THE NEW CAR!!!

out with the old and in with the new.

I have spent the past year or so looking for something to replace my 1996 Ford Exploder.

The clutch was really wearing down and the brakes were bad. Finally my brakes got so bad that I took it to Midas for an estimate. When I got the estimate for $700 to fix the rear brakes that I let grind the disks down to nothing, I decided that it was time for action.

The next day I took Kim, her dad, and Zac car shopping.

First I drove a used Lexus that had everything, but still cost a pretty penny.

I would have given it a second thought but it didn't drive quite right, and the salesman looked very shady. Too many alarms went off in my head.

Then I walked onto a VW dealership. First I drove a used Passat. This car had been through the 101 point inspection used to qualify it as a certified used car. But they forgot to check the air conditioning. It only blew out warm air. I thought that would have been first on the 101 point inspection list.

Then the salesman told me that he was clearing out their 2008 models to make room for the 2009s. Because of this, a new Jetta was less than a used Passat!!! I drove the Jetta and loved it.

But I did not buy the car then and there. You know I had to wheel and deal.

More importantly, I needed the metallic blue, not the white Jetta they had on the lot.

The best part of all, I was able to get a trade in of $700 for the decrepit Ford with 170,000 miles on it.

I can no longer say that my wife has never driven my car, because my new car is an automatic.

In fact, she took it to the movies tonight with her friends.

It is a little smaller than I was planning on getting, but with gas prices as they are, I don't mind a bit.