Out with the Old, in with the New

The New

My plan all along had been to keep the Outback until it hit 180,000 miles and Ben was out of college. Since we're paying the equivalent of a new economy car each year to the University of Michigan (a much better deal than the luxury-car-a-year prices at private schools), we figured we'd hardly notice a buying a car after 4 years of university.

The Old (rust, bald tires, and all)

But life rarely pays attention to our plans. We've been traveling so much since we've come to State College that we're already at 176,000 miles,  two years ahead of schedule. Then the tires need replacement - $450. And the rear end is making funny noises -$???. And its getting hard to jack up to change a tire the rear rocker panel 's so rusty. And the rear O2 sensor is bad, and the rear wiper. We decided to cut our losses, take the Outback when we go home and sell it to a student needing something to get them to classes in the winter.

We decided we wanted a car with better gas mileage to replace it. With another low-mile Subaru back home, we figured one all-wheel-drive car was sufficient - we could look at front wheel drive. Especially with the economy recovering and unrest in the Middle East, we knew fuel prices were only going to go up in the future. So I was researching the VW TDI (high efficiency, low pollution diesel) Golf and the new Prius hybrid.

The Golf TDI drove like a sports car - it was huge fun. With practical space inside and styling we liked, we were smitten, though the interior was a bit uninspired. With the diesel, it would get low 30's to high 40's for mileage. I wanted to make it work, but reviews called into question the non-engine reliability of Volkswagens and raised the specter of high maintenance costs to boot. Plus diesel is only available at half of all gas stations, costs significantly more than gas, has higher carbon emissions per gallon, and even with a high tech engine like the TDI has higher overall emissions that gas. And the diesel is best run a little hard for the emissions controls to work efficiently. Great for highway cruising, but this car was to be a work commuter for Ann as well as a highway cruiser, and she only drives 2 miles to work. It'd never warm up most days. Sigh. We looked at the Prius.

The Prius hasn't struck me with its styling, but the new design for 2010 was a vast improvement. Not only that, it was bigger than before, competing head on with Golf on interior space, while also raising its efficiency to 50 miles per gallon. I especially liked the new interior with its raised console arcing to the dash where subdued shifter, radio and climate controls artfully curved between the driver and passenger. Gone was most of the boy-wonder styling of the previous model. We found it more tasteful than many new cars in any category. It also drove pretty nicely. Maybe not sporty, and certainly not like the fast, nimble Golf, but taught, and smooth. It handles better than the Outback for sure. And how often would we really use "fun mode" on the Golf? I guess in the end we're car-as-appliance folks. The Prius has excellent city mileage, perfect technology for short run stop-and-go city traffic as well as cross country tours, and cheaper easier fuel.. Add in a lower sticker price and 0% financing for a 2010 Prius (a boon to cash-strapped parents with kids in college), and we new it had to be.

The 0% financing ended soon, so I got on the internet and scrambled to find a dealer with some selection of 2010s at this late date. I found one in Ithaca, NY that had three on the lot, and the lowest price around (one of those lowest-price, no-dicker dealers - fine by me). Better yet, we like vising Ithaca, and owed some friends there a dinner.

We drove to Ithaca that weekend, and the dealership was hopping - folks all over the lot. One of the Prius was already gone. We got a salesman, told him we wanted the base model, went for a test drive, and liked the it better than we had expected (it was even a dark grey instead of the silver Ann dislikes). So we told him "sold". He feigned mock disappointment that he hadn't had to work the sale, but was a very agreeable guy. We walked down the street to do some shopping while he finished the paperwork and prep.

Then things started to get interesting. He called back to say we were all set, except it was Saturday and our little insurance company wasn't open on weekends so he couldn't release the car till he got proof-of-insurance Monday. Bah! Three hours home, then 3 hours back on Monday - no thanks. So we decided to spend the weekend (again - we had been in Ithaca a month ago as tourists). Ann called her friend and colleague, Andrea, to ask for lodging recommendations and she insisted we stay at their blueberry farm. We felt kind of bad dropping in on such short notice, but Andrea and John are such great folks.

We had a fine weekend with them, exploring their historic house, touring their farm 30 minutes from Ithaca, learning about their fruit wine business, treating them to their favorite restaurant in nearby Trumansburg, touring a local gorge and waterfall, and generally hanging out. If you're ever in the Finger Lakes region, stop in at their place to pick some blueberries, or sample their homemade wine.

http://www.glenhavenfarm.com/ghw_about.html

So Monday rolls around, we meet our salesman, Mick, and ... wait ... he's left the second key to our new car at home. No problem he says, he'll FedEx it to us the next day. We say goodbye, then pop in to use the restrooms. "Wait, I forgot to give you your manuals, here they are." Hmmm. We make the scenic drive home, only to find he gave us Tacoma pickup manuals. The after-sale service is quickly heading downhill. Ann calls. "Yeah, yeah, I'll put the correct manuals in with the key". A week later no key, no nothing. Ann calls Mick. "Sure I sent it Next Day."A few more days - nothing. Ann calls Mick again. "Sure I'll get you the tracking number to you tomorrow." Nothing. The man refuses to return calls. After another try, Ann calls the sales manager. Mick calls back at 9:50 pm. "I'll call you with it tomorrow." Nothing. Another message with the sales manager. Mick calls only when his boss sits on him, I guess. Turns out he did send it FedEx, who can't deliver to our apartment. But he lost our phone number or something, so he put some phone number we've never seen as our number on the package. Of course, FedEx can't deliver and can't reach us, so after 5 tries, it goes back to the dealer. Mick just sends it back out again, UNCHANGED. UNBELIEVABLE! So of course it's undeliverable again, and stuck in the FedEx system for another week unless we get that tracking number. Finally he somehow finally manages to get the tracking number for Ann after 3 weeks and she arranges it to be held at the local Kinkos. Pick it up after the weekend - key's there, some manuals are there - wait, no owner's manual. UNBELIEVABLE. It's been over 4 weeks now and we're still waiting to finish this out.

We love the car, he was a pleasant enough guy, the price was good. But after the sale, what a sordid tale of poor communication, lack of organization, no attention to detail, and general cluelessness. I'm glad we'll be using another dealer back home.