Friends say that the picture looks red, but trust me she's very sunburst ORANGE.
It's been a week since N and I drove to Arlington to pick up my new van. We left home at 6 am to be sure to get to the dealership early enough to get our business done, take N and B out for lunch and head home so as to arrive before dark. We arrived at N's house about 9:15, had banana bread for breakfast and went to pick up the car.
There she was in all her bright shiny orangeness with my name on the window sticker. Built especially for Earlene.
We met with all the proper people, the saleslady, the saleslady's boss, the financial man, some other people who walked by and admired my new van. I received the owners manual--a tome about 5 inches thick to keep in one of the two glove boxes. That doesn't count the book to help me figure out the navigation system. I may not know how to completely and properly use my vehicle for months. Several of the areas may not be "played with" when the car is running. So I've sat in the drive way or garage and read places in the manuals and "played". It is intimidating to admit that I've been driving this van for a week and still have no clue how to adjust any of the back seat controls--sound/temperature, etc. I sometimes, still open the back door (they call it a gate) when I mean to open a side door. But I'm sure I'll get used to it all in time and hopefully I'll get all the bells and whistles figured out.
When we got home from Arlington w/ my new van (Sara--more about that later) -- N was checking out the trailer hitch on the blue van which will now be his fishing vehicle. He was looking for parts of the hitch which are stored in the back cargo area. I began looking for Sara's hitch. We paid an extra $600 for the "towing package" to be added at the factory. Sara had no hitch. My thought was that altho' we specified it in our order, the factory didn't get the word. I looked on the window sticker, "towing package" was there. I looked at the invoice thing that I had received earlier---"towing package" was there I e-mailed the dealership asking them to check w/ the factory to be sure the rest of the "towing package" was installed, since the hitch wasn't.. I found out later when N called to see if they had received my e-mail, THAT HITCHES DO NOT COME WITH THE TOWING PACKAGE. Can someome explain to me how I can tow something without a cotton-picking hitch?
We were told that hitches must be added later because there are so many styles and weights. Why not tell the customer this as they are ordering a "towing package"? "Oh, by the way, the hitch is an extra charge". Ridiculous!!!
That was glitch #1---Why is buying a vehicle so difficult?
Glitch # 2 came a week later. We bought the extended warranty because of all the electronics (bells and whistles) included in the van. We usually don't, but because of an experience w/ the blue van (Steve) we didn't want to pay to replace several computers in the life of the vehicle. Not only did we ask the business manager "Does this cover every single thing on the vehicle"? We had him repeat it more than once. He must have thought we were paranoid. So we felt very secure that EVERYTHING will be covered for 7 years or 100,000 miles. I would never have sat and read the extended warranty book, but N did two days ago on Saturday and discovered that if a certain box on our paperwork is not checked we do NOT have coverage for the electronics. And ours was not checked. He phoned the dealership, and talked to a business manager --the boss of the man who assured us that we were completely covered--- He told N that he'd check w/ the warranty company and get back to us.
We received a phone message from him this morning (Monday) saying that WE ARE COMPLETELY COVERED and the lack of a check mark in the magic box was a mistake. WHEW!
Let me tell you about the navigation system. It is just too cool. I'm sure it will be wonderful when I go on church trips and try to get around in Lubbock, or try to find places in Fort Worth or Arlington, but it is not much help in Brownwood. I tried to get it to tell me how to get to Chilis--as if I don't already know---and it was ready to send me to one 78 miles away. The same with two or three other places here---. It was ready to send me to a mall 120 miles away, rather than the one in Early. We, the system and I, need to learn to communicate better. It gives streets in Bwd different names than are on the street signs. There is a traffic function which warns of problems up ahead--so far --all I have been warned of while driving on the streets of Bwd are problems on the freeways of Ft. Worth. Again, my manual and I need more time together.
Why is she named Sara? First off, many, but not all of my vehicles have had names. Not arbitrary names always but names that "come to me". We were loading groceries from Sam's in the back- on the way home that first day and that name (SARA) just popped into my head. Much the way Steve was named.
Am I happy with my car? Yes! Am I a little intimidated and uneasy with an unfamiliar vehicle? Yes!
As we were driving home, we phoned N from the car--my phone is "synch-ed" with the sound system. (Yep, that is rather intimidating, too) I found out that B and N were at a dealership buying him a new vehicle for his 400+ mile drive per week. As far as I know his is not yet named, but it's really pretty.
