Our New Automobile: An Adventure

I talked to Philip on Thursday and we decided it was time to begin the search for a new vehicle.  So, on Friday afternoon, he met me in Denver at my office.  We had tickets for the Kenny Chesney concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater.  

Before heading to the concert, we went to Planet Honda to do a little browsing.  Almost immediately upon exiting Philip's car, a salesman approached us.  We told him what we were looking for and he was just about drooling over Philip's car (a 2007 Honda Civic SI).  He was hoping that we would be trading it in.  Apparently, they can't keep those in stock.  They sell like crazy.  We had to disappoint him.  ;)  That car will be staying with us until it won't run anymore!

We went inside and discussed options.  I told him that I either wanted the Honda CR-V or the Hundai Tucson.  They sell both at the Planet Honda/Hundai.  I asked him how the reliability was on the Tucson (we know that the Hondas are excellent cars!).  He told me that the Tucsons are really cool and cute but they've had 2 people bring back the 2011 model with transmission issues.  He said that it was, of course, covered under warranty because they were less than a year old (the Tucson warranty is actually pretty good -- better than the Honda warranty).  

I knew that he had no reason to lie to us.  He sells both the Hondas and the Hundais and the Hundai I wanted was more expensive than the Honda I wanted.  So, I decided to not even test drive the Hundai.  I knew I liked the interior and exterior of the vehicle better than the CR-V and I just didn't want to fall in love with something that would give me a bunch of mechanical problems.  

Then it was time to decide which CR-V I was interested in.  I didn't want to spend a ton since we are buying the vehicle sooner than we wanted to.  So, I started looking at the basic model: The LX.  They didn't have any in colors that I liked.  So, Philip asked him about the differences between in the LX and the SE (Special Edition).  The SE adds privacy tint to the back windows, adds alloy wheels, and adds radio controls to the steering wheel.  I think there were a few other differences, but those were the big sellers to Philip.  That and it only added $400 to the price of the car.  And, they had a navy blue CR-V SE.  

So, we took it for a spin.  I drove it for a few miles and then Philip drove it back.  It took a little getting used to.  My little car has a good bit of "get up and go."  The CR-V isn't quite as peppy.  Of course, Sam is a V6 but the CR-V is only a 4 cylinder.  Anyway, it rode smooth and it was really quiet.  And, it was very spacious.  

When we got back to the lot, the salesman asked us what we thought.  I asked for a few minutes with Philip to discuss.  The salesmen went back inside while we talked about what we wanted to do and explored the interior of the car a little more. 

Stay tuned for our decision!