Gull-y, lookit that
Tuesday December 29th 2009, 9:55 pm
Filed under: Family

On the way to the airport, yonder son-the-older was doing what his siblings have been doing before him:  giving me a hard time about my ten-year-old clunker minivan. The thing is a piece of junk inside and out, yea verily, no denying.  Since I just laughed off the pride argument, he went for the mechanical one.  Hey, it still drives!

After we got home from dropping them off, I picked up the paper and there was an article saying most people don’t realize that all state and local taxes are, through the end of this year, deductible if you buy a new car.   Now.  Your Stimulus Plan at work.

And, it turns out… If you buy a plug-in electric starting Dec 31st, you get more tax-credit happiness.  For Just One Day, then, carbuyer nirvana.  (Right. And do you know how many plug-ins are available on the American market right now?  Do you know how many books I’d have to sell to get my dream Tesla?   The dealership is four miles away, but I’m told they charge $2000 just for the test drive.  So close.  So far.)

Now, my out-of-pocket medical for the year would have paid for a Toyota Yaris with all the options and a year’s worth of gas, so the clunker stays for just a little longer. But that conversation did get me looking, at least. And showing this new thought to those who are still here at the house.

What? What? Hey, *I* thought it was a cool-looking car…!

(And now nobody’s complaining about the clunker.  Hey, I’ve been a mom a long time, I know how to do this.)


13 Comments so far
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They CHARGE for a test drive???? Wow.

Comment by afton 12.30.09 @ 6:08 am

Wow, $2,000!!! is that a deposit so the car is returned intact and then the money is refunded or an actual driving fee?

Comment by Joansie 12.30.09 @ 6:55 am

Now, if there were just a way to get to my husband like this!

Comment by sherry in idaho 12.30.09 @ 7:20 am

Wisdom and wits impress me. I can’t help it.

Looking is a first move.

About 15 years ago, when both my grandparents were alive, I remember my grandfather asking my grandmother (she’s the one who got me going on knitting again)if he got her some steel wool, could she knit them a new car?

I hope you’re not drinking as you read this!

Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 12.30.09 @ 7:34 am

We have a ’94 pickup, an ’00 suv and a ’98 compact car. (We’re just too stubborn to pay for new/overpriced vehicles.) Looks like we’re in good company though, I say. 🙂

Comment by Toni Smoky-Mountains 12.30.09 @ 7:45 am

That driving fee reminds me of making arrangements for our youngest daughter’s wedding reception. There is a reception hall we had seen at corporate Christmas parties, and they decorate beautifully in December, so we called them.

“Oh, we have so many Christmas party requests that in December there is a $5,000 booking charge. No, it doesn’t apply to anything – it’s just a charge.”

“No thank you”, said I. (She had a lovely reception elsewhere.)

Comment by Barbara-Kay 12.30.09 @ 7:56 am

What?! A charge for a test-drive?! Crazy!!

Comment by Channon 12.30.09 @ 8:15 am

I’m with Toni Smoky-Mountains. My mini van is a ’99, and I have no plans to trade it in. Of course, it only has some 80,000 miles on it.

Humor –

A young man said, “My last name is a mouthful, so when my three year olt niece learned to spell it, I was thrilled. Then her mother said, “You can spell ‘Sczygelski’ any way you like. Who’s going to know if it’s wrong?”

***
Caller: “I’d like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar please.”
Operator: “I”m sorry but I have no listing for that name. Are you sure you have the correct spelling?”
Caller: “well, it used to be ‘Bargoed Fish Bar’, but the ‘B’ fell off.”

Comment by Don Meyer 12.30.09 @ 10:35 am

Just make sure the car is still safe, please! I care about you! As for “cool car” argument…I have a bright yellow Pontiac Aztek. Many people made fun of the Aztek’s design, but my lovely all wheel drive car made cross country treks with two dogs + their crates, two humans, and all their gear and kibble a delight. As for today, that car is out in the new snow as my tall husband picks up his new (super long) x-country skis. Got to say, some cars may be called ugly but their beauty and function?– is in the eyes of the owners! Enjoy car shopping and buy what’s right for you!

Comment by Joanne 12.30.09 @ 11:25 am

I’m assuming they still charge that; they did when they opened the place. The $2000 is applied to the purchase price once you buy, and I’m sure it’s to keep away the looky-loos.

Which I can understand; when we got our first Prius, lucking out and buying one off the lot when there was a four-month wait, Priuses were new and rare and every single time we parked it we would come back to find someone staring at or into our car. Richard loves to talk engineering, so he had great fun meeting fellow geeks that way.

But if you’re a salesman with a Tesla-of-all-things, you’d never get away from that and down to business if you didn’t do something.

Comment by AlisonH 12.30.09 @ 12:13 pm

I think it is WAY cool. And much smaller if you care to knit it a cozy.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 12.30.09 @ 3:46 pm

My ten year old mini van is the first new car I ever had, and it is NOT a clunker, at least not any more than I am.

Comment by LauraN 12.30.09 @ 7:06 pm

Very cool! The Aptera looks like it has pontoons- my first thought was- hey, is it amphibious?!

I really ought to do a little looking around, myself. My ’99 Saturn wagon will likely hit 200,000 miles this year, and with the amount of car-eating salt on the roads in my area, that’s pretty tough on the metal parts. I’m still hoping to get another couple of years out of it, of course, but if it craps out on me suddenly, I want to have already researched some options to I don’t have to rush into a decision.

Comment by RobinH 01.02.10 @ 12:47 pm



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