Car Seats Expire???

Did you know that car seats and their bases have expiration dates? 

I  just found this out after calling Peg Perego to find out if a Latch Car Seat Base I have is compatible with the newer Primo Viaggio car seats.  The customer representative at Peg Perego actually said they have 5-year expiration dates on all their car seats and bases due to modifications and upgrades in safety requirements.

(Obviously, you will want to check with your car seat or base manufacturer for their specific expiration dates, as this is the expiration date information just for Peg Perego.)

So instead of attempting to sell the extra car seat base we found, I just have to throw it in the trash.  This seems wasteful, but apparently, it is the safest thing to do. 

As with all baby products, I guess you are always best served when you do your research first!

Shopping for a New Car Step #3: How to Get the Best Price on a New Car

We gave ourselves a couple of weeks to process our research on all of the vehicles.  And with all these things considered, we purchased...the Honda Pilot!  I have been driving it for a week now and I don't regret my decision one bit.  In fact, I continue to appreciate the roominess of the Pilot and how easy it is to drive!  It's pretty fantastic having a "Mommy Car!"

But, let me back up a step.   It wasn't that easy.

After determining that the Pilot met our needs the best, we (mostly I) needed to figure out how to get the best deal.  As I mentioned in Step #1 of Shopping for a New Car, I found a great resource in TrueCar.com.  The only thing I didn't expect were the dealerships to still play tricks about the price and availability - including telling me they had 2 cars to my exact specifications and when I got down there an hour later they were magically gone (not sold, just gone). 

I also learned the valuable lesson that while websites like TrueCar.com give you the best prices on cars, you typically can't get great financing through the dealership.  Basically, you can have either great rebates (a.k.a. a lower price on the vehicle) or great financing (a.k.a. higher price on the vehicle) from the dealerships - at least that is what I was told by 4 or 5 dealerships.

Knowing that I couldn't have my cake and eat it, too, from the dealership, I decided to explore the option of getting the best possible price on a car and then finding my financing elsewhere.  I checked with a couple of banks/credit unions, including the one that holds our mortgage.  I thought we might get a good rate from them considering we already have a pretty good piece of business with them.  Yeah, I was wrong on that one.  They actually quoted us the worst rate!  Go figure. 

After some time on the internet and phone, I was able to secure the best interest rate from USAA.  While I was talking with a nice person from USAA, she suggested that I look into their auto-buying program.  Since I am an equal-opportunity savings seeker, I gave it a whirl.  And wouldn't you know it...their guaranteed price was more than $1000 lower!  Score, even a better deal!  I emailed the dealership's internet sales person and he confirmed they had the vehicle we were looking for in stock.  Yippee!

From there, I was ready.  We were approved for a loan and now all we had to do was get the out-the-door price so I could have the check printed and ready for when we went to the dealership.  That's when the internet sales person threw me for a loop. After telling him that I already secured a interest rate of 3.25%, he indicated that they were offering 1.9% financing.  Of course, I had been to that rodeo before and explained that I wanted the best deal on the price of the car and knew that I couldn't do that if I took their financing.  Then he said, "You can have the low price and the low interest rate." 

I made him repeat and explain himself a few times.  (Now I realize that their isn't that big of a difference between 1.9% and 3.25%. But to this Nickel and Dimer, that was "winning.")  When we went down to the dealership, sure enough, they had the lowest price on the car and the 1.9% financing.  We were finally ready to buy our new car. 

After about 4 hours at the dealership (waiting for them to detail and get the car pretty), I was able to drive the car off the lot.  (Yes, I did think about the several thousands of dollars that were leaving the car as I pulled out of the driveway, but I also reveled into looking at the odometer with just 7 miles on it!)

Now I am thrilled to have this purchase behind us.  Now bring on the carpools!

Shopping for a New Car Step #2: Test Driving Cars

First, I did extensive online research to decide what cars suited our needs most on paper.  After determining those car candidates, it was time to get behind the wheel of those cars.  I test drove 4 cars in the same small SUV/crossover category so that I could compare them apples to apples, as best as possible.

The one key take away I have learned can be related to our friendships in life:  What is on the inside matters much more than what's on the outside.

