total it out.  I opted to total it out.

Now here is the irony.  That very day I made my last payment.  I must have wronged somebody somewhere down the line to deserve such Karma.  So, now I got it into my mind to get a new Malibu.  Not a bad looking car.  Not terribly expensive and the fuel economy is pretty good for a mid-size sedan.  Took my wife to look at them when she spied upon an Equinox.  Little bit more expensive, but has the same engine and drivetrain as the Malibu.  It only suffers 1 less mpg than the Malibu and is far more spacious.  Only problem is, they are rare as hen's teeth and don't stay on the lot very long.  The 3 out of the 4 on the lot all had SOLD stickers on them.

Not deterred by this, I went to the dealer the next day to test drive one.  The one I tested was the 1LT package with the remote start and a rear-facing camera that activates a small screen on the rearview mirror when you put the vehicle in reverse.  I thought that was pretty slick.  It drove about how I suspected it to drive.  Being a crossover SUV, it drove like one and handled the bumps in the road like one.  Smooth on the highway and had decent acceleration for a 4-banger.  After the drive, I got into the back seat and was impressed by the leg and headroom it had.  It would be a joy to get the baby in and out of that compared to my wife's Impala.

Problem is, negotiating on price will be tough.  As I mentioned before, they sell almost as they're unloaded from the delivery truck.  There are also no national or regional incentives for the same reason.  I've done my homework and know what the dealership pays for the vehicle, what the kickbacks they get from GM, but that will do nothing for me since the Equinox is a hot ticket.  Guess I'll have to settle for my Father-in-law's GM discount.  Now I have to see who can offer me the best financing.  So far, I have 3.99% for 72 mos. and that's before they check my credit.  Wish me luck...