Day 43: Truck Shopping

Now that I have no vehicle, I need a new one. I wake up because there is tons of light streaming into my room. I was not expecting this. It is only 8 am, way to early to be up. I'm on vacation and it's the weekend! I eventually go back to sleep and wake up again at 10. That is much better!  I shower and go downstairs. Hanna is up and not happy. "What is all that banging outside?!?!" Oh, that is the construction crew that is laying pipes. I don't know why they are banging but oh well. I let her know it has been going on for a week or so. It usually starts around 8, after she leaves for school. I get some coffee and start looking at trucks online.

I look at trucks online for a while and find a few that are in my price range. Kinda. Tacomas are expensive!  Even the ones that are a few years old are $20,000+. Maybe I should get something else.... I call my mom and discuss car buying again. I look at some more trucks. Eventually Hanna asks if I have called any dealers yet. She has offered to drive me around today and look at trucks. For some reason she is not interested in must taking to some random place that may or may not actually have what I am really looking for.... I am now eternally in debt to her I think. Don't you have studying to do or something? No? Uhh okkkk I am so sorry you are going to be super bored but am reallyyyy appreciative. This makes everything a million times easier for me. And like 1000 times more difficult for you....

I call one of the dealers that has a 4wd for $19500. I ask what they have 4wd truck wise and decide to check them out first. They do indeed have a Tacoma. I call another dealer that supposedly has a nice blue one for $22k. I talk to some guy named Pickle, "like the green thing". His own words. Apparently they have no 4wd Toyotas. Bummer. Oh well. We head out to the first place.

It is in a complex with a bunch of dealers. I find Matt whom I had talked to at the Honda dealer with the Taco. Uh hi, you have a 4wd Tacoma? He takes me to it. It is nice black truck. The only color I would prefer more is blue. It kind of reminds me of a high tech T Rex. Which is nice and sad at the same time. And a 6 speed manual!!!! He asks if I have a problem with standards. Um, no. Apparently someone had looked at it earlier in the day who couldn't drive a stick. And had tried to drive it. Or something. He asks for my license and I hand it over. He asks a million questions about Alaska.

I hop in and start it up. It sounds nice! I try to pull out of the spot that the truck was backed into. I start going backwards. Uhhhh. I really know how to drive this thing. The 6 speed is confusing. I can't figure out how to find first. I get it out of reverse and into 3rd. I stall. At this point, some guy in a car decides that he needs to drive through the narrow aisle that I am trying to get out of. I am in the middle of the aisle, trying to figure out how to get the damn thing into gear so I can move. I eventually just push the clutch in and roll back into the parking spot, the guy in the car glaring at me the whole time. He goes by and I get the shifter figured out. I pull out of the parking lot without further ado.

Look at that bad boy!

 I take it to the highway. Wheeee!!! I like! I get it up to 6th gear before I pull off. I then ask the guy how I get back to the dealership. I don't know my way around here.... He guides me back. I like the truck and tell him my budget is $16k and ask how low he can go on the price. He says he probably can't go that low. To act uninterested, I ask him what other 4wd options I have. We look around; Hummer, Element, Wrangler (way out of my price range), some other SUV. No, not what I want at all. I ask about the truck again. I spend the next hour sitting around asking questions to Matt and a sales manager who would disappear for a while to find whatever information and come back with an answer of sorts. By the time one of them came back I would have another question. Apparently the truck was some guy's "baby" and has been taken care of. I ask why he sold it then. Well, he ended up buying a 40 mpg car. I guess he was tired of paying for truck gas. Ok, that sounds legit. I start trying to work out a price. I end up with 18500 before fees and stuff. Not bad for a Taco but I would like better. I think they can do better. Hanna agrees. I feel bad she is driving me around but am really happy she is here. She is a lot more suspicious of people and a lot better at spotting lies than I am. And is more than willing to tell me if she thinks I am making a stupid decision. Really helpful in this situation.

I thank them and tell them I will think about it. Before we leave to walk across the street to the Toyota dealer, I ask if I can pop the hood and check things out. I need to at least look at these things to seriously consider buying it. I don't really know about the 4.0L engine but it looks good. It has been shampooed though so it is hard to tell what is going on under there. It has gone throughout their inspection process or whatever. I crawl around under the truck for a while. Looks good. And the rear axle isn't cracked! Excellent. I thank the guy and head off.

I am ambushed by a bunch of cars salesmen as soon as I make it to the next lot. I tell them I am looking for a 4wd, probably a truck and ask what they have. I am eventually lead to a Tacoma. It is a 4 door and automatic. Not so great. It is newer but has more miles and is more expensive than the other one. I test drive it. Drives nice! I start to get information about the price and such. The sales guy has to go and I am handed off to another. As she finishes up the pricing, we are informed that someone else has bought the truck. Bummer. Oh well! She disappears for a while and comes back and tells me that since that was the only 4wd used Tacoma they had that she can get me a great deal on a new Taco. Ok, I am interested.

We eventually locate a silver 4wd manual truck. It is nice but $10000 more than the other truck. She says she can knock $3000 off the price, which brings it down to $26,500. I know that is a good deal so I at least consider it. In this middle of this, Matt calls me to let me know there are people looking at the other truck. Ok, thanks for letting me know but that is not going to pressure me into buying it. I let him know I am over at Toyota and just got offered a sweet deal on a brand new truck.

2012 I looked at

I test drive the truck. Again, it is nice. Really not as exciting as the first truck I drove though. I inquire about financing and payments and what not. An hour later, I finally have information and call my mom. (for the millionth time today...) While my credit history is short, I still have a good score so I get a pretty good APR which is nice. After a while, I eventually conclude regardless of the deal, a brand new truck really is not reasonable. I know I am going to beat it up no matter how careful I am and I don't want that pressure. And it is way more than I want to spend. We go to leave and are flagged down by the salesman again. The offer stands for a few days but if I want to buy the truck tomorrow, I should get approved now since they are closed on Sunday. Uhhh, No, I don't really want to do that but thank you.

I finally get back to the car. We leave and stop at the other dealer in the area. They have nothing. On the way back, we stop at one other dealer cluster. None of them have any midsize 4wd trucks at all. Apparently 4wds go really fast around here... Matt calls again to let me know that the truck is still available. Thank you again. I didn't really need to know that. Hmm, by the way, will you take $19000 out the door, all fees included? Yes? Ok, I will come back tomorrow at noon then. That brings the sticker price down to about 17,700. Really not too bad at all.

After everything all day, I am 100% sure I will not find a better deal anywhere around here. The truck is nice and I would probably buy it even if I was not in a "have to buy" situation. My only complaint is the lack of a factory sound system, which is extremely hard to come by. I can always install a sound system later if I really want. I pulled my sub and amp out of T Rex too..... And if I for some crazy reason decide I hate it, I can probably make a profit selling it in Alaska. Excellent, that is over. I am emotionally exhausted from all of the haggling and pressure and decision making.

We go back to Hanna's and make dinner and watch TV. I am overwhelmed with the large amount of money I am about to spend. I mess around on my computer. I end up on my Toyota forum. Booo, I am going to have to say goodby to my T100 buddies. We have become online friends over the past few years... :(. Well they still are under the impression that I am a guy named Chip so I guess we aren't really friends. Minor details.... I guess I will make new friends over on the Tacoma forum at least!