Wow, it’s been quite the weekend for Judy. Yesterday she gets a new iPod Mini and today, nothing less than a new car!

A new car was not really necessary. After all, there was really nothing wrong with Judy’s old Civic. Aside from having a few dents and scratches here and there, it was running just fine. But, the perception of Judy’s mom was otherwise. Because the car seemed small, it was, in her mind, unsafe, and since Judy was now commuting more miles, it was imperative that she get a new car.

So being basically forced to get a new car, Judy had to decide what car to get. Her mom wanted her to get a Camry or an Accord because those are perceived by her to be safe and high quality. But Judy didn’t like bland, boring sedans like those. I suggested looking into the Toyota Matrix; I thought they looked cool and kind of sporty, they got good gas mileage, and being a Toyota, they should be very reliable. We did some research and also decided to look into the Scion TC and the Toyota RAV4.

After test driving those vehicles, Judy decided on the Matrix. Her mom grudgingly approved. It wasn’t as “safe” as a Camry or Accord, but was perceived to be better than the old Civic. There was no way Judy was going to get a Camry or Accord so her mom had to settle for what she could get.

Because of the internet, there’s lots of tools these days to help you get a good deal with your car purchase. I came across CarsDirect.com which seemed like a good way to go. You go to the CarsDirect.com site, configure your car the way you want it, and you get the CarsDirect price which, in Judy’s case, was below invoice. Generally, I’ve heard that if you pay a few hundred dollars above invoice, you’re getting a pretty good deal so this certainly seemed like a good deal.

After you submit your car selection, they take it from there. They go off and hunt through their network of dealers to find your car or the closest one to it that they can find. Their reps are very quick and responsive. Judy submitted her selection on Sunday morning and they located a car by Monday afternoon. I’m not sure if they work Sundays or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if same day responses are common.

They didn’t find Judy’s exact request; the closest vehicle they found had an additional sport package. The final price was still well within Judy’s range so she decided to take it. It turned out that this worked out for the best because the sport package really makes the Matrix look a lot better.

The final step is to go to the dealer where they explain some stuff, you sign some papers, hand them a cashier’s check, and then drive off with your new car. The whole process is really convenient and straightforward and I would highly recommend CarsDirect.com for car purchases.

So now we’ve got three cars parked in front of our house: my metallic gray 4-Runner, Judy’s dark gray Matrix, and Judy’s light gray Civic. We joke about our Gray Brigade of vehicles and how our neighbors must think that we’re a really boring couple. Anyhow, here’s some pics of Judy’s new Matrix.

Posted by Roger at 10:14 pm.