We were tired of social distancing, so we got ourselves a new car

Our old 2003 Mercury Marquis has been dropping a few subtle hints she was getting tired, for the past couple of years; it was nothing major, like the Million Dollar Car mentioned in the previous post, just petty aggravations.  We were sitting around looking at our computers one day when I surfed right onto an advertisement for some kind of car, and I said to Cliff, "I wish we could buy a new car for a payment that wasn't over two hundred fifty dollars."

I was just talking to hear my own voice, I suppose, because we've been through this before and both of us know perfectly well that's an impossibility.  Then I said, "I wonder the monthly payment would be if we leased a car"

Cliff said, "Why don't you find out?"

Now, once you let dealers know you're in the market, we have learned they will pursue you until you either buy something or die.  It's like watching a hound after a raccoon; they just don't quit.  And yet, we kept talking.  "What make of car did you have in mind," Cliff said.  

"I can use the library to check the ratings on Consumer Reports; let's see which one is the best."

Turns out Honda seems to have the very best ratings.  They also have the highest price tag, which I suppose is only right.  Cliff told me to get hold of a Honda dealer.  I told him I thought there was some way you get a better deal if you go through Costco to find a dealer, so I found the place on their website to do that, typed my zip code in, chose Honda as my car, and five minutes later my cell phone started ringing.  The first caller asked if I was interested in buying a car, and told me he was calling from Jefferson City Honda.  I told him I couldn't understand why they put me in touch with Jefferson City, over a hundred miles down the road, but he said, "Oh, I can help you.  What are you looking for?"  I told him we were wondering how much we'd have to pay to lease the cheapest Accord they have, if we were to pay a certain small amount down (Cliff's sister has an Accord, and we like it).  He said he'd find out and call me back.  And when he did, he said, "Yes, I get that for you for $250 a month."

Well, I wasn't expecting that.  We've never leased a car, so we had lots of questions about how the licensing, insurance, sales tax, and so forth worked.  Finally I said something about going down there to look at the car, and he said, "Well, we had a hail storm, and have nothing right now to sell.  But I can get you a car and have it brought to you."

We had several back-and-forth calls, but it all went as smoothly as could be.  Costco didn't save us anything because the Accord wasn't on the list of special deals, but we are happy.  Of course, we can't go anywhere, because we have to stay away from people; but we went on a very short road trip yesterday, and love our car.  We are used to the 2003 Mercury, so Cliff has a learning curve ahead of him.  There are buttons all over the steering wheel on the new car, and a great big rectangle showing the radio controls and backup camera and I-don't-know-what-else; Cliff's phone is hooked up to it with bluetooth... wow!  They emailed me a link that has videos showing how to use all the fancy stuff that comes with the car, and Cliff found it helpful.  

By the way, the two guys who delivered the car to us said most of the car dealerships in Jefferson City are lined up along one road (I assume like the Miracle Mile in Kansas City), and the hail got all of them... baseball-sized hail!  

If Cliff is still alive in three years (he's the only driver in the family), and if we still like the car, we will probably just buy it when the lease time is up.  It would require a down payment to keep the payments where we need them, but we could handle it.

Hey, when you only buy a car every seventeen years, it's a big deal!