Out With the Old, In With the New

Friends, you might recall that my car had a few issues.  Along with the Malfunction Indicator Light that had been on for several months, the muffler had also fallen off, it was rusty and dented, the door lock on the driver's side could only unlock the other doors but could no longer lock them automatically, the cassette player was broken -- just to name a few things.  Plus, I was told it probably needed a front-end alignment and at least one new tire.  My baby had some issues, and it was due to be inspected at the end of August.

Seeing as those were going to be some pretty expensive repairs (which is why I had been putting them off), I decided the better move might be to get a new car.  I mean, was the car even going to be worth as much as all of those repairs would cost?

You're still beautiful, Shelly!  Don't listen to any of the bad things.

So I did it.  I went and looked at new cars, feeling as if I was betraying my car the whole time.  We've been together 8 long years, and had some epic adventures. Until very recently Shelly has never had any real problems, and has kept it together even through the last few months.  

What cars did I look at?  There was really only one I wanted to test drive.  I've been eyeballing these since I got hooked by the commercials.  (I also love hamsters.  I secretly got one in college as a pet. My roommate helped me pick Webster out, so it was cool, but was also very much against the rules. Shhh.)

The hidden power of hamsters to market a car.

Last Tuesday I went and drove one, loved it, and bought it.  Just like that.  The people at Romeo Kia in Kingston were awesome!  Bill Martini, my salesman, was great.  I would recommend him to anyone looking to buy a car.  George in financing was really nice too.  Not that I've bought a ton of cars in my life, but it was hands-down the best experience I've ever had at a dealership.  

Wednesday evening was a little sad, cleaning Shelly out and making her as presentable as possible. My baby is still a very good car with low mileage.  A little maintenance love and she would make a kick-ass first car for someone.  She might not sound awesome at the moment, but I wanted her to make a good impression.

I'm sure my neighbors really love this!  And my friend might have had to explain the noise to her HOA as well.  Makes my car memorable!

What fun things did I find in my car?  Lots of stuff.  Eight years worth of stuff, some of which I'm pretty sure belongs to my niece.

We'll start with the boring stuff first, okay?

-- one emergency kit

-- tire changing tools

-- 3 different ice scrapers/snow removal tools

-- various towels for wiping condensation off of the windows.  

-- two sun shades

Now we get more interesting, kids:

-- 2 umbrellas

-- a bottle of body spray that has been under the seat for I don't know how long.  Not sure it's even mine.

-- two books, one of which has to be my niece's

-- a hairbrush, which I believe also belongs to my niece as it was full of blond hair

-- a charm bracelet, also my niece's

-- a little pink, plastic football charm, still in the bubble it came in from one of those 25 cent prize machines...going to assume that belongs to my niece as well

-- a mirror...which might also belong to my niece

-- winter gloves

-- 6 pens

-- sunglasses

-- the head of my Dismember Me zombie doll, which is good as the rest of it is on my desk at work looking really sad without it's head

-- and $14.31 in loose change

Thursday morning I traded Shelly in for my new car.  I was a little sad to part ways with my baby, and worried that she would go on to a glorious new home and not the scrap yard.  Shelly was worth $500 trade-in value. George, the finance guy, said that my car would probably go to Bulgaria.  I thought he was joking and had just picked a random place to say that my car would end up.  No.  He was serious. Apparently they sell a lot of older cars to some place in Bulgaria, as they have lower (or no) emission standards, and the older cars are less computerized and it's easier to bypass the emission systems.  Who knew?  Shelly will be going abroad, and traveling more of the world than I have.  Safe travels, baby!  I hope your new owner loves you!

And then I got my new ride...

They  call this color Inferno.  I'm a speeding ticket just waiting to happen!

It. Is. Awesome.

I went from a car with a broken cassette player to one with Sirius, that can sync to my phone, and can play the music from my phone via blue tooth.  I don't even have to plug the phone in!  My mind is blown.  I'm so high-tech now I don't know how to handle it.  I can call people by pushing a button on my steering wheel and just talking.  I haven't tried calling anyone yet -- but I could!  

Love it!  Although it would be cooler if it had come with a hamster.  Just throwing that out there, Kia. And yes, I did tell Bill the salesman that as well.  

In closing, I shall leave you with the immortal words of Phineas and Ferb.