Suzuki XL-7
Nissan Xterra
Cadillac SRX
Infinity FX35, QX4
Acura MDX
GMC Envoy XUV
Volvo XC90
BMW X5
Lexus RX330, LX470
Can you find the common theme in these SUV names?
-Keithius
Save to Browser Favorites
Ask
backflip
blinklist
Bloglines
BlogMarks
Blogsvine
BUMPzee!
CiteULike
co.mments
Connotea
del.icio.us
DotNetKicks
Digg
diigo
dropjack.com
dzone
Facebook
Fark
Faves
Feed Me Links
Friendsite
folkd.com
Furl
Google
Hugg
Jeqq
Kaboodle
linkaGoGo
LinksMarker
Ma.gnolia
Mister Wong
Mixx
MySpace
MyWeb
Netvouz
Newsvine
PlugIM
popcurrent
Propeller
Reddit
Rojo
Segnalo
Shoutwire
Simpy
sk*rt
Slashdot
Sphere
Sphinn
Spurl.net
Squidoo
StumbleUpon
Technorati
ThisNext
Webride
Windows Live
Yahoo!
Email This to a Friend
If you like this then please subscribe to the A small comfort:
Even though the Chevy Tracker ZR2 is a itty-bitty little SUV… it still produces more (well, at the very least the same) HP than my brother’s Ford Ranger… and it has more ground clearance, too! 
Ugh I did not sleep well last night…
-Keithius
I don’t even know if I have the heart to write this, but…
We looked at a 2000 4-door Chevy Blazer at Diamond Chevrolet in Worcester, and really liked it - it suited our needs, was very nice in the options department, had low miles and was generally affordable. We were all ready to sign the paperwork tonight when the salesman dissappeared - after making us wait nearly 2 hours for the finance people to finish up with someone before us (to sign the paperwork). Someone else came out to find out what was going on, and then the bad news broke - the first salesman had overlooked something on our credit report, and the report back from GMAC financing was “no way.” Basically, they would never approve us for any used car because of a bad (and erronious) report on my credit (of a $7000 charge-off account). If the guy who broke the news to us hadn’t done so very nicely, I would’ve gotten very, VERY angry. My mom was with me to sign off on the truck, I mean, we were READY to buy. They had cleaned the Blazer up very nicely, we were playing with it in the lot when the guy came to find us and give us the bad news.
After talking amongst ourselves for a bit, the guy came back and laid our options out for us. The only option available to us was to buy new, that was the only way the finance companies would approve us (something to do with “equity” in a new car vs. a used one). He suggested we take a look at a Tracker and I groaned, but agreed to look at one. Now, I didn’t like the Tracker, but I had considered it at one point - it is small but the 4-door would fit enough cargo for my uses, and it is 4×4. So he ran the numbers for us at a best-case and worst-case scenario and laid the options flat out for us. The payments (including tax, title, registration, and my truck as a trade-in) looked reasonable, so I told him to go ahead and do it. I’ll hear back around noon tomorrow about what interest rate we can get, and if it is good and the payments are within our (narrow) range, we’ll do it. Because the fact of the matter is, we cannot get a used car with that charge-off on my credit report. And it will take some time to get it off, even though it is false.
So, if things go well tomorrow I will be driving the Keithmobile-D home as a Chevy Tracker ZR2 (off road). If things do not go well, then I will be driving the Keithmobile-C home again … and driving it for some time to come. That’s just how it’ll be.
This has been a nightmare experience. However, one good thing has come from this mix-up - the dealership is willing to give the Tracker to us at invoice - meaning $0 profit for them, as a way of apologizing for the (huge) mistake of their other salesperson. I’m willing to accept that if the payments are manageable. And on the good side, the Tracker is cheap to insure, gets good gas milage, and comes with a 150 HP V6 and 4 wheel drive that is rated very well. It also has 8 inches of ground clearance, more than any other car/truck/SUV we’ve looked at so far. And of course, as a new model it comes with the full manufacturer’s warranty, which is nice because we don’t have to pay extra for it - as we would have with the Blazer (or any other used car for that matter). And the rebates associated with Chevy right now are very good, so all in all our chances of getting it are very good.
So this is my story so far. I can’t wait to put all of this behind me and just get on with my life without having to worry about car-related things - be they “what new car will I get” or “what will I have to fix next”?
I’ve had some good times with the Keithmobile-C. It’s been a great truck for me - it’s hauled more than I ever thought possible (and more than it’s supposed to at times)… it’s pulled decently heavy loads with a trailer, and it’s gotten me through one of the worst winters in a long time (certainly the worst I’ve ever experienced myself). It’s a great looking truck, and it’s served me well for many years. I’ve put a lot into it, we’ve gone a long way together (138,000 miles actually). It’s always gotten me where I needed to go (with some struggling sometimes), and except for the fuel pump incident recently, it has never failed to start when I needed it to. With it will go a whole section of my life - the years when I was single, and only drove with myself everywhere I went - the years when I moved in and out of college (with ease, thanks to the truck bed) - the years when I raced around with my stick shift, even though I wasn’t going very fast, it felt like it because it gave me good acceleration. More than 4 years, and nearly 100,000 miles (it had 48,000 when I bought it)… what a long way to have come. The Keithmobile-C… the last of the “used” Keithmobiles.
Keithmobile-C, I will miss you…
-Keithius