Pimp Mommy's and Daddy's Ride

Little Baby Churchill is costing us big bucks already. First there was the house and now we've upgraded our car. Who knew such a tiny baby will need so much room?

We bought a Hyundai Sonata last Thursday and pick it up next Tuesday.

With most dealers blowing out their 2007 inventory of cars and our due date rapidly approaching, I had begun to pay attention to the 0% financing offers on the radio and in newspapers. I had always thought that we would take a hard look at Hyundai when we purchased our next car. I've noticed that they have been getting rave reviews for their cars and racking up JD Power awards. Since they still struggle to overcome the misconception that their cars are junk, they are priced much cheaper than cars they regularly beat in road tests - even topping royalty like the Camry and Accord in some notable reviews.

After briefly considering a minivan and learning that Steph was even more averse to a mini-van than me, we focused in on the Hyundai Sonata. As a full-sized family sedan, it is much larger than our current car and while it doesn't have the storage of a mini-van or SUV, it comes in a much more efficient package that should meet all our needs. Plenty of room for strollers and diaper bags for people other than me to use.

While we were originally considering the 4 cylinder base model, the dealer was trying to unload a fully loaded V6 Premium model - yes it still gets outstanding gas mileage (earned top spot from EnerGuide for most fuel efficient full sized car). As much as I wanted to stick with the 4 cylinder, the Little Baby Churchill showed a strong preference for the blinged out 17" wheels, powerful motor and leather interior of the Premium model. Okay, so that was me. I figure that since I won't have a life, I can at least live vicariously through my fog lights. Oh yeah, it also has a bunch of less important stuff like 5 star crash rating, traction control, stability control and ABS brakes.

We armed ourselves with some techniques learned from our friend Jason. He hooked me up with dealer invoice and manufacturer incentive information. With this information and after devising a negotiation strategy that involved Stephanie being 'bad cop', we got an amazing deal. I almost feel guilty about it. Stephanie's job was to scowl, act unimpressed and openly remind me in front of the salesman that that Dodge had a much bigger sale on Caravans, which were more practical for a family.

Poor salesaman didn't stand a chance