The day after the outdoor Shabbat services (Saturday, June 13), we went on one of our periodic outings to find a good used car for me, since my Altima -- much as I've loved it -- is 16 years old and technically illegal, since to get new plates I'd need to pass inspection, which would cost $3,000 + and that is more than the car is worth at this point, so I'm struggling along for the next few months after paying $300 recently in emergency repairs JUST SO I CAN KEEP THIS DAMN VEHICLE RUNNING UNTIL I CAN RID MYSELF OF IT FOREVER.
Anyway...Drew and I looked at Toyotas while Rachel was at a community center pool with her friend, Simone. Then we picked her up and drove her to a good-bye party for her classmate, Noah, whose parents are Air Force pilots and are moving to Little Rock, Ark. for three years while they both get to fly again (they'd been working at the Pentagon). We looked at a used Toyota, which I liked, and then it was time to pick up Rachel and head back home for family movie night.
On Sunday we went with Rachel to a Nissan dealer in Fairfax. Since I didn't have my license with me (turns out I had mistakenly left it in the Toyota, but Drew picked it up for me Monday because I was on deadline for a story), the dealer sat in the car with use during a test drive. I really liked the car but it was way out of my price range, so I'm going to another Nissan dealer soon in Alexandria to see if I can do better there.
On the way back from the test drive (Drew and Rachel drove me in to work), Drew was explaining the finer points of car pricing -- how you decide what price YOU want to pay for the car, and work with the dealer to come up with a fair price, rather than letting the dealer set the terms of the discussion.
All of a sudden, a little voice piped up from the back seat: "And bargain, bargain, bargain!" Yeah, this kid is definitely growing up knowing the value of money!
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