Sit-ups completed, I bounced up and into my PC chair where I checked email, weather, and headlines. Nothing major going on. I saw the Reds won 9-8 against the Cardinals, but it took them 12 innings to do it, and that was after squandering an early 5-0 lead. The weather forecast was summery – sunny, hot and steamy.
Next were 55 push-ups. I knocked those out in a hurry. Time for coffee. I enjoyed my first cup in front of the PC while reading the Daily OM. I didn’t spend too much more time there given that I was running a little behind schedule. Again, though, it’s not like I was going to miss any deadlines. Rather, just my self inflicted schedule.
I took my time with meditation and stretching. Both went well. Whirling around in my mind was the new Honda deal. Supposed to pick it up by the end of the business day. I was excited and perhaps a little nervous. Just go with the flow.
It was already 640am when I slipped into scant running attire and headed out the door around 650am. The sun was noticeably higher that usual, but then again, I was about 15 minutes behind schedule. I didn’t bother wearing sun glasses though perhaps I should’ve. Instead, I lowered the bill of my ballcap as much as possible as I ran against the sun's brilliant summer rays.
I ran the full 4.1 miles, the first half going by in the blink of an eye. I felt good throughout and made it back home near 730am. I toweled off from the deck then fired up the stove in preparation for breakfast. While the frying pan preheated, I made a fresh garden salad and cut up some cheese. I made another bacon and cheese omelet. It was delicious.
It was almost 8am when I headed up for a shower with Mindy’s coffee in hand. As I suspected she would, Mindy woke when the cup on her night stand. After a brief greeting, I was off to the shower. I dressed in brown dress slacks and one of my new polos, a pink one. I looked handsome. J
Mindy remained in bed. I headed downstairs to make last minute preparations. I planned to drive the Trooper for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks. And if everything went as planned, for the very last time. To that end, I carried the large tote that I used to store jumper cables and other necessities from the back of the Trooper to the garage. I also removed three folding camp chairs I’ve carried around for years. I also moved the trailer hitch ball to the Pilot. Everything else, I figured, I could get out later at the Honda dealership.
I left for work around 830am or slightly after. The Trooper ran great, and the check engine light remained off for the duration of the commute. That made me happy. I felt just a tad uneasy still about the whole car deal. And I’m guessing that due to the few lingering unknowns, which included the yet to be determined trade-in value, my new car being driven in from Dayton
I arrived at work around 845am and quickly got situated. Split most of my morning between familiarizing myself with tools and reporting and then a couple pressing tactical issues. I didn’t hear from Chris at Germain Honda until mid-afternoon. Actually, I phoned him first and left a VM. He called back quickly, though, and said my new Honda would be ready that evening around 6pm and to come on up. I asked if I could come up earlier, so I could meet Mindy and her college friend Christa for dinner. Yep, said we could do that.
Had a late afternoon meeting with a peer then wrapped up a few loose ends before heading up to Germain Honda. Must’ve been about 445pm when I left the office. I was about halfway around 270 when Chris called back to tell me that they hadn’t yet installed the body side moldings and that it most likely wouldn’t be ready until Friday. Said I could still come up and complete all the paperwork including having my trade appraised. And since I was only a few minutes out, I decided to do just that.
When I arrived, Chris was with another customer who was there to pick-up their new car. Seemed to be a lot of that going on. In fact, he had three of us there to do pretty much the same thing. He was very cordial, just like he had been all along. We chatted about the deal, tying up loose ends and then he took me out to see the car, which that was still sitting waiting to be detailed and have the side moldings applied. The splash guards I wanted were already in place. He shared that the car really shouldn’t be driven for two hours after applying the side moldings. Also said it can’t be washed for two days afterwards.
The car's interior was still protected with plastic liners on almost everything, and then there was this white protective plastic over lots of the exterior (trunk, bumper, hood). It was pretty dirty too after being driven up from Dayton Dayton Dayton
While we looked over the Accord, the used car department was assessing the Trooper. I didn't feel the need to comb over the Accord too much. We headed back inside. Chris had to disappear for a few to get one of the other new car customers to the finance gal. I noticed an appraisal form already sitting on his desk with large dark blue markings about it. In big letters it said the following: lots of hail damage- approximately $2000 to fix, CARFAX report accident, low miles, driver’s side window issue. I felt a little overwhelmed, but then again, all of it was true, but the accident thing was way overstated. Had to be the roundabout thing, which amounted to nothing more than a bumper scrape.
I had already resigned myself to not basing the deal on the trade-in value. Worst case, I would donate it to charity. Chris finally freed after seeing another happy customer off in her brand new 2012 Civic. He and I sat down and went over the appraisal. We talked only briefly about their assessment, me explaining the minor accident. Bottomline, he offered me $2000 for the Trooper. Almost without batting an eye I agreed. There was no point in squabbling. There’s no way I could sell it for much more and didn’t even want to consider that hassle. Lastly, given all its troubles, I didn’t want to consider giving it to a daughter, either. Hell, then it would still be MY problem. J
Once we agreed on the deal we got to talking about all the items he’s required to discuss with me at the time of the sale. The fact that we have a 2009 Honda Pilot came up, which qualified us for an additional $500 discount. Hmm? Who knew! I had only passively glanced over all the figures knowing all to well that it’s with the finance person where all the details come out. I was anxious to see their final numbers compared to what we agreed to online and over the phone. I emailed them to my phone. I have been running numbers for 6 weeks now.
