A
couple of years ago, Mike decided it was time to sell or trade his 1965
Barracuda and began the process of seeking a deal. As of 2017, he’s had it for
22 years, buying it in 1995 and then spending many a Saturday night in a friend’s
garage rebuilding it. We had some fun with it – drove it to Boise a time or
two, put it in shows, and most important, drove it to Seattle in 2009 for
Hallie and Nick’s wedding. Wherever we went, it was a conversation piece.
 |
| A fond farewell |
Today
we took it for one last drive to a VW dealership in Post Falls where we traded
it for a 2015 GTI hatchback. I thought the drive was rather bittersweet, especially
since once again it drew admiration from nostalgic onlookers. “Are you sure you
want to trade it?” I asked Mike. He assured me he was ready.
 |
| A new beginning |
Well,
time moves on and so do our interests and needs. We enjoyed driving home in the
GTI. Now all we need is a kid to help us with the electronics. So much has changed . . . KW
10 comments:
I was hoping to see a photo. Looks pretty sweet! Good-bye 'cuda!
You don't have any idea what automotive electronics are, these days. I got a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, and I don't know what to do with a lot of the electronics. It has heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, navigation, blue tooth phone, dual heating and cooling, seat and mirror memory, sirius radio, auto headlights, keyless entry, automatic tailgate lift, blind spot warning, sun roof, and many more, too much to mention. I love it. Hope yours does well for you.
Woa! Such luxury! We have heated seats...the end.
Wow! Chuck's is fully loaded, I think -- or more so than the GTI. As far as I know, we have heated front seats, blue tooth phone (and also device pairing for music and podcasts, etc.), keyless entry, back-up camera, sun roof. All the old technology to which I had become accustomed is updated, so I can't play my iPod (which I still love after all these years). I was unable to pair my phone with the car and had to look up the instructions online when we got home.
A new car! Yay! And yes, a kid does come in handy with all the new electronic gizwhizzes on these new autos. The salesman got my phone synced with our 4Runner, but Eric and Keat got the garage door button synced and my old iPod, but it's so old it works better just plugged in instead of trying to use bluetooth.
I remember when Dan gave you that iPod, Chris -- a retirement gift, wasn't it? We can use my iPod in the Dakota and the Magnum, but the methods we use will not work in the GTI. I probably should have asked the salesman to pair my phone. It would have been nice of him to offer . . .
As I said to Mike, I actually think they weren't sanguine about selling the GTI to an old couple who showed up in a model from 1965. "How long have you been married," "what's the year of your most recent vehicle," and "do you drive" were three of the questions they asked. The salesman told us to drive it home and then play with it in the driveway before driving anywhere else.
Oh my! That (or those) salesmen were not very helpful! Our salesman (Parker Toyota in Cd'A) offered to sync my phone with no suggestion from me (love hands free in the car!) and did it quickly and efficiently. I can't believe they asked you such impertinent questions! Did you not arrive in a car, which one of you drove? Mercy!! They need some training!
Mike drove. He prefers to drive, and I prefer not to. I wouldn't mind driving, but he loves to drive. So, the salesman asked me if I drive, and that was reasonable. We think we got a good deal on the GTI. Mike said documents in the folder seemed to indicate that they took it into inventory in August, and they had just reduced the price. And maybe because it was used, we didn't quite get as much attention.
We also could have asked more questions if we had known what to ask. They invited us to call or come back with any questions after we familiarize ourselves with the system, which is also reasonable. It's a lot to absorb.
I bought a car when I lived in Spokane. I was 22 at the time and it seemed like a task that I could conquer. I drove around to the various car lots and no one would even talk to me! I had to ask a male friend to accompany me so that I could buy a car. Honestly!
I'm with Chris, though. I think the "Do you drive?" question was super insulting. I would have said, "Yes, I can also tie my shoes." If it was, "will you both be driving this car?" I could understand. That would probably determine whether they talked about the engine or the seat warmers. Ha!
I could tell lots of stories about how I (or someone else) was ignored in the sales place, either because I was a kid or a woman. I think sales people have their perceptions and their agendas and all people are not equal to them.
He could have just asked for my driver's license, which he did eventually anyway -- said he had to have it for the paperwork.
And they DID talk about the seat warmers as something that I would especially enjoy. Yes, I do enjoy the seat warmer, but Mike NEEDS it.
Also -- they didn't know where Clarkston was, so they obviously don't get business from our Valley, which doesn't have a VW dealership.
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