Flippy - I Rant, You Read
Thursday, May 12, 2005
How To Change Windshield Wipers - Without Getting Your Hands Dirty
Last night, my Aztek started making loud engine noises and sputtering. Yes, the very same Aztek I spent over $700 on a couple of weeks ago. So, back to the dealer I went. Wheeee. Just to have them look at the car was going to be $150 and they guessed that there was something wrong with the transmission. A smoooooooth salesman had me out looking at buying another car. No, I wasn’t looking for a new car. Yes, I did need new windshield wipers and kept putting off buying them because frankly, I’d never replaced them on that car and didn’t feel like figuring the nuances of yet another wiper arm blade thingie. Hey, I barely drive my car and rarely in the rain because we almost always have to stay home when it rains because there might be thunder, and the German Shepherd is terrified of thunder now. We’ve tried Acepromazine and Valium on her, to no avail. Our next doggie drug attempt will be Xanax. Anyway, back to the car. There was a used 2005 Aztek on the lot, but it didn’t have a lot of the extras we’d grown to like in our fancy schmancy old Aztek.
You’re kinda guessing how this story ends, aren’t you? (Uh, hi Dad…I know you’re reading this and it was a decent deal, I swear - oh, and tell Mom that it has front & side airbags) We were offered basically double the trade-in value on the Aztek toward a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe with 7500 miles on it. The payments are similar, the warranty is 10 years/100,000 miles, and at our rate of about 6,000 miles a year, we can have the car for 16 years and not have to pay for any major mechanical problems. The salesman was nice (if you’re looking for a car in Las Vegas, let me know), the head guy above him was icky and probably should’ve been named Biff or Skip. He almost killed the sale. Must remember to tell the salesman that if he wants to keep being salesman of every single month of every single year, he shouldn’t have Biff meet his customers. The finance guy - loved, loved, loved him. Whoever thought you could meet someone at a car dealership and want to be friends with them? Heh, mostly we talked about weird foreign foods and sports. And Celine, we talked about balut! He said it grossed him out and that he’d never eat it, but he told us a place where we can get it.
Why does buying a car have to be practically an all day affair? I hate all the silly running around and playing with numbers. I don’t enjoy the thrill of Jewing them down (I’m a Jew, I can say that 
), although we did refuse to give him any money, even though he kept saying that he needed us to “help (him) out” by giving him $1000. He (we’re talking about Biff/Skip here, not the salesman) blabbed on and on about how it was a newer car and yadda yadda yadda, so we needed to add more money. We said no. We told him that we liked the Aztek, that we didn’t need a newer car because we only drive to get groceries, to go to Starbucks, Kyle’s baseball games and the occasional hockey game. We’re not macho dudes who need to brag about our new car. I mean really, it’s a Hyundai, no one is going to say, “Wow, you guys are so cool, you own a Hyundai.” That might be a selling point for a Hummer or my beloved Infiniti FX, but not a Hyundai Santa Fe. It’s a nice car. It’s gotten good reviews and we got a decent deal. But no extra thousand bucks for Skippy Biff.
Okay, so here’s what the new car looks like. This is not my car screaming around a corner, but it’s the same model/color. And so yeah, I don’t need to buy new wiper blades or get my tires rotated or pay for a tune-up for quite some time. Plus, I can get the new Las Vegas library plates.
Oh, and the last hurrah Aztek picture. Blurry because I took it with the phone, and because of the glare on the phone, I couldn’t tell whether or not the picture was any good. Obviously, it wasn’t great.
Oh, and Dad, if you’re reading, we saw a really cool looking Cadillac SRX for you. I looked for a picture online, but it looks like a boring SUV in pictures and doesn’t show how cool it really is. It was puuuuuuuur-ty. Oh, and if you buy it, we get $200. LOL
Next entry: Dog Separation Anxiety Update - Cure? Previous entry: Body-for-LIFE Challenge
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Ha! You can get balut there! Tell me when you’re brave enough to eat it. It should be very exciting.
Congrats on the new car
You guys are so cool, you own a Hyundai! (heehee)
celine on 05/13 at 02:46 AM -
Wow! Go in for some weird under the hood noise and walk out the proud owner of a new SUV! LOL
It is very nice. I love the colour, and love that it has a nicer butt than the Aztek! It will look like a pretty darn sweet ride with your library plates on it!
Congratulations! I completely admire your car buying skills! Way to go!
Expat on 05/13 at 04:27 AM -
We’re brave enough to eat balut, just the not the super formed version that they had on Survivor.
I don’t want to chew on any beaks or feet.Yeah, I’m pretty sure my middle name has now changed to “cool” since I got the Hyundai.
Flippy on 05/13 at 12:21 PM -
Hey, Expat, I liked my Aztek butt. Of course, it’s one of those cars that people either love or hate.
We loved it. I hated having white though, but it was the only used Aztek available in the area when we
got it. The same with the Kia Sportage that we turned in for the Aztek. Dull, dull, dull white. White
is a huge car color in the Vegas desert. I’m happy to finally have something different.Flippy on 05/13 at 12:23 PM -
My car is white too. It is hard to feel the love for a white car sometimes, especially when it comes to removing tar! :p
You are totally right - people either love the Aztek butt or hate it! I loved the *idea* of the Aztek. I think that it would be cool to go camping out of the back of your vehicle all Survivor style, but I just never warmed up to the look of them. I kind of dig those Scion xB’s though and even the Honda Element (and neither of those vehicles are very “pretty”).
I really like the colour of the Hyundai. I hope that it is a good to you!
Expat on 05/13 at 01:29 PM -
Yeah, I even priced out a Scion, with the works - glowing cup holders, fancy gas/brake pedals, etc.
The car is cool and a great price, but alas, I had to admit that two 100lb dogs just wouldn’t fit in
it comfortably. The Santa Fe is a little smaller than the Aztek, but the dogs should still be able
to squeeze in without needing a shoe horn.Heh, I still have the tent for the Aztek. I didn’t get it with the car, but after being asked a zillion
times if I had the tent, I went to the dealer and bought it. I never took it out of the box. Like I’m gonna
camp…I’m a Jew. Jews don’t go camping, we stay in hotels. I guess it’ll go on eBay soon.
Flippy on 05/13 at 09:43 PM
