Return to Spokane Planned... a Fourth Time!

Ever since we made an enjoyable trip to Spokane and the Inland Northwest several weeks ago we've been planning to return. "Another 72 Hours" I proudly called the plan I started hatching at 35,000' on the flight home from the first trip. But 10 days later we had to cancel that plan. So we planned it again... then had to cancel it again!

Along the way I cited Douglas MacArthur's famous line, "I shall return." Well, it's time for an update:




Of course, even General MacArthur didn't return to the Philippines as fast as he wanted. It took awhile before the troops, resources, and strategy were set.

For us, our third attempt to plan this trip was foiled by rental cars being unavailable. Yesterday we looked at alternate dates and determined we could make it all work— flights, hotels, car, and time off from work— at the end of the month. So, if nothing else goes wrong between now and then, the fourth time will be a charm!

Closing In on a New Car

We've been shopping for a new car for 8 weeks now. Our efforts have been on-and-off. At times we've searched hard, including traveling to Los Angeles for a weekend to look at cars there, and come back empty-handed. Other times we've dropped the thread for a week or so as we got busy with other things. The old car's not totally dead yet so our hand hasn't been forced.

Finding the car we want has been hard! We really like the old car we have and we want to replace it with a newer model, a BMW 2-series convertible. But 2-series convertibles have always been relatively rare. And now they've gone out of production! Only the last few new 2021s are left nationwide, and the used ones are going up in price. Plus, those with desirable colors/options combinations are being snapped up quickly.

That said, yesterday we found "The One"...



This is a 2018 BMW 230i convertible on a lot in San Diego. It has all the options we want and none of the options we don't (yes, there are a few). The dark blue exterior is our favorite color. The "oyster" interior (that's what they call the color) is maybe only our second choice but it pairs nicely with the blue.

Ironically we heard back from the dealer selling this car as we'd begun negotiations on another car, a new 2021 model in Santa Rosa, 500 miles away from this one. The Santa Rosa car has a dark gray exterior with red interior. Yeah, those colors sound weird, but we have the same red interior on our current car so we know it works. It's just that the battleship gray exterior is, like, my second or third least favorite color.

Deciding between the two cars was a bit of a challenge. If they were equal other than colors, it'd have been a no-brainer. It was also a new-vs-used issue. The new car obviously costs more, but used cars aren't exactly a bargain right now. The new car would come with free maintenance for 3 years and more time left on its warranty. Plus it's a new car. There's nothing wrong with it unless we break it ourselves! But the used car is cheaper, and its Certified Used status means it has gone through mechanical reconditioning already and has 2 years of warranty on it.

We decided quickly on the blue one. After considering the financial issues of new-vs-used from different angles we decided they were a push so we went with the one we like the looks of better. But there's still a problem.... It's still over 400 miles away.

To be continued....