Car Shopping Mostly a Bust
May. 29th, 2021 06:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOur re-planned holiday weekend trip to go car shopping is mostly a bust so far. After arriving at the edge of Los Angeles way late last night (really 2:30am this morning) we slept in and didn't roll from our hotel room until around 11am. By then I'd already found that one of the cars we wanted to check out is in the shop for reconditioning. It's not drivable right now. Oops. And another car that we really liked the look of sold yesterday afternoon. D'oh! But there was still a dealership with some new models of the vehicle we were looking for— and that was our main impetus for making this trip down to LA!
Before venturing to the new car lot we decided to give our old car some added curb appeal. Y'know, in case we found a car we wanted to buy and thus also wanted to negotiate the best price for our trade in. Here's the before picture:
![Hawkgirl will get a clean before we try to sell her [May 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/726755/726755_original.jpg "Hawkgirl will get a clean before we try to sell her [May 2021]")
This is "Hawkgirl" parked outside the hotel. I mentioned in the previous entry it's next to Magic Mountain theme park. You can see some of the rides in the distance.
Fortunately we found a great full-service car wash only a few miles away. Although we selected one of the less expensive wash options, the shop did a fantastic job. Hawkgirl positively sparkled. Update: I took an 'after' picture later in the day:
![Hawkgirl after a hand wash [May 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/727120/727120_original.jpg "Hawkgirl after a hand wash [May 2021]")
As we rolled onto the dealer's lot another few miles away my thesis for getting our car cleaned up nicely was proven. Another couple shopping for a car saw us get out of Hawkgirl and started asking questions about her. A few minutes later when we were talking to a salesman, I mentioned that our potential trade-in parking outside already had prospective buyers showing interest!
Alas, the dealer's inventory was not what we hoped it would be. Of 4 cars listed on their website we wanted to look at, 3 were still "in transit". Only one was actually available— and it was the least interesting one to us, because it's a color we both dislike. Yes, we should have called ahead. 😣 But... make lemonade out of lemons, right? We still test-drove the car, a 2021 BMW 230i convertible, to learn more about the model and some of the options packages, and we liked it. Now we have more confidence that the 230i is the model we want. We just have to find the right color, and the right options, at the right price.
Before venturing to the new car lot we decided to give our old car some added curb appeal. Y'know, in case we found a car we wanted to buy and thus also wanted to negotiate the best price for our trade in. Here's the before picture:
This is "Hawkgirl" parked outside the hotel. I mentioned in the previous entry it's next to Magic Mountain theme park. You can see some of the rides in the distance.
Fortunately we found a great full-service car wash only a few miles away. Although we selected one of the less expensive wash options, the shop did a fantastic job. Hawkgirl positively sparkled. Update: I took an 'after' picture later in the day:
As we rolled onto the dealer's lot another few miles away my thesis for getting our car cleaned up nicely was proven. Another couple shopping for a car saw us get out of Hawkgirl and started asking questions about her. A few minutes later when we were talking to a salesman, I mentioned that our potential trade-in parking outside already had prospective buyers showing interest!
Alas, the dealer's inventory was not what we hoped it would be. Of 4 cars listed on their website we wanted to look at, 3 were still "in transit". Only one was actually available— and it was the least interesting one to us, because it's a color we both dislike. Yes, we should have called ahead. 😣 But... make lemonade out of lemons, right? We still test-drove the car, a 2021 BMW 230i convertible, to learn more about the model and some of the options packages, and we liked it. Now we have more confidence that the 230i is the model we want. We just have to find the right color, and the right options, at the right price.
