Well I mentioned about a week ago that my parents were talking about trading in all our cars...
Well, after a few days of talks, today we did it. We now have ourselves 3 new cars.
We traded in....
2003 Ford Expedition XLT, 4.6L, 74k mi: Needed new tires, something to do with emissions (CEL on), needed new brakes, new rotors. The front mix doors would change randomly under differen throttle conditions. Rear mix door didn't work. Front 1/2 blower speeds didn't work. Gets horrible mileage.
1999 Jeep Wrangler, 40k: Needed new tires (33" off-road tires), just had issues. Never driven.
2007 Ford Mustang: Nothing wrong with it, except it can only be driven half the year.
2011 Ford Focus: Okay car, never really loved it, but I liked it. Wasn't in my name, but I was making the payments.
So sitting in our driveway are now three beautiful new cars.
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LTZ V6 AWD/ In Cardinal Red Metallic: My mom wanted to go all out. She got a fully loaded Equinox LTZ. I've never seen her more excited about most anything. She wasn't even this excited when she got the mustang. It's a fantastic vehicle, interior is top notch and well designed, engine is strong, smooth transmission. Extremely quiet ride, smooth and composed on the highway. It also has the NAV and Rear seat entertainment, with built in harddrive.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT/ in Black Granite Metallic: This one is mine. It's the 1.4T and automatic of course. It's the mid level version. Manual 8 way driver seat, but it has the Cruise/Connectivity package, so it has Cruise Control, Bluetooth, and USB to hook my ipod up to it. The interior is black cloth. The whole thing just exudes a feel of quality, interior materials are solid and good feeling. Highway ride is firm yet smooth and composed. Transmission will take some getting used to. No RS package. Went with the LT because it has a 3 gallon bigger tank than the eco. I love the styling. I popped the hood, and man this engine is tiny, the engine bay is practically empty. I'll post pics tomorrow when I can actually take them (was too dark when we got back). It's financed in my name so by making the payments I'm actually helping my credit, instead of my moms. Well, she cosigned for me so it will help both of ours. I'll be going into the Military, whether active duty or reserves is yet to be decided, so I'll be commuting a LOT, cross country.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT/ in Crystal Red Metallic Tintcoat
This is my dads. He was driving the Expedition 90% of the time, 40 miles a day. He got the red with black interior, but with power driver seats. His sentiments echo mine, the transmission will take some getting used to. It's not bad, just different. In december, he will be transferring back to sea duty in either Maine or Connecticut, and we will be staying here in NY, as he only has 18 months left and they want to keep my brother and sister in the same school district till they graduate. So he will be commuting a couple hundred miles every weekend, so he needed something that got good gas mileage, so he got one of these as well.
The guy at the dealership was excellent, he was fairly new, and my parents and I agree he was the best we have ever dealt with, at Northstar Chevrolet in Clifton Park, NY. They were so eager to sell us the cars that they took a huge hit on the trade in's, especially on my Focus. They only wanted to give me $13,500 for it, KBB is $16,750. We needed $16,500 to break even on the loan. We flat out told them, we need to break even on the Focus, or there is no deal. They took the hit, we were very impressed. They worked with us, and the manager handled the trade in stuff,he was very upfront and honest, and we appreciated that.
So far we are all extremely pleased with our purchases. My payment will stay about the same as the Focus, but honestly this is in such a different league in terms of materials quality, fit and finish, and overall design. The Equinox is a gorgeous car, and mom is in love with it. Again, the woman who would never buy anything but a Ford before lol. The dealer we bought them from also gives you free tires for life (OE Tires, which are the Firestone FR710 on the Cruze, Hankook Optimo on the Nox) which thus far aren't bad, but it's too soon to tell for sure as long as we get all our maintenance done at the dealer. They also gave us tons of coupons for said service. Overall the dealership experience was as good as I can possibly imagine, and my parents confirmed the best they've ever had.
My grandmother also came into town tonight from Ohio (the one who bought the malibu) so our neighbors are probably going to be confused, as we had 3 Fords, and a Jeep in our driveway this morning.... (Well, 2, as I drove back from Vermont this morning) and tomorrow morning there are going to be 4 shiny new Chevys.
So, Pics to come tomorrow, and we all think the flip key/key fob are really cool.
ADDENDUM Also, both mine and my dad's got Engines and Transmissions from the US plants, not the Austria/Mexico plants. I have Window stickers, will post tomorrow as well.
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Just kidding. Congrats on the new rides! That's one heck of a switcharoo.