There were two finance people in after 5pm. Both were extremely busy. No doubt positive fallout from the now expired .9% financing deal. Chris concurred that being the reason. Shared that all three of us waiting agreed to terms on Tuesday, the last day of the .9% deal. While all of that was going on, I had to deal with a work related issue via my Blackberry. Needless to say, that wasn’t at all easy. I started to get a little stressed with work and the car deal going on at the same time. but like always, I managed to get it together and handle both. I begged off from Chris for a while until I had a firm handle on work matters. That was paramount in my mind. Got to keep the customer happy.
While waiting on my turn with the finance gal, I phoned Mindy to provide and update on my status. Told her and Christa to go on to Barley’s without me then shared a little about work and the car deal, but not all. Had to go.
I struck up a conversation with Amy, another customer who was picking up her new 2012 Civic. She explained that the girl that just picked the one up earlier was her friend and neighbor. They did their deals together. She was very excited about her new car. Shared that she’d been looking for a while, but hadn’t pulled the trigger until she was all but forced. She totaled her Toyota
Finally, it was my turn with finance. Sienna or Sierra, can't recall which. Right away, I pointed out the plaque she had resting on a shelf high behind her. It was a Gandhi quote: “be the change you want tot see in the world”. I know it well, and try like hell to employ it in my own life everyday. However, I’ll be the first to admit that I am not very good at it, but at least I try. J
She assured me that she’d have me out of there in short order. She made it clear that she was required to offer me all sorts of add-ons and wasn’t trying to be too pushy. I was a little surprised at some, like paying future maintenance costs forward. Really? Who thinks that’s a good idea? Then buying gap insurance which supposedly guarantees the value of the car between its immediate depreciation and what one pays for it. Holy smoke! Really? Then there were the old standbys, Paying for paint and fabric protection and an extended warranty. I simply shared that I wanted none of it. She professionally explained once more that she was required to make sure and offer all of them and apologized. NO prob!
Moving on, she threw a lot of forms at me to look over and sign. After 4 or 5 forms we finally got to the number sheet. Nowhere did I see the numbers aligned like Chris and I had exchanged in email. Instead, it was broken down into 8 or 9 line items, which admittedly threw me off for a second or two. I even asked for clarification when it looked like I was paying a $500 deposit. She assured me that that was actually a credit for the Honda promise or the loyalty program. OK, she was right. Still, the bottom line number looked off, and if I read it correctly, much to my favor. I looked it over again and realized that it was indeed more favorable than I was counting on. The catch was the sales tax. The sales tax was included in the ‘out the door’ price Chris quoted me. To be 100% honest, I wasn’t counting on that, so the deal worked almost another $1800 in my favor, that plus the Honda Promise cash was something I wasn't counting on either. I felt really good about that.
We finally wrapped up the deal around 730pm. The only catch was that I wasn't taking the new Honda home. Chris offered to deliver the Accord to my office or home on Friday and then pick-up the Trooper. I thanked him for the kind gesture but shared that I’d prefer to come up there to pick it up. I was anxious to get home and get logged into work to put some closure on the work issue that cropped up while I was there.
Upon my arrival, the house was quiet and empty. Even Eiknarf was gone. I fired up my laptop and got busy. Took a while for it to boot up and get logged onto our secure network. Mindy and Christa got back just I was digging in. BTW, I was already snacking on a bowl of popcorn left behind by them earlier. I just couldn’t resist. I absolutely love popcorn.
I greeted Christa having never met her before. She’s very cute and seemingly sweet, just what one might expect of a kindergarten teacher. We made some small talk before I had to excuse myself and deal with work. I spent the next hour or two sorting out the issue. I felt good about it when I was finished. That’s what matters.
If I were to guess, I’d say that Christa left around 9pm. I stopped working long enough to chat some more and say goodbye. Sounds like she and Mindy are going to hook up again next Thursday before she heads back to Wyoming
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After Christa departed I shared how my evening unfolded with a little more depth. More pointedly, I shared how the car deal worked out to my liking. That made Mindy happy too. When Jimmy's happy, everybody wins. By the way, speaking of happy, when I talked with Mindy mid-afternoon and while she was in Target, I told her to go ahead and buy a slip n’ slide for the kids. Gloria? Does that qualify me for some chocolate fudge? J
I worked until approximately 930-945pm. While everything was going on, I developed some back spasms that caused my neck to stiffen. Mindy offered to massage my back, and more specifically, the knot just under my left shoulder blade, more often than not the epicenter of such pain. After a10 minutes massage my neck was nearly perfect. Thank goodness!
So I wouldn’t forget it come morning, I asked Mindy to make a copy of her Honda registration. Chris asked that I bring it in to prove eligibility for the Honda Promise cash incentive. While she did that, I located the Trooper title. That was easy. It was in the Trooper file. See how that works?
After my massage I poured myself a CBC IPA. Man did it ever taste good. We all prepared for bed around 10pm. I was all but falling asleep downstairs just before heading up. Good night Isuzu Trooper.
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