In the 67 years I have been on this earth, I have purchased four new cars: a Honda Civic (back when they were teeny hatchbacks), a Chevy Nova, a Subaru Legacy station wagon (back when car makers still made really, true station wagons), and a Volkswagen Beetle. The brand new Honda CR-V makes five…..

Isn’t she pretty? I had to fight for the red, believe me. As I mentioned yesterday, according to my car salesman, there was only one red Honda CR-V left in the world, and it was sold. Today, when we met with him to get answers to some more questions, I mentioned that red car was an absolute must-have. No red: deal breaker. What do you think he said? If you guessed let me go talk to my manager and see what I can do, then you guessed exactly right. When he returned a mere 10 minutes later (just enough for him to use the bathroom, wash his hands, and comb his hair) he came back and told me he was able to find a red CR-V at a nearby dealership. In the words of Goober Pyle, “Shazaam shazaam shazaam.”

When I bought my bug, a friend of ours who loved bartering and was very good at it helped us make the deal. This is a man who bartered for everything, including a standing rib roast one year at Christmas. His philosophy was play hard ball, including threatening to leave if you aren’t satisfied with the price. If they let you leave, he said, then you really have hit their bottom price. We got the car for a very good price.

I bought my Nova and my Subaru all by myself. Both times, I found out what price the car buying service offered by our credit union would pay. I then went in and said, “I will pay this much for the car, and not a cent more.” I guess they must have been fair prices, because both times they said okey dokey.

For the first time for both Bill and me, we’re leasing the car. We have always financed, and after paying the car off, we keep it for a very long time. Hence, my beloved 2003 Volkswagen beetle. As we have aged, however, we decided leasing was the way to go. Who knows if we’ll even be able to climb into an SUV in three years? Ha!

Before heading over to pick up the car, I cleaned out my yellow bug. It appears I have been accumulating discarded straws, ketchup packets, receipts, church bulletins, used tissues, and dried-out pens since George W. Bush was president. I thought I had it nailed, but when I pulled into our garage with the new car, I realized I had forgotten the garage door opener. Looks like a trip to visit Sean will be necessary after all.

Given the fact that my Volkswagen beetle had a cassette deck, there will be a steep learning curve when it comes to my audio system. Sean gave me a quick lesson. Frankly, I was so stunned that somehow the radio knew to play my favorite playlist without me telling it to do it, that I missed most of the lesson. And the safety features will also require some education. Every time something beeps, I jump six inches out of my seat.

But, man on man, is there anything like that new car smell?