On following my emotions into a car dealership

Honey says I lead with my emotions and she's probably right. We were cataloging my car decisions yesterday for reasons that will become obvious. I asked her if she would do what I was thinking about doing.

"We have to back up. I never would have done what you did three years ago."

So, let's back up shall we? Some years ago I bought I car that I really liked. It was a Volkswagen Passat. Honey and I name our cars. The Passat's name was Otto. Some years after I bought Otto, my mother, who was living rather miserably in Chicago at the time, offered to sell me her Audi A6 for whatever I could get for the Passat. Sounded good to me. The Audi was a year older but had fewer miles on it. Because it was my mother's car, it had many of bells and whistles. It was also a lemon. My dad even admitted that to me after the fact. However much you love them, my advice to you is to not buy a car from your relatives. That Audi cost me thousands of dollars in the year I owned it in repair bills. Plus, with both the Audi and VW, there was the whole, "ju must use ze hi test gas because zese are Deutsch ottos" thing. Anyway...I was sick of how much the Audi was costing me and during the heady days of 0% financing (that would be 2003, for those of you who lost track), I acted emotionally and bought a Saturn Vue. It was bright blue and Honey and I called it Butchy. Ironically, you understand.

Butchy never suited me. It had REALLY uncomfortable seats and an uber plasticy interior. It was comfortable enough for four people (I guess--I never rode in the back seat). I kept doing things to it to make myself like it better. Roof rails, aftermarket stereo, rubber floor mats. The blue was a bad choice, too. I thought I would think it was fun. After a while, though, I would walk out to get in it and think to myself, "you're a grown woman getting into a bright blue car." This is not to slam anyone else's car color choice, by the way. The car and I didn't get along. I think I probably would have liked the color had the rest of the car been satisfying.

Anyway, emotions have led me hither and yon to car desires since. I lusted after the Nissan Murano for a while and then soured on the egg car thing. I then decided that the Audi A3 was just the thing for me until I read reviews of its "narrow cockpit." Since I am less than narrow, that seemed like a bad fit.

And, then...

And, then...

Well, Toyota came out with the new FJ cruiser. Oh, it was just the thing. Not too big, not too small. Cute AND tough all at the same time. I have the "big car" for Honey and I. I read reviews. I watched MotorWeek on PBS hoping to see the review of it. I checked ebay to see what the slightly used ones were going for. I downloaded a plugin so I could build my own. Once I built my virtual one, I spun it around and around.

Honey and I talked about it some. I was at one of those moments. I still owed money on the Vue, but because it was three years old and didn't have much mileage on it, it had value. I could drive it for two more years. Or...

I tried to resist wanting to go to a Toyota dealer. I didn't ask for a free quote on the internet. I was going to be good. Then, Honey and I were meeting some friends yesterday at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Never heard of it? Weird place. Totally worth a visit if you're ever in L.A.

Anyway...there's a Toyota dealer near the MJT that I knew had been a good dealer once upon a time. I asked Honey if we could stop by after the museum.

Here's what I thought would happen: they would have a couple of FJs. They would be blue, yellow, or black 4x4s. They would have a sticker price I could not afford. I would drive one. I would like it. I would go home and obsess about it and maybe, in a moment of weakness, ask for some free price quotes on the one I had virtually built from edmunds.

The one I built virtually? Oh, it was a silver 4x2 with alloy wheels and the basic upgrade package. And floor mats. I wanted floor mats.

We walk onto the lot and are greeted. Nicely. There's an FJ sitting up front. It's silver. It's a 4x2. Features? Why, yes, yes indeed. The basic upgrade package, alloy wheels and---you're never going to guess--floor mats.

We test drive it. Honey says, "this is everything you wanted to Vue to be and it isn't."

Oh, I know, there are a million reasons to NOT buy the car. It's an SUV. It doesn't improve gas mileage over the Vue. Shouldn't I get a hybrid? There's nothing wrong with the Vue other than my emergent searing hatred of it. And then...

Then, we get into negotiations. Honey has wandered away and is sitting in the waiting room for the service department watching (despite her total lack of interest) the USC/Notre Dame football game. The entire sales staff seems to be actively rooting for USC. Honey and I went to UCLA. Honey doesn't like football anyway. It's a thing.

They show up with their first offer. It's not even close to what I imagined. Not even. I'll spare you the back and forth. I had to go get Honey and she was amazing. She yelled and stood up and I yelled and demanded the keys to the Vue back. Then they switched guys. It was a good move, because guy number 1 was the king of fuzzy math. Finally, they got to showing us the actual price of the car with the actual "value" of the trade in. After the Saturn experience, where the get out the blue book and figure out the value of the trade with you, this was very different. It was hostile and antagonistic.

Finally, we got to a price I could afford and there were no random charges. I wasn't giving them any money down, just the Vue. I still hemmed and fretted.

They're just things, cars. Big, expensive things.

It's awfully pretty, my new FJ. The process was less than fun. But like all pain, the memory of it will fade and I will be left with a car I really like. Emotions win, after all. That happens when you follow them around.