HEY, I FORGOT TO FOLLOW UP ON THE CAR-BUYING EXPERIENCE. It went smoothly. We went to http://www.autobytel.com, detailed the kind of car we wanted, and about 30 minutes later the fleet manager from Herzog-Meier, one of the local VW dealerships, called and gave us a quote immediately. It was about eight hundred bucks below MSRP, which wouldn't be a great deal except that the high-end diesel wagon we wanted is a rare beast, and none of the other dealers we talked to were close to dipping below MSRP. (Ah, the benefits of talking to the fleet manager.)

So we showed up to the dealership, didn't have to do any haggling, and got our car with no trouble other than the wait to get in to see the finance guy. That part went fine, because we were preapproved through our credit union, Portland Teachers'. We left with the car, and haven't even crashed it yet.

As Tom Skerrit said in "A River Runs Through It," I am.... pleased.
- posted by thegusdad @ 1/30/2004 09:53:00 AM