2011 Ch 5 ~ Finally Picked One

Also during the time we were working on the arena I was car shopping. I was very close to just settling on a Honda Accord, but couldn't find quite was I was looking for available at a price I wanted to pay. And I still wasn't thrilled with that choice. I've had 2 other Honda Accords, a '91 and a '00, both coupes and I loved them both, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get excited about them this time around.

Then I started looking at the Acura's. Man, those are some cute cars! So I started doing some serious shopping for an Acura. We took a break from the arena one day to run out because they had significantly dropped the price on one that was exactly what I wanted. Of course, by the time we got there, it was sold. *sigh* We stopped at another Acura dealership that was close by and they had a few options, though most were a little more expensive then I really wanted. One, a charcoal TSX with fairly low miles was a decent price so we went to take it for a test drive, but apparently there was someone trying to buy it already. Figures. The sales guy took us over to a different one that was just a few grand more, but had WAY lower miles and was a newer model that they had made some pretty good changes on. I was in love. It was pearl white with beige leather interior, wood grain dash, nav, every option, 18k miles. It was GORGEOUS! The sales guy went in to get the keys so we could drive it, but the jackass gentleman inside had changed his mind and wanted that one instead. We had other obligations that day and could not wait around for him to make up his mind so I just took it as a sign and we left. I was a bit bummed. But after sleeping on it realized it was for the best. It really was more then I should have been spending. I really was trying to be practical, a word that isn't generally in my vocabulary.

Anyways, long story short(ish), another TSX caught my eye at a dealership a little ways north. They actually had several options that were what I wanted and mostly in my price range. We got there and test drove the one that I had my eye on, but it was a bit rough. The interior had some scratches and dents and broken pieces (stuff that drives me a bit nutty) and the exterior had not been well cared for. I decided it just wasn't floating my boat for being barely in my price range. I looked at a couple other cars that were on my list and one didn't have all the options I really wanted and it had black interior instead of the light interior, but they had dropped the price significantly on it so I had to take a peek. Boy was it clean. The miles were a bit higher then I wanted at 100k, but it's an Acura. My first Honda had over 210k miles on it when I finally got rid of it. The exterior of it was very nearly perfect and the interior had one tiny little scratch on the arm rest, the seats looked like they had hardly been sat in, every thing was clean, it smelled good, even the metal plates in the door jams still had the factory plastic covers on, by far the nicest and cleanest car we had looked at. It was a very basic TSX, but still had plenty of bells and whistles and I was able to check off all of my "must haves" and most of my really, really wants.

We took it for a drive and it even ran better then the other TSX's I had driven. It was a nice car! Of course, comparing it to the TL's (V-6's, vs 4 cyl TSX) or other cars on the lot that were my favorite colors or had other options that I really wanted, it was hard to really appreciate the little silver TSX. But I just told myself that I would be perfectly happy with it once I got it by itself and wasn't comparing it to everything I COULD have. And I was right. I love that little TSX! And the best part...out the door, we came in right AT our "wishful thinking, but never going to stick to it" budget. Man, I felt so practical!



So I finally picked a car! And found a good one and bought it! Wow! That's only been 3-4 years in the making! lol

This car also marks the first time in my life I've had a sedan. Which I guess is appropriate since I'm now 30 and all. ;)