It's a Topsy-Turvy Upside-Down World (or how to buy a car)

I didn't blog yesterday because I bought a car, which I've decided no matter how prepared you are, is an all-day event. Now this car purchase was more painful than usual because I was upside down in my three year old Taurus. For those of you car buying virgins and independently wealthy, upside down means you owe more for the car than it's worth, which I believe includes just about everyone in America the moment you've driven the car off the showroom floor. (Does anyone ever actually drive one off the showroom floor? My charcoal gray 2005 Nissan Altima with leather interior, Bose sound system and electric everything was on a side lot and needed some spit and polish before I could drive her away.)

Anyway, back to upside down. The reason I was upside down was when I financed the Taurus three years ago I was upside down in my trade-in, and the trade-in before that, and the trade-in before that and on backwards into infinity. (Where does the upside down madness end?) On top of that, last year I received over $5,000 worth of hail damage which State Farm wrote me a check for...and I subsequently spent. (Don't ask me on what, because I honestly do not know.)

So now, not only is my new car finance guy rubbing his grimmacing face about my upside-down-ness from upside-down cars past, but about the extensive hail damage which God smite my beautiful shiny black Taurus with. But do not despair! If you continue to say "I can't pay that much" and try to leave, the car people will grimmace, do some more calculations, talk to their manager, adjust the trade-in value (maybe it wasn't that hail damaged after all?) until they finally find a payment you can live with. (Don't worry about the interest or how many years.)

So here it is, in all its glory and EXTREME upside-down-ness:

Next time we'll talk about Gap Insurance. (I'll give you a hint...it doesn't involve insuring you have Khakis and Polos in your wardrobe.)

I would like to thank Tony Cannon at Bankston Ford in Frisco, TX. I didn't buy from him but he was VERY close to a sale. Alas...the new car smell beckoned. If you ever need a used car Tony will make you a GREAT deal, I promise.

Also, thanks to Courtesy Nissan at Campbell and Central and especially Michael Lewis who made my car-buying experience as painless and quick as possible. It's a very classy place to buy a new Nissan.

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