I will admit, I like cars.  I think some are pretty, and some are definitely not.  And I will also admit to my own superficiality that I would rather be seen in a pretty car than a not-so-pretty car.

But when it comes right down to it, my practical needs for a car far outweigh my superficial need "to look cool."  And lets face it, are any crossover cars really "cool?"  I finally realized, "Yeah, not as much as my pre-Mommyhood cars."

And as my sister-in-law reminded me, "You spend all of your time inside the car, not outside admiring it, so you better like what it has on the inside."

I had just a few requests on each car I test drove: rear entertainment system (DVD player), power lift gate, and reversing sensors and/or camera.

Here are the 4 cars I test-drove and my thoughts on each:

2012 Ford Explorer: it is redesigned and looks awesome on the road!  It now has a third row (unlike the 2010 and later models) and has great interior features like Sync radio and a DVD entertainment system in the back of the front seat headrests.  (I really liked that feature!)  Even though the Explorer doesn't look very big from the outside, it felt really long when driving it and it's rear and side visibility wasn't stellar.  (Pricing in comparison to other cars test driven with identical equipment: more expensive)

2012 Honda Pilot: this car felt the roomiest of all the cars I test drove and had the greatest visibility.  It also is the only one that seats up to 8 passengers.  I was especially impressed with the visibility out the back window when the DVD player was open from the ceiling of the car.  Unlike another car I will get to in a minute, the DVD player did not impact my rear view mirror vision whatsoever.  When all three rows are being used, the Pilot had the most cargo room as well.  Oh, and they have these great little hooks on the back row that you can hang grocery bags and coats from.  Silly and little, I know.  But sometimes the little things really do add up.  The only downfall of this car for me: its aesthetics.  (Pricing in comparison to other cars test driven with identical equipment: moderate)

2012 Toyota Highlander:  Prettiest car I test drove.  They have really mastered the look of the Highlander, in my opinion, and it looks fantastic on the road.  But for me, looks and Toyota reliability is all the Highlander has going for it, in comparison to other cars in the class.  When driving the Highlander while the kids were watching the DVD player, I could barely see the car driving behind me.  Talk about poor visibility!  I was shocked and a little frightened while driving the car.  The third row of the Highlander only seats 2 and the cargo space when the third row is being used is non-existent.  To me, this vehicle also felt pretty long to drive. (Pricing in comparison to other cars test driven with identical equipment: more expensive)

Mazda CX-9:  This car surprised me the most.  First of all, I didn't even realize it had a third row, it looks so compact on the road.  The visibility out the back window of the CX-9 was very good while the DVD player was in use.  This car did not feel very long or difficult to drive like some of the other vehicles and had a very smooth and comfortable ride.  (Pricing in comparison to other cars test driven with identical equipment: moderate)

STAY TUNED: Important tips regarding getting the best price on your next auto purchase and the car we chose are next! 

Shopping for a New Car - Let the Fun Begin!

The lease is up on my car in March.  That means I need to figure out what car works best for our family now.  And because we are nearing the year-end (when deals/incentives and prices at dealerships are often at their best), we have decided to step up our research efforts and see if we can figure out what car we want to buy in the next couple of weeks.

I don't know if you have seen a lot of them as well, but the TrueCar.com ads on TV lately really worked on me.  I logged on to TrueCar.com and started configuring the cars I am interested immediately.  Once I figured out the features I wanted, TrueCar.com then provided me with a price that I should pay for the car.  A price, I might add, that is well under the MSRP.  Me likey! 

Then, I clicked on a button to get price guarantees from 3 (relatively) local dealerships.  Basically, when I am ready to buy the car, I will walk into a dealership with the price guarantee their internet sales department quoted me.  Ideally, and hopefully, it will be that simple. 

Which begs the question, why doesn't everyone get the same great/lower price from the internet/fleet department?  Does the extra research really save you thousands of dollars?  Only time will tell.

I have now spoken to several of the dealerships from which I received price guarantees and have set up test drives.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well!

If you have any tricks or tips to getting a great deal on a car, please feel free to share!

UP NEXT:  The test drives!

Images from ford.com and truecar.com