Baby Shower and Rants About A Car Dealer

Today, Melanie and I drove to Ripley together for our niece's baby shower while the kids were with Mike and Mom. Jessie is due any day with baby number 2. Riley, her first child, turned one year old on January 27th. The shower was fun. We got to see family we haven't seen in a while and get our baby fix with Riley. After everyone left, Melanie and I spent time with Dad and Joan talking. It was nice getting to hang out with Melanie today. We had a good time talking, laughing and having a good time.

If you are looking for a car, I don't know if I would recommend the place where we recently purchased ours. The night we bought ours, the dealership was not prepared at all. The ad we looked at online said the name of the dealership and the location. It didn't say there were at least two locations and the place listed was not where the car was located. So, the salesman we spoke with at the first place followed us to the other lot. We beat the salesman there and waited about 15-20 minutes for him to show up. (It only takes about 15-20 minutes to go from one dealership to the other.) While out on the test drive, the salesman told us that he had only been on the job one week and wasn't familiar with the area. Luckily, I knew the area pretty well and was able to get us around the neighborhood. After making our decision to purchase the car, we waited another 10 minutes for the salesman. He wanted us to fill out all this paperwork for financing that we didn't need (Mike had gotten his own financing through the credit union). After another 10 minutes or more, we are told we have to move to the third building to complete the rest of the paperwork. When we walk over (it was on the same lot), we are directed to a dark waiting area and sit for another 15-20 minutes. While we are sitting in the finance office, the finance person is pulling the paperwork we need to sign instead of having it ready. (Now, have I mentioned that NO ONE was there except salesmen? NO ONE!! No other customers were there AT ALL!!) Mike and I then spent the next 30 minutes filling out paperwork. Form after form was completed saying we weren't purchasing this option and that warranty, etc. While all this is going on, Mom was keeping the kids and called wanting to know when we would be home because she was tired. When we finally get the car, the gas gauge is sitting on empty. We had just enough gas to get home. We arrived at the first car lot just after 6 p.m. We left the last lot about 8:45 p.m. Most of that time we played the waiting game.

Oh, Mike was also told to bring the car back in the next day or so to get a new drive out tag and to get it cleaned. The tag they put on the car was for another vehicle. Mike was also told the car manual and key card (for the keyless entry) was in the glove box. When Mike looked for it the next day, it was not there. When Mike called the dealership about the missing manual, the manager we spoke to the night before told Mike he would have to go to a Ford dealer (the car is a Ford Taurus) and purchase another key card and we would not be reimbursed. The manager said the key card would be about $60 but he wasn't sure. Luckily, Mike was able to download the manual off the internet onto his computer.

Mike took the car in to get it serviced and cleaned this past week. The people that cleaned it put the temporary plastic back in the floorboard wet underneath. They took the empty gum wrappers that were in the console and put them in the glove box instead of the trash. Yes, I said the glove box.

A few days after we purchased the car, we got a call from the salesman saying they needed a copy of Mike's driver's license because they forgot to get it while we were there. Then, they called a few days after that asking for a copy of my license. Mike called and spoke to the Finance Manager about the shoddy job the finance people were doing. Come to find out, the finance person had only been there about a month. The FM agreed to help out and took over the job himself to complete the paperwork. He came out to the house to get the Saturn's car tag, have me sign a paper, get a copy of my driver's license and get our tags taken care of (this is something the dealers do now for the owners. Not sure yet if I like this.) If you want to know the name of the dealer, just ask. I would be happy to tell and strongly advise you to find another one. The only good thing I have to say about them is that we got a good deal on the car. A really good deal.

Our New Car

It just dawned on me that I haven't blogged about our new car.  Mike and I bought a 2006 Ford SEL.  It had four doors, power locks, power windows, a CD player, a sun roof and runs like a dream.  It is a beautiful medium blue color outside with tan leather seats and tan interior.  Mike feels like he has hit the lottery.  He called me the morning after he bought it and said he was going to have to remember something when he drives the car.  Thinking something was wrong, I asked him what it was.  He has to remember that the car will go without any hesitation when he presses the gas pedal!!  I cracked up laughing.  I am behind on taking pictures and getting them downloaded.  When I remember and get a chance, I will post some pictures of the car.  It is nice and, best of all, it fits all five of us comfortably!!

Our Dearly Departed Saturn and Hannah's New Room

Well, our Saturn finally bit the dust Thursday. Mike went out to check the oil when he noticed the dipstick was completely dry. Further investigation found oil in the coolant reserve and oil and coolant underneath the car. It has been a good little car. I bought it brand new in 1996 and drove it everywhere. When I was eight months pregnant with Hannah and as big as a house, I drove this car back and forth to Midtown. While I was off work during Christmas break, Mike started driving it to work in Collierville because it got better gas mileage than our new-to-us Blazer. Mike kept driving the car up until Thursday. It would have been 14 years in June that I bought my baby. It was a good little car.

One of my favorite memories was a trip home from Florida. Our Singles class took a trip to Panama City every year. One year my friend Richard, who is at least 6'2", rode back with me and a friend (I can't remember if it was Lisa or Debbie). Poor Richard volunteered to ride in the back most of the trip. (If you aren't familiar with my Saturn, it was an SC-1, a small sports-type car with a tiny backseat.) A couple of times during the trip we switched seats so Richard could try to stretch out his long legs.

Another favorite memory was a trip Mike and I took to Johnson City for the Marine Corp Ball. After Mike was able to leave his unit, we started to head home. Since we were so close to the Virginia state line and since I had never been to Virginia, I asked Mike if we could cross over then turn around. We did and it was so much fun. We were both being silly. After crossing the state line (and taking a quick picture of the "Welcome to Virginia" sign), we got off the interstate at the first exit, turned around and got back on heading west. It was a great trip.

Friday while Hannah was in school, Mike and I changed out Hannah's bed and rearranged her room. Melanie gave Hannah her old daybed. It is a lot girlier than her old one. Hannah had mentioned a few times that she wanted to move her bed around too. So, while we were assembling the bed, we took advantage of the extra room (since everything had been moved out) and moved most of her furniture around. It seems to make the room look a lot bigger. When you walk in her door, her toy box is to the right where her bed used to be. Her shelving unit moved from the wall beside her window to underneath her chalkboard. Her bed is now on the wall that had her toy box and shelving unit. Her desk was moved over closer to the window just a little. I like it a lot and so does Hannah. I guess Hannah's approval is all that matters. Mike took a couple of pictures and I'll try to post them later. I'm too tired right now to do it.