Well, I did it.

[bzarcher]

Car!
Originally uploaded by bzarcher.

Remember how everyone kept telling me, "Matt, get a new car! That Kia is OK, but it's rapidly turning into a POS..."

Well...I did.

My dad encouraged me to go to the local Pontiac dealership because of the GM discount. Because of said discount, the car was a LOT cheaper, and I'm not paying a huge amount more for the new car than I was for the old one.

I now own a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. Moonstone, with the Power Package and the Moon and Tunes package. XM radio included, which Alex has already added to his existing radio account. BOO. YAH.

Comments

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! It looks very nice.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :D

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Rockin'. *feels slightly better knowing that you are no longer driving a Kia* Not that your driving is unsafe, just paranoia about Kias on my part.

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the new car, but wasn't that KIA only like, four years old? What went wrong with it?

[dklegman.livejournal.com]

w00t!

Congrats! Be sure to show it off when I drop by for grillin'. :-)

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

To keep the warranty good, you're required to pay $1500 in tranny maintinence. Plus, it really didn't have the size for what we were doing or needing.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

:D

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Will do!

[alathaniel.livejournal.com]

I assume the power package means it's not a 4-cylinder?

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

You are correct sir.

[avylin.livejournal.com]

Wow. Can I borrow it?

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Come out here, and we'll talk. :D

[dklegman.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

That much money replaced a transmission in my first hand-me-down vehicle. :-P

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And of course, even though it's not covered by the warranty, if I didn't do it, the entire powertrain warranty would be voided. :/

So, all things considered...

[felislachesis.livejournal.com]

BZ never really liked the Kia. It was a car, and that was it. It never defined him. The Vibe actually defines him, now. It defines him as someone who stalls out the engine shifting into first :D

Actually, he likes manual cars better than automatics. He likes having a car that actually looks good, rather than just being a car for sake of being a car. The back seat has more room. This car has more features. Overall, it's a much better car than the Kia.

Also, BZ gets off the terrible financing that he got with the Kia because it was his first car. He got a much better rate for this car. Better rate, similar payments, better car. Hey, works out all around!

Congrats again, Matt. BTW, you are driving to Chicago this time :D

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

Holy Shit, that's insane. My brother and I could build a new transmission for about 3/4 that.

Are you really getting a significant increase in engine size or cargo capacity with a Vibe, though? I suppose with a better price and escaping that extortion is reason enough.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Tell me about it - and I didn't even know about the "Required warranty extension maintinence" until I went in for my 24,000 checkup and they mentioned, "Hey, you'll want to budget for this at 30,000."

I'm actually getting an increase in both, along with better passenger and driver room.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Well, I liked the Kia well enough until I'd driven it for a year or two. :D And then it started being less attractive...especially after the A/C compressor broke twice in a row.

I'm defined by a big grey vibe, huh? Wow. I'm sure the various perverts on my friends list are going to enjoy that. :D

[felislachesis.livejournal.com]

You said it not me. ;)

Well, the first year or two, the Kia was, well, new, and shiny. After that, the shinyness and newness started to wear off. When tha happened, you saw what you had, or didn't have.

I don't think that will happen with this car. I still think you'll be happy with it in a couple of years.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

You know, I expect that you're right.

Breakfast?