call off all the dogs!

finally! finally! finally!

he FINALLY did it!

K bought a car!!!!!!!

after more than a year of looking (and i’ll have known him for a year at the end of this month), K finally bought a new car!! this is what it looks like:


it is a 2007 Tungsten Pearl Lexus IS 250 and it is GORGEOUS! it is everything he wants in a car and nothing he doesn’t, and even has several features that he never KNEW he wanted!

i had actually suggested that he look at IS 250s several months ago, but he thought they were too slow and/or too expensive... and none of the ones he found (with manual transmission) were equipped the way he wanted them. i also said that the day he bought a car, everything would fall into place—the car would be right, the price would be right, the level of service would be hassle-free... i must be psychic or something, because that’s pretty much how it all went down:

on friday he got an e-mail from Lexus of Marin saying they had one in stock, with a manual transmission and virtually no unwanted options. they also quoted him a price that was $100 under invoice... it was sort of an offer he couldn’t ignore.

so, we drove up to Marin yesterday afternoon—it was a lovely day to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge—and we got to Marin/San Rafael just before 3 o’clock. shortly after we got there, we were passed off to another salesguy and soon we were on our first test drive.

first off, i have to say that i LOVE Lexuses (Lexi?). my parents got one in 2000 and it still drives well. Lexuses retain their value really well and pretty much last forever. not to mention, they are extremely safe cars. so getting one is pretty much a no-brainer.

the test drive went pretty well, despite K having some difficulty with the clutch. we were able to drive around downtown San Rafael, and even drove down the street on which the movie American Graffiti was filmed! it’s such a picturesque little place that i never even knew existed, if only by name.

when we got back to the dealership, K had some serious thinking to do... after looking at the sticker on the car, we realized the price he was quoted was about $4600 under. it was too good of a deal to pass up and i told him that if he left the dealership without the car, i would be SO mad at him. it was also the last day of the month, and the dealership was eager to make their numbers (to which our salesguy even frankly admitted).

after more than an hour of thinking about the car and calling his dad to confer about the purchase, we asked the salesguy for another test drive, just to be sure. i realized that during the first go-round, the car mats were turned upside-down (to keep them clean) and the rubber and cleats were hampering his ability to really feel the clutch and properly position his foot. so we went on another short drive after the mats were turned rightside-up, which seemed to make all the difference in the world.

by that time, it was closing in on 5 pm (they close at 6) and once we got back to the dealership, K was pretty much sold. so, they appraised the Baby Shark and gave him full value for his trade. after that, they started the credit check and all the other things that go along with buying a car. it seemed to take forever! there were a few slight snags here and there, but nothing major happened. K has top-tier credit and his trade-in was in good condition, so he pretty much had all his ducks in a row. the poor thing was a nervous wreck though and i’m glad i was there to be of some support to him.

by the time all the papers were signed and the car was fresh from being pristinely detailed, it was 8 pm. we were both exhausted and ready to leave. neither of us had much of anything to eat all day and the emotions and stress were definitely wearing on K. we finally left after a quick tutorial about some of the car’s features and got home. we were both too tired to even have a celebratory dinner (even takeout)!

now everyone can stop asking me if K has bought a car... just don’t start asking me if you want a ride. :P