Mike Browne’s Blog

We bought an ebony black 2004 Hyundai Elantra GT! That’s right a brand spankin’ new car. It only has 150 kms on it. Not bad at all. Why do we need a new car? The truck, our 1995 Ford Ranger, went into the shop for a tune up over the weekend and came out yesterday with a new clutch, front brakes and new battery. All this for the low low price of… $2000. Yikes!

Jeebus Christmas! Enough is enough. We’ve been paying through the nose for the West Coast Express for three years, spending way too much on gas to keep the truck tanked up, not to mention the pick up has been too small for Carol, Moosh and I to ride comfortably in for the entire 9 years we’ve had it. It’s time for a change. We need more room, a car that’s easy on gas and somewhat sporty. Well we got that in spades with the Elantra GT and for the right price.

We were considering Kias. I’m taking a few days off so it was my job to be the test driver. After driving a Kia Rio RXV (a gutless clinker and tin can on wheels) and a Kia Spectra (a little better, but still having that ‘old man’ feel to it) from Bay City Kia in Port Coquitlam we decided to look a little more. The cars there just didn’t do it for us, nor did the salesman for that matter. He went into a sales meeting while I was out on the test drive expecting me just to hang out and wait for him when I got back. Right. I’m going to wait around to spend money with someone who’s not there? I don’t think so.

I picked Carol up from work and after a quick trip to the bank to finalize our loan (Yay Sylvia!) we hit another Kia dealer. We were disappointed there too, so we thought Mazdas, Hyundai (which I really wanted at first anyway), Toyota and Nissan. Note that Honda isn’t on our list. We rented a new Honda Civic last year and what a piece of junk. I felt like my face was pushed up against the windshield the whole time. Anyway, we went to dinner, got filled up on beef and went forth to the brand new Jim Pattison Hyundai in Port Coquitlam where we met Brian Dodd (no s) who’s eyes lit up like Colin Farrell in a liquor store when I mentioned my interest in the Elantra GT.

Carol and I took the car for a drive and both loved it. We wheeled, dealed and traded the truck for a steal. We take delivery tonight. Looks like we’re going driving! Woohoo. I love the new car smell. Thanks to Brian our salesman and RJ the sales manager at the dealership. You guys rock!

I’ve never bought a new car before (I was too drunk and irresponsible before) and haven’t personally owned a car in around 15 years. The truck was a gift to Carol from her parents when they moved back from Saudi Arabia. I’m so grateful that we were in the position to do this now. I guess it really does pay to be responsible with your finances. I keep track of every penny we spend (for better or worse). Just knowing what we spend our cash on has helped to put us here. Nice!

Here’s a of the car, just in case you couldn’t see it well enough in the smaller version above. 🙂