One not-frugal thing: I bought my dream car!

You guys, I did it! I bought my Honda Civic. 🙂

I can hardly believe I finally own one. 

I haven’t bought a vehicle for myself since 2012. And I haven’t driven anything other than a minivan since 2003.

Sooooo, this car feels pretty dang fancy to me!

I have a sunroof.

And heated seats. And a thermostat.

I have a big ol’ screen.

And look, my car even shows me the graphic for the currently playing song here:

My car is so zippy! My van, bless her heart, worked great, but she was definitely a little on the slow side for merging or going up hills. 

The first time I merged in the Civic, I was so surprised and delighted at how fast I went, I literally did this:

Also, it is so easy to make u-turns! Our neighborhood is situated so that we almost always have to make a u-turn on the highway, so this feature is going to be very nice for me. 🙂 

My van felt sort of like driving a marshmallow around; comfy and soft, but not very tight or stable on turns. So I have been very accustomed to taking corners and u-turns slowwwwly. Now I am a little more speedy. 😉 

Every time I go somewhere, park the car, do my business, and walk back to the car, I am freshly amazed to see my Civic. Like…what? This is mine?? Are you kidding me??

I did buy a brand new one, largely because used Civic prices at the dealers were not that good, and I did not feel like dealing with the headache of buying a used one. 

However, I did apply a few money-saving tweaks. So, I’ll list them here as a pseudo-Five Frugal Things, with the understanding that buying a new car is not at all frugal. 😉 

1. I got a new grad discount

Toward the end of my test drive day, after I’d already gotten a price on the car, I noticed a sign about a new grad offer. I inquired, and they said it’s a $500 rebate if you’ve graduated within the last two years.

They weren’t sure if a two-year nursing degree counted, but the sales guy looked up the policy and sure enough, it was listed there. Yay! 

I’m still out here working the student discounts. 😉 

2. I paid for $3000 of the car with my Southwest credit card

The dealership allows you to put up to $3000 on a credit card, so I said, “Oh yes, please.” and handed over my Southwest credit card. 

I will pay it off immediately, of course, but I will cheerfully pocket the airline miles.

3. I waited 24 hours and got an extra $500

On the day I did my test drive, they included a $500 brand loyalty bonus in my quote. Of course, they wanted me to buy that very day, but I said I’d like 24 hours to sleep on it (to decide between trim levels).

Well, the next day, Honda corporate adjusted the loyalty bonuses, and mine went up by $500. 

Sooo, that was a very worthwhile 24-hour wait. 🙂 

(I know that this was not some shady sales tactic because it came up after I already had my out-the-door quotes in hand for both trim levels.)

4. I financed part of the purchase, temporarily

There was another bonus offered if you used Honda financing. I wasn’t planning to finance any of the purchase, but I will not turn down a bonus.

So, I financed the minimum amount, which I will pay off as soon as my account is set up.

5. I refused every single extra offer

You know how they have a whole laundry list of extra services you can add on? I said no to all of them. 

I was particularly sure I didn’t want the extended warranty and service agreement. I said…ummm, this is why I’m buying a Honda: so that I don’t have to worry about things breaking!!

What a silly thing to try to sell to a Honda buyer. 😉 

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to?

(Although if you also bought a car this week, feel free to tell us about it!)