[post a continuation from part 1]
The first thing we did was just go around to dealerships when we had spare time, or a few specific trips out to look. This started months in advance. Once we went out on a Sunday. Why a Sunday? Because Indiana laws don’t allow for the sale of cars on that day of the week. Since dealerships are closed, we could walk around and look at cars without the harassment of sales persons. I have a very love-hate relationships with automotive sales persons.
Once we had done that with a lot of internet research, we went out to get in the cars and gather brochures. Let’s think of what cars in no particular order…
- Ford Fusion
- Volvo S40 & C30
- Mini Cooper & Cooper S
- VW EOS
- Honda Accord, Civic, & Insight
- Audi A4
- Smart ForTwo
- Saab 9-3
- Nissan Altima & Altima Coupe
- Infiniti G37 and G37 Coupe
- Subaru Impreza & Legacy
- Toyota Corolla & Camry
- Acura TSX & RDX
I may have missed a car or two in that list, but these were the ones that we considered in this phase.
The earliest removals from considerations were Audi, Saab, and Toyota. Nothing personal about the cars – they just didn’t make the cut.
The rest graduated to a test drive with the addition of a few surprises along the way… Stay tuned or not…