Das Auto

We made a rather large purchase on Thursday.  We bought a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI “clean diesel”.  You see, the lease is almost up on our Saturn, but we were going to wait to purchase one when we used up the miles.  However, there is a 6-9 month waiting list in this area for the TDI.  We were on the list, but we anticipated using up the lease’s miles in a couple of months, and we didn’t really want to be without a second vehicle for a long time (Wanda and I have chronic tardiness issues in the morning, so carpooling yields mixed results).  We were looking at used TDIs, but you don’t save much on buying a used one because of supply issues, so we thought it would make sense to buy new (even thought we vowed never to buy a new vehicle again, we seem to keep failing that resolution).

Apparently, Van Dyn Hoven Imports had an extra one come in, and they called people on the list to see who wanted it, first come, first serve.  It was probably a naughty purchase because we’ll have 3 vehicles for a couple of months, but at least I’ll have a car right away when I use up the Vue.  It’s white, which we generally don’t like as a car color, but the Jetta doesn’t look too bad in white, so we pulled the trigger.

Driving it is like making sweet love.  It’s a turbo-charged diesel with a lot of torque, so it’s pretty zippy.  It also gets in the low 40′s for mileage on the highway.  Satellite radio, in-dash 6-disc changer/mp3/aux input, V-Tex upholstery, seat warmers, bluetooth, moon roof, and standard smugness upgrades.  They recommend oil changes every 10,000 miles (which I wasn’t aware of), and we get free maintenance (oil changes, etc) for 3 years.  And for those who care, it meets Tier 2/Bin 5 emission standards.

I wish our Saturn lease was up…

We also saw the new Volkswagen CC hotness while at the dealer, which makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.  Too bad they don’t make a diesel version for the U.S. (yet).

November 8th, 2008  Miscellaneous   Tags: car, cleandiesel, jetta, vehicle, vw, more...

New Jeep

We bought a new vehicle this past weekend. It’s a 2007 Jeep Commander, 4.7L V8, silver. Some time ago, we vowed not to buy new vehicles anymore because they depreciate too quickly. Our Oldsmobile was having troubles starting, and it burned a lot of oil. We had been planning on getting a new vehicle within the next year, so we decided to stop at the Jeep dealer to do a test drive in the snow (to see how it handled). We had no intention of buying a vehicle that day, but being last year’s model, it was an incredible deal. It actually cost us less than our Saturn Vue, which is half the vehicle. I wanted a truck, but Wanda always wanted a Jeep, so we compromised and got a Jeep (just kidding dear!). I’m looking forward to towing the boat with it this summer. The FWD Vue sometimes struggled pulling it out of the water.

Wanda primarily gets to drive it, and she loves it. I had been driving the Oldsmobile, while Wanda had the Vue for awhile. It’s good to have the Vue back. However, the Olds was paid off. It sucks having two car payments again! We had been saving up though, so we were able to put a substantial amount of money toward a down payment. Also, the insurance on it is surprisingly low.

January 31st, 2008  Miscellaneous   Tags: jeep, suv, toys, vehicle, more...