and the winner is...

So last night we bought a new car. A 2002 silver Jetta 1.8T with sunroof, to be exact. We chose the Jetta since it met our qualifications best- safe, reliable, affordable, fun to drive (pretend you have a stickshift on your automatic car!), has a sunroof, and doesn't get stolen (I'm told the only way to take it is to tow it). After visiting Cutter, McKenna, and Tony VW, we went with Tony, since they seemed the most human (ie nicest and most reasonable).

I hate car shopping. It's such a pain. I did learn a few things, though, so if anyone's in the market for a VW, here are my thoughts: talk to the Italian guy at Cutter if you like high-energy salespeople. He was very animated and has a cool Italian accent.

If you prefer a salesguy so low-key you feel the need to check his pulse, talk to Dennis at McKenna. (They were out of 1.8Ts, though, so that was a brief visit).

And if you want a nice, no-pressure, helpful salesperson, talk to Robin at Tony. A printout of the car's invoice price, with options, from CarPoint was especially helpful in negotiating a below-MSRP price (why anyone would pay MSRP is beyond me, and the "Dealer Markup" is supposed to be a joke, right? I mean, what kind of BS is that??) without too much hassle.

Our loan is through PeopleFirst, an online company that I used to purchase Kitty in June. They're amazingly fast at processing, are very friendly and helpful, and their rates beat anything you can find locally. I highly recommend them.

We're happy with the car so far. Blue was my first choice, and I wish the interior was gray instead of black, but we're having it tinted so hopefully it won't be a German oven when parked in direct sunlight. Best of all, nobody rices Jettas, so the engine should stay safely where it belongs :)

Also, good news re: my insurance company- they're going to give me the higher end blue book value (keeping fingers crossed) for Kitty after I proved the tires were new and that she was well-maintained.

Thanks everyone for the advice- it helped! :)

Comments

Congrats, Lisa! I knew you'd end up in a Jetta. (And Jen, for whom the Jetta is her dream car, also prefers their blue.)

Congrats also on surviving the car buying experience. As one who shops exclusively for used cars, though, I can tell you it can get much worse. Still, the internet has helped quite a bit. I have no doubt car salesmen all over curse the day AOL started sending out those free CDs!

Glad you liked Tony, though I have to say my experience with them was among the worst I've ever had (at least when they were in Aiea - maybe they cleaned up their act with the new lot in Waipio?). My last two cars came from Honda Windward, where they seem to be exactly as advertised as far as attitude and friendliness goes.

Congratulations on the new car, Lisa! Here's hoping that this one will serve you for many years, as most (non-lemony, non-ricey) VWs often do.

Congrats on the new car, Lisa. I loooooove the VW Jetta, yet we opted for a 2003 Toyota Corolla. And, I love it just as much! Best of luck to you and your new car [is it still nameless?].

Congrats on your new car! From a fellow VW'er who's now on her 4th one...

And I've already got my eye on the new VW SUV Tourage that's coming out for 2004!

While I am glad you had a wonderful experience. I wish I could say the same. Tony sold me a car and it has been in the shop practically every week. They told me my car was repaired (It wasn't..still isn't) and got into an accident with it. I am talking to other peole that have had unfavorable dealing with Tony. I will NEVER buy again from Tony. Luckly for me I can get the word out to warn others. I am thinking of starting just a homepage for TONY. Salesman there said we give our cars names.... I know I have called it a few since buying it.

Good read

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