Find Your Next Car Local or Search National?

A good friend of mine, who I first met as one of my previous car customers, contacted me the other day. She told me that she had been in a terrible accident and was okay, except for being shaken up and totally upset that her baby (her 2003 Acura MDX w/Navigation in Havasu Blue) was totaled.Someone had made a left turn and hit her as she was going forward in her lane of traffic. She rolled end over end and landed upside down! She said all the windows were broken out, glass all over…they used the jaws of life to remove her. She basically walked away with a few minor scratches! That’s how a vehicle is supposed to protect you and your family! “Go Acura!”

Then came the topic of what to do next…she loved her baby and wanted exactly the same back again, or a couple years newer, but not the new 2007 Acura MDX new body style.

We got online to find out what the exact vehicle, or close to her’s as possible, was actually selling for. This way she could give her insurance company a range of cost to replace it. Fortunately, Acura’s really hold their value because they are not mass produced, so she is able to recover a good portion to go towards her next one.

The next topic was, how does she go about finding what she wanted…we went online again and entered our search criteria, for a local dealer within 200 miles. Not one Acura dealer had the color she wanted in their used inventory. She wanted to really stay with the same dealer because they’ve always treated her right. In staying with a pre-owned Acura MDX and buying one from an Acura dealer, she could get a “certified” vehicle, meaning that it had been inspected, had all of the services brought current, and a better factory warranty with opportunity to save money on a factory extended warranty. Many times, the factory will offer even better financing for their previous clients on certified vehicles. No luck in finding one in the entire state of California.

Next day, she calls me and found one in Texas at a Lexus dealer…her sister lives in Texas and checked out the vehicle, said it was really nice and the price was right. My friend would have to arrange for this vehicle to be trucked into California, to avoid paying double tax and license. The vehicle would not be able to be certified, since it was a pre owned Acura MDX being purchased through a Lexus dealer.

If it were me, I would have chosen a second color choice and worked with my favorite local dealer. I would make sure the vehicle had the options and equipment I wanted, make sure it was certified, get the special financing and special on the extended factory warranty. Much safer decision for my check book, thinking that later on down the road “just in case” something broke down and I were to face this service department, there would be no questions asked and I could go on my way hassel free.

I love my friend! She wanted that same color that her previous baby had and admitted that she has to have everything almost exactly as it was, in order for everything to be okay for her…I can truly appreciate and empathize with her feelings.

The fact being that she was purchasing an excellent vehicle, the Acura MDX, chances are, she will not have a problem with it…it still has low enough miles and is under factory warranty (4yr/50,000 miles) and she could purchase an extended service contract for a bit more that will take her out to 100,000 miles…the only question left would be to make sure this particular find was not in an accident, flood or what not. The vehicle history report showed a clean record. The Lexus dealer in Texas let her take the MDX to an Acura dealer to be checked out. Sure, she would have to hassel flying out to make the purchase and fly back, hassel with the transporting of the vehicle and registration…but she is so happy!!! She made an excellent purchase decision, a wise purchase choice for herself, and negotiated a wonderful price! Yeah! You go girl!

Thanks to the Internet, my friend was able to expand her car purchasing out of state, on a national search, to get exactly what she wanted! I am so proud of her!

We had a great time discussing her purchase options, both pro’s and con’s, and by-golly she was able to make her decsion with confidence, even being shaken up from the accident and losing her 2003 Acura MDX (her baby!) and amongst other things that were happening in her life.

I was happy to be there for her to bounce things off of. I was happy to see her make her purchase with confidence…and out of state at that! The local dealer who takes care of her will still service her car and take care of her. She gets the best of all worlds! Kudos to her!!