Write about: insurance.
As promised yesterday, an explanation.
Mine:
So way back in March of 2010 we bought our 2006 Saturn Ion. Man, I look young in that picture.
Anyway.
Our Saturn has served us well over the years. It was our only car until we bought the Pontiac Montana in May of 2017. Which means it was our car when we got married, when first Max and then Miles were born. It got me through a pretty nasty accident a month before previously mentioned wedding.
But it's been slowly but surely nearing the end of its lifespan. It's broken down a couple times, once without the reason ever being determined. It's lost a couple hubcaps over the years. The stereo has been hit and miss for the last year or so (sometimes it stops working, other times the volume knob does not... function as expected).
Also: it's grey. We didn't want a grey car to begin with, but the price was right and we couldn't afford to be picky. But I was getting very, very tired of having a grey car.
So I've been keeping an eye out for a new ride, pretty much since I passed probation in July. Recently I had my eye on a marine blue 2017 Hyundai Elantra. It was out of my price range but the price went down once, then again... if it went down a third time I was planning on getting in touch with the dealership.
But somebody else decided two price drops was enough, and so it disappeared off their site.
Which was fine. Good, if I'm being honest. It was more car than I needed.
Shortly after that, however, a new contender entered the arena. Same dealership in Penticton, handily enough. So I emailed them to get a couple questions answered, then spent a week going back and forth via email trying to get the price I wanted. They dropped the sticker price by a bit, eventually agreed to waive all the extra fees (I'm sorry, but I ain't paying $499 for no cash grab nonsense), and... pointed out that they had the best price for the car I was looking at. In all of BC.
I went in on Saturday to take it for a test drive and figure out what they'd give me for the Saturn. I liked the drive, they gave me more than I was expecting for the trade in, and... now I'm the proud owner of this:
That's a 2018 Kia Rio. White. Would have preferred blue or red, but white is a sight better than grey. The price was right for a car this new, the mileage was what I wanted, and it has some nice features (already enjoying the heated steering wheel). I expect it will serve me well for many years to come.
So, yes, her name is Betty. As in Betty White. The name came to me at the dealership while I was waiting for them to finish washing and cleaning her. Because I am a creative person.
Oh, today's prompt. I felt like I did a lot of research on this purchase. Looked at a lot of different options. Negotiated hard on the price and the waiving of the fees.
The thing I forgot to think about? Car insurance. Turns out, they charge quite a bit more to insure a 2018 vehicle than a 2006 vehicle. Who'd a thunk it.
Anyway. Minor bump in the road. I am very happy with my purchase. The boys think it's pretty cool too. Kat is insisting that I let her drive it occasionally.
I told her I'm open to negotiations.
2 comments:
That's a nice tale of how you ended up owning Betty White. Which is exactly what I intend to tell anyone who asks about you :) Normally I would laugh at the idea of a heating steering wheel, but then I remember your lovely winters with -30 degree temperatures and... well, it seems a lot more reasonable! I'm glad you got a good bargain on the car though (albeit the insurance blind-sided you), and I hope Betty serves you well as you ride her through the years :)
Insurance
Scuffles crouched behind a group of rocks that had some kind of greenish-gray grass growing on the top of it. It waved gently in the currents that nudged past him; the drowned streets of this old village channeled the water in odd ways from wherever it came. This had been, as best as he could determine, some kind of park in the centre of the village at some point; maybe common land. There was a rotted wooden stump as thick as his thigh a metre or so away from him, and there were some kind of emaciated white crabs living in and under the rocks. They waved tiny white pincers at him angrily when they peeked eyestalks out of holes, and he could feel their aquatic rage in his soul. They longed to fight, but had no-one suitable to do so with.
He’d come to terms with being under water and not drowning now, though that had been a real struggle at first. He’d held his breath until he thought his lungs would burst, and then when they didn’t, and he kept holding his breath, he’d panicked that he really had burst his lungs and tried breathing. His lungs filled up with water, yet he didn’t drown, and he was still shaky about the idea that at any minute he might remember how breathing worked and promptly die.
Ghosts drifted along the streets; he couldn’t tell if they were intentional or being pushed and pulled by the currents. He could feel the ire that was holding them to the village and he could see that it was being pulled as well, binding them all to something else. What he couldn’t do was trace it back; every time he tried he came up against a chaotic black cloud shot through with red and yellow lines like lightning frozen in a photograph. The cloud billowed and bulged; changing shape, size and number of dimensions and when he tried looking at it with his other senses, it was still there, still obstinately blocking the way.
He was hiding now because the ghosts had started to look around them and act with purpose. He suspected that whatever was responsible for the cloud had noticed that not everyone down here was dead.
Hilda had appeared for a moment, nuzzled the back of his knee and blown a sooty, hot bubble his way, then disappeared again. He missed her, even though she’d only been there for a moment.
“Jesus, Scuff, it’s wet in here, isn’t it?”
The sense of relief that rushed over him at the sound of Pestilence’s voice was like a warm shower on a freezing cold day. He turned, staying crouched, and there was Pestilence, sitting cross-legged in the mud and holding a pin-striped black umbrella over his head while fish nibbled curiously at his hair.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” said Scuffles.
“I’m glad I’m here too,” said Pestilence. “I think we need some insurance.”
Greg - yeah, I had to reword a few things in order to avoid saying things like that :P
Yeah, I knew you'd have fun with it. But yes, Betty and I have been getting along just fine, thank you.
Woah. Scuffles... well, I'm glad Pest arrived as well. He does not seem to be in a good place, in any sense of the word.
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