Updates, Schmupdates ....
So, remember that Toyota Matrix I bought last year? Turns out that after a few months I hated it. HATED it. It was made for a 98 lb. person with short legs. I am neither.
Late January this year, a salesperson called me from the Toyota dealership, "So you've had your Matrix for a year now, HOW do you like it?".
My response was "What you really meant to ask me is "DO you like it?" and to that, my answer would be NO".
He asked why (considering there are a zillion of them on the road). I gave him my list: no elbow rests (I have bunged up rotator cuffs and must have elbow rests), three wiper settings and NO variable speed, adjustable wiper speed; seat back too curved to fit my back properly; low profile tires that cost the EARTH to replace; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
And then he asked what he could do to make it right for me, and I said if he could find a small SUV and do a straight-across trade with me, then I might be happy with it, but I'd have to "try on" the potential trade and make sure I was comfortable with it. He said he might have a Honda CRV coming in, and that he'd give me a call. I waited and waited, and finally called him, and he said the deal with the owner of the CRV fell through.
This got me thinking ... hmmm ... I wonder if another dealership/car lot would be willing to do a similar trade with me?
So I started locally. I went to the same Chev dealership that sold me the 1991 Blazer I drove for 17 years, and still missed terribly. I talked to one of the sales staff whose wife happens to be a co-worker of mine.
He was more than willing to try to arrange a trade for me, even though it meant pretty much no money for him. I told him that I did feel a certain amount of loyalty to the dealership, because of my Blazer, and how very pleased I was with it. I said that what he didn't make in cash, he would certainly make in very positive PR, and he seemed pretty happy with that.
In the meantime, I went looking for myself. I checked out a 2005 Chev Blazer at a well-known used car lot in Parksville. Even though I really liked the truck, the owner was such a jerk that I decided I wasn't going to do business with him. He wanted my car and a thousand dollars in exchange for the Blazer. Nope, not going to happen. I know the value of the Matrix, and the truck needed some work done on it (first off, the previous owner was a smoker and the inside of the Blazer smelled absolutely gross), and he would not play ball with me.
So on my way home about a wee
k and a half ago, I drove past another car lot and saw a 2005 GMC Jimmy. The Jimmy and Blazer are identical. I stopped and looked through the windows; didn't really want an automatic transmission or electric windows, and this Jimmy had both. Anyway, I went home, talked to Dorne about it, went away for a couple of days, stopped and we both looked at it. I called the number and
made an appointment to see it and take it for a test drive.
It was pretty much love at first sight. The following day, I drove away with a 2005 fully-loaded, GMC Jimmy, complete with power windows, A/C, cruise control, towing package with wiring, Sony stereo, one previous owner and only 90,000 km on it!
And here it is! Of course, the downside is that it
does not get nearly the great mileage the Toyota did, but comfort???? Priceless!! So now we want to know if anyone has a small holiday trailer they want to sell for not much money .... :-))
Late January this year, a salesperson called me from the Toyota dealership, "So you've had your Matrix for a year now, HOW do you like it?".
My response was "What you really meant to ask me is "DO you like it?" and to that, my answer would be NO".
He asked why (considering there are a zillion of them on the road). I gave him my list: no elbow rests (I have bunged up rotator cuffs and must have elbow rests), three wiper settings and NO variable speed, adjustable wiper speed; seat back too curved to fit my back properly; low profile tires that cost the EARTH to replace; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
And then he asked what he could do to make it right for me, and I said if he could find a small SUV and do a straight-across trade with me, then I might be happy with it, but I'd have to "try on" the potential trade and make sure I was comfortable with it. He said he might have a Honda CRV coming in, and that he'd give me a call. I waited and waited, and finally called him, and he said the deal with the owner of the CRV fell through.
This got me thinking ... hmmm ... I wonder if another dealership/car lot would be willing to do a similar trade with me?
So I started locally. I went to the same Chev dealership that sold me the 1991 Blazer I drove for 17 years, and still missed terribly. I talked to one of the sales staff whose wife happens to be a co-worker of mine.
He was more than willing to try to arrange a trade for me, even though it meant pretty much no money for him. I told him that I did feel a certain amount of loyalty to the dealership, because of my Blazer, and how very pleased I was with it. I said that what he didn't make in cash, he would certainly make in very positive PR, and he seemed pretty happy with that.
In the meantime, I went looking for myself. I checked out a 2005 Chev Blazer at a well-known used car lot in Parksville. Even though I really liked the truck, the owner was such a jerk that I decided I wasn't going to do business with him. He wanted my car and a thousand dollars in exchange for the Blazer. Nope, not going to happen. I know the value of the Matrix, and the truck needed some work done on it (first off, the previous owner was a smoker and the inside of the Blazer smelled absolutely gross), and he would not play ball with me.
So on my way home about a wee
k and a half ago, I drove past another car lot and saw a 2005 GMC Jimmy. The Jimmy and Blazer are identical. I stopped and looked through the windows; didn't really want an automatic transmission or electric windows, and this Jimmy had both. Anyway, I went home, talked to Dorne about it, went away for a couple of days, stopped and we both looked at it. I called the number and
made an appointment to see it and take it for a test drive.It was pretty much love at first sight. The following day, I drove away with a 2005 fully-loaded, GMC Jimmy, complete with power windows, A/C, cruise control, towing package with wiring, Sony stereo, one previous owner and only 90,000 km on it!
And here it is! Of course, the downside is that it
does not get nearly the great mileage the Toyota did, but comfort???? Priceless!! So now we want to know if anyone has a small holiday trailer they want to sell for not much money .... :-))
posted by Rosemarie Buchanan @ 8:07 p.m.
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