Build It Baby!!
September 1st, 2006 by Ian
Today I ordered my new Toyota Rav4!! I had to order it because they had none on the lot or in the area that met my requirements. Hell, they didn’t even have any on the lot. These babies are selling like hot cakes. But that worked out well for me because it meant I could order one from the factory and make sure it only got the options I wanted. Well, almost. I was able to get exactly what I wanted except for 2 items. I could not get the upgraded stereo or the sunroof. The stereo I only wanted because it came with more speakers and a sub woofer. All things I can add after market. The sunroof I wanted because……well, it’s a sunroof and it’s nice to open it in good weather. But you cannot get the sunroof and the side impact air bags, you have to choose one or the other. I guess I’m officially out of my wild younger years (though my friends at the toga party last Saturday may disagree) since I chose safety over fun.
So what did I order, you ask. Well, I ordered a Toyota Rav4 V6 Limited. My first color choice is the classic silver metallic; second color choice is the pacific blue metallic. I’d be happy with either one. As for options, I didn’t have to get many. The limited already comes with so many bells and whistles that wasn’t much to add. I did add the side air bags as mentioned earlier, a night vision mirror (dims when bright headlights are behind you, displays compass direction and outside temp), cargo net (love it in my current vehicle when we buy groceries), and carpet mats (why are these an option on a limited edition?). Here is a pic from the Toyota site:
I have 45 days to wait for the car to arrive. Basically the dealership tags one at the factory to be mine. If they happen to find one in the area meeting my criteria before then, they’ll try to grab it.
It was weird doing everything for a car that doesn’t exist at this point. I basically signed papers saying I would buy the car when they get one that meets my criteria and the price we agree on. And yes, we did already agree on the price. They even gave me the trade-in value for my Escape. And thank goodness Bobby was there. He is great at all this haggling stuff. He was able to increase their offer for my Escape by 25%! Before I left, I knew exactly what the final cost (including TT&L) would be. Nice to have that bit over with.
So now it is the waiting game. Kind of anti-climatic to go through most of the process of buying a car, and the driving off the lot in your old vehicle and knowing you have to wait over a month for the new one. But it gives me something to look forward to!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the info on the new Honda CR-V came out today. I had been waiting on that before making my decision. I really do like what they’ve done to the CR-V. I actually like the exterior of it better than the Rav4. But I like the interior of the Rav4 better, and that is what you look at the most. Plus, the CR-V does not have a V6 option and as a 4 cylinder only gets 1 mile per gallon over the Rav4 V6. So after perusing the new Honda CR-V info for 30 minutes, my decision was made!
My first new car, a ‘94 Ford Thunderbird (a/k/a the “Thunderchicken”) was one that I had ordered. I had a connection with the new car manager at the old Bankston Ford in Frisco…way back before I ever thought about moving to Frisco. No one in town had exactly what I wanted, so I ordered it and paid $300 over dealer invoice. I still have the sticker from it, is says “Vehicle Not For Sale”.
Maybe I’ll stick photos of my cars on my Flickr page.