Would you buy a car from Howie Mandel?

So the plates are on and the cash is gone, things have settled in a bit on the whole event of buying a car, so I now feel ready to share the experience with you all.

The First Car

It was Saturday, August 5th, my parents anniversary and my last day of work for the week. I was doing the usual coming home at 9am and staying away all day to reverse my clock. Katie was having a well earned sleep in after her first week at the new job. Once she was up and ready to go the plan was to go and get some breakfast and then head over to the car dealerships to “look” at some cars namely the 2007 Toyota Yaris that we had read about and liked.

The breakfast was a perfect start to this sunny day. We went to the Pyramid Cafe on Robie Street for something different. I had a Mexican breakfast that was basically a big, messy skillet full of beans, eggs, salsa and cheese. I believe Katie had eggs benedict although for some reason I remember falaful. A full stomach was a good idea before looking at cars that was for sure. After we had stuffed our tummys we walked up to Kempt Road where all the dealerships are. First stop was going to be Oregans used car dealership.

We walked into the trailer and instantly greeted by one of the dealers who’s name was Peter. He asked us what we were looking for and interested in and when we said a 2007 Toyota Yaris, he let us know that they were actually down the street at the Toyota dealership. We had the option to just head down there ourselves or he could take us down and show us. I will give you a little foreshadowing, we never made it to the Toyota dealership.

So Peter was our guy and looking back now Katie and I are both happy it worked out that way. Before heading down to see the Yaris, Peter asked us why we liked it and how much we were looking to spend and threw out other ideas on how to save money and what other cars where similar. Before taking the trip down, he asked if we would be up for looking at a few other cars just to get an idea. Of course we were up for anything! We test drove an Echo and a few other cars and they were fine, nothing exciting. We were about to get into a Toyota Matrix (which Katie had been nixing since day 1 of the whole car talk) when I said to Peter, as long as we find a car to fit our dog! His eyes lit up.

He told us that he had the car for us and that he just sold one a week earlier to a couple who needed a car that would fit there dog. We walked over the to the other side of the lot and stood in front of a 2005 burgandy Malibu Max and Katie was not too thrilled. She got a bad station wagon vibe and explained to Peter her whole growing up with a Volvo wagon complex. We both convinced her it was not a station wagon and to just give it a try. I kind of liked it but knew it was not a done deal by a long stretch. Once I drove it though, I liked it much better and apparently I was smiling ear to ear the whole time. Peter I am sure knew at this point he had us.

After the test drive we parked in under the sold area so no other dealers would sell it and went to the office for the deal o or no deal portion of the day. Katie and I mentioned how it all felt like the Howie Mandel game show but Peter had never seen it and did not get the joke. I think we were at his desk for over two hours but it could of been more because my lack of sleep was hitting me.

We told him what we wanted to spend, he told us what it cost and how we could break down the payments. This went back and forth until he started going back to the office to tell his boss. I think he went back three times and a forth time he made a phone call before we came to something we both liked. The one memory I will always have is when Peter stuck out his hand and said is that a deal we can shake on and Katie was just nodding her head with a smile. So I shook and we had a car! What did we just do????

Not so fast of course because now we moved back to the office to do all the financing with Chris. He was also very good and made the process enjoyable. Everything checked out and it was all good and we had now financed a car! I could feel the money draining from my account as we sat there. So that was all done, wow that took forever.

Now came the best part, keys, a free half tank of gas and we were on our way off the lot with a car we never expected on getting. Where did we go? Straight home to let it all sink in. What have we done! haha

The drive was so nice and smooth and every KM I felt better and better at what we did. It felt good to know that Katie was excited too and felt we picked a great car. Once in the driveway (it fit!) we admired it and checked it out and talked about it etc for the rest of the day.

Since that day we have taken a few road trips, taken care of the insurance, plates, registration, undercoating, window etching, scotch guarding and got our first gas fill up. It has been wonderful driving to work and taking Katie to work and adding a whole bunch of time back in our lives that we have wasted on sitting on busses and walking to and from the grocery store. We are paying for it for a while but it all seems worth it when you look at everything we have gained. The best part is everyday we both like it more and more. I have also had to call Peter since to ask a few things and he continues to be a great help even after the sale is over. As Katie says, it is not like he has to do that but it is great to know I can call at anytime and ask even the smallest thing. So if you are buying a car in Nova Scotia I highly recommend Oregans because they made our first experience buying a car a great one! Thanks for that.

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