The Artist Presently Known As Ed

Kelli's new car (profile)

Kelli's never had a car like this before. Never bought one from a dealer. Never owned one from the same decade as she bought it, either.

The Honda's last minutes

This has been Kelli's ride since July 2005. It was bought during a terrible time for us. We were unemployed, just evicted from my family house, and she was planning to go to seminary 125 miles away in Claremont, CA. She got this from a dude in El Cajon who swore it was ready to roll and would be a solid commuter and that he maintained it meticulously so his daughter could get to college. In time it was pretty okay but in a few months, it began to have distributor and electrical problems. Being a 1989, it was already 16 years old by the time Kelli bought it. I was pulling for a Toyota Camry or the Volkswagen Jetta we tried out, both of which were newer. She wouldn't have it. We got into a bind and had to get something. It cost $2200.

The Dent

In the early part of 2012, Kelli got into a fender bender with a Cox Cable utility truck. It was Cox's fault so she got an award for the damage. It wasn't even damaged enough to disable anything but that one light. An adjuster came and looked at it. As if the system is too stupid to know it exists, Kelli was awarded a stunning $1092—dollars short of half her original payment. I'd been ribbing her about that car all along, and had asked if she knew how many times she repaired it, and more interestingly, how many times had she paid for it. The night after this car was traded away for $250 to the dealer (after getting that $1092), she did the math. The costs associated with mechanic's bills, registration, and other things like towing a few times, totaled about $8800, or four times MORE than what she paid for it. Yow! But it was pretty cool getting that insurance payment and the dealer credit that totaled a bit over half of what she paid for it nearly seven years before.

Looking at paperwork

One day I had business in San Marcos and decided to stop in at Mazda Escondido where a certain Barb Shev was the saleslady. She came highly recommended from Rocky, our mechanic of several years. Rocky was my mechanic first but Kelli's Honda took so much work, Kelli got there far more often. Rocky and Barb were Mazda racing fanatics, and we were told to get a Mazda. Since Rocky knew what Kelli's experience was, we took him up on his offer.

I got to the dealer at 3 pm and test drove and sized up the red car, a 2010, and another 2006. Kelli arrived around 6 pm and I showed her the two. The red one, being a newer one, fit the bill for the terms the credit union offered. Kelli test drove the two and started feeling it. We went to dinner to cool our heads and figure out the down payment.

Sweaty Palms

A purchase like this gets the heart racing. 

Signing on the dotted line

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I don't want to let go of the Honda."

The Key

This key has more sophisticated technology than early cars had. The switchblade functionality is cool.

Holy Frickenfrack

"Holy Frickenfrack, what have I done?"

Out With the Old, In With the New

This Honda is the first car Kelli has had that didn't get run into the graveyard. The prior one, a Saturn, died just at the wrong time in 2005. The one before that was the car struck and totaled in her accident in 2002. The one prior to that, an ancient Toyota Corona (yes, Corona) from the mid 70s, was her mom's car for years and something Kelli had until it too was pretty much off to the car graveyard in 2001. But at 275,000 miles, the Honda was ready for retirement, particularly since her work is in the field, and when we got this car, it was also 30 miles from home to office anyway. Within weeks we made plans to change that and to cut the commute down to about two miles instead.

Transferring Over

Kelli lives in her car. She didn't really plan to buy a car this day so she was caught off guard with all manner of stuff in the Honda. But in about ten minutes it was all out. The deal was closed pretty late at night, about 10 pm, so the delivery of the car was later than that. Little time to do much but a hasty clean out and a farewell to the old war horse, er, war pony.

The New Baby

And here it is, all shined up and ready to go. It has a pretty nice feature set, and the built in Bluetooth system was a winner since she commutes and drives in the field and has her own phone, a work phone, and another work phone for her other job! Gas mileage was not quite as good as the Honda, but since we soon found a place in Escondido, the commute was slashed and in doing so her mileage reimbursement starts at two miles into her day, not 30.

Barb Tour

Even at nearly 11 pm, Barb gave Kelli the full tour of features for safety and comfort.

36,000 Miles

The car rolled off the lot at 35,788 or so. But before doing so, Kelli opted to get the extended warrantee, but she had only until 36,000 to do so. Basically, by the middle of the week after she drove it off the lot, she'd pass that mark and not be eligible for the warrantee. But since it was such a good plan for such a young car, it was a no brainer. Sure enough, 36,000 was passed just half a week into her ownership.