I'm getting too stiff to crawl around in the back of a pickup with a topper and some of our yard equipment doesn't quite fit. So, I've been lusting after a cargo van to replace our truck.
A cargo van has a lower floor and thus a relative higher ceiling, plus a side access door. Problem is that new ones cost in the high 20s and used ones are as scarce as Stanley Steamers. Apparently many owners run them until they're useless.
Almost all of them come with a V-8, larger than we need, and only front-wheel drive. Both Chevrolet and Ford made smaller cargo vans but have discontinued them.
I talked to one sales representative and all he wanted to do was have me sign on the dotted line to commit to buy a cargo van that he didn't have in stock. Hey, I'd like to drive one first. Also he didn't seem to be interested in discussing any alternatives such as a minivan or an SUV, new or used. He seemed to be high-pressuring me as if his job depended on that particular sale.
So, I got on the good old Internet and found my own alternatives. I did find that the above dealer didn't have many alternatives. I found another dealer who had a couple of Chevrolet HHRs, so-called crossovers, with less than 38,000 miles for less than 14,000 dollars. I also found that the HHRs were rated about average by J.D. Powers. However, they seemed to have sufficient cargo space for us.
Unfortunately, they only had front-wheel drive and no trailer hitches. We would want a trailer to haul yard equipment from our house or cabin to the service shop.
The best news is that the sales person that sold us our truck thirteen years ago was now at that dealer. He had given us a better trade-in than any other dealer had offered. Plus he let us try a couple of vehicles. It was one of the most pleasant auto sales experiences we had had.
Today I called him and told him that we remembered him from thirteen years ago. Of course, he didn't remember us after how many other hundreds of customers. However, he was pleased and grateful that we had remembered him.
I told him what we were interested in and our range of choices. We set up a visit with him this afternoon.
We sat and chatted for a lot. We told stories, he told stories. We raised questions and observations about various cars; he responded with answers and his own observations. It was if we had all the time in the world.
He had the keys to a few cars on his desk. He brought an 2008 HHR with less than 38,000 miles on it around to the front and gave us the keys to it. The HHR is an "ugly" thing like the Chrysler PT Cruiser; in fact, both were designed by the same man.
The best thing about it was that the back seats folded down to provide a uniformly flat, impermeable surface. Just the thing for placing almost anything on, no matter how dirty or greasy. We drove it a couple of miles and were quite comfortable with it. However, it didn't have four-wheel or all-wheel drive and no trailer hitch.
We looked at a 2008 Saturn Vue. It had mileage in the high twenties, price in the high teens, and all-wheel drive. When we folded down the seats we found the surface was all cloth. What a mess we'll make of that. We didn't even drive it.
We next looked at a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer. It had mileage in the high thirties, price in the mid-teens, four-wheel drive, and a trailer hitch. It also had a cloth cargo surface. However, the cargo surface was larger than the other two. We took it out for a spin. It was responsive and comfortable. Although it had an on-the-floor automatic shift lever, the indicator was on the instrument panel. The HHR had it on the floor, a bit of a distraction.
We decided that the Trailblazer would suit our needs best and said we would take it.
The next step was evaluating our truck. The trade-in offer was $2500, better than what I had seen after filling out an online form.
We asked some more questions, told some more stories, and filled out some preliminary papers. As we are changing our insurance company tomorrow, we didn't want to close until tomorrow afternoon. The sales person said he was busy with some other things and asked if we could wait until Wednesday. We agreed.
Although the afternoon was a pleasant experience, I came home exhausted and wanted only to sit in front of the fireplace. It was as if a great weight of expectations and conflicting concerns had been lifted off my shoulders.
I do have to conclude with a small plug. If you have a conflicting automotive wish list and are uncertain about your choices, be sure to see Dean Melbostad at Luther Family Chevrolet in Duluth (actually Hermantown). No pressure, lots of answers.
