(probably my most boring post ever, but maybe we can start a movement here folks! Who's with me?)
I'd say 99.99% Of MD users have done it, some of us have had memorable experiences, some not so memorable. In may of '06 I was shopping around for a great family car. I needed something big enough to haul my populous family, and I had the money for a new car. The time was right to go ahead and make my decision. Being an informed consumer, with a high speed internet connection, I took off on the spirited journey thru cyberland, evaluating, considering, re-calculating, pondering, visualizing and downright fantasizing. I came to the conclusion that Honda made the best vehicle for my requirements. Their website was very thorough and I was ever so impressed with their outstanding gas mileage and decided that I would pursue the Honda Pilot in my quest for the ultimate transportation.
Well it just so happened that they bought one at work and so I decided to "volunteer" for driving duty and after a few trips came the conclusion that indeed, this was the ultimate car for my family. However, I decided to approach the dealerships as if I hadn't made up my mind, and went to see them with a fresh idea......That I didn't like any car I'd seen, and that I'd eliminate them by trying to find something I liked about a car I hated in the first place.
It worked out for the best. When I actually got to the dealers, I poked, prodded, listened, used, abused, beat and once again downright evaluated each car within my specifications. Low and behold, I couldn't find much I liked about the pilot, but I didn't put away my knowledge from the internet and who had the best records I could find. So, on and on I went and saw just about every car there was with more than six seats that wasn't a mini-van.
After several trips out and many trips back into cyberland, I finally came across a vehicle I didn't really look at before. The Nissan Pathfinder. It was touted on the website as a BIG car with a BIG motor, so I really didn't think I'd like it and moved on. Until I actually saw it. Inside it was convenient and simple, roomy and tough looking. Now either I was tired of looking, or it struck me as the best deal. So I plopped down the pen and managed to get $35,000 in debt for their top o the line, got-it-all variety.
It wasn't but one day later I realized the car genuinely SUCKED. It was overpowered, geared way too high, and handled like it was full of lead at all times. So, realizing that Nissan had been making this particular vehicle longer than any other I was comforted that I made the right choice, and was proud of my Japanese monster truck. After all I wasn't silly enough to buy the giant one! I know where gas prices are going.
Well, time went by and I managed to loose 200lbs and an incredible spending habit, (think about it) and determined I no longer needed something that was capable of towing two and a half tons. So, I flirted with the idea of downscaling. I took a look at nada and kelley and was really glad I paid off the Pathfinder because it's trade-in value was plummeting with every new release over a span of like three months. I didn't want to panic, but I realized that just about any car would do, as long as it had 5 seat belts and the sky was the limit.
I looked around the web again, and just couldn't make up my mind. Then I remembered those ugly Scion xB things. I thought they were really cool, so I hit their site and there was so little info about it for real, just nifty stuff about how neeto it was to customize. So the weekend before last i trip over to the Toyota dealer to get a look at it in person. I was rally impressed at it's combination of mechanical simplicity with the electronic gadgets added on. Hmmm, it's like that 19 year old, she looks great, but what will the fun be if she doesn't know anything ya know? It was too late, I was all smitten by the looks and solid feel, not to mention the roominess and the sweet user interface. I struggled with the idea of giving up a car that had proven to be reliable and was more than needed for something I wasn't so sure about would fill the bill.
So I just went and did it. I drove the stick and the auto, and all over town freeway etc. I was convinced and chose the stick with the really nice stereo! I traded old "Spruce Goose" in for the "Baby Swan". I drove it all day, all weekend, and the more I drive it, the more I like it. My point is probably this, if you really like it you'll know within a day or two.
Let's make a change in the system. A test drive should consist of at least three days before you decide to actually buy the car. If your in love, you're going to enjoy it even if it does suck, but you're never going to discover any of the things you like about the car until you actually use it, not in a 15 minute test drive. I bought the Scion because I loved it, the Pathfinder because it was the logical choice. I think I may be overlooking the faults of the Scion, but lets face it, I would have taken the Pathfinder back had I drove it for a couple days.
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read more blogs!
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bardnsage
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Nov 19 @ 10:53PM
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I just find a car I think I like, then I hit the rental agencies until I find one. Rent it for a weekend, and punish the hell out of it. If I still like it after the weekend, I go buy one. If I don't, then $99 a day unlimited milage with full insurance coverage is a bargin to take an Escalade to the mud sling. 
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jers04
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Nov 19 @ 10:56PM
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I don't know. I've had a Corvette since the mid-70's and have loved the hell out of them.
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