Project Civic: The Car Buying Experience
Congratulations on the purchase of your new car. Now that you've had some time with your new vehicle, are you satisfied with your purchase decision? Is it the vehicle you wanted? Does the vehicle fulfill all of your current automotive desires? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you may want to consider aftermarket parts for your car. Consider my recent car-buying experience.
Earlier this year, I decided to take advantage of the big Memorial Day weekend sales events to purchase a new car. To put it frankly, my '95 Nissan Sentra with a blown head gasket just wasn't meeting my needs. Luckily, my home is within walking distance to an auto mall representing every major automotive company selling vehicles in the U.S. I only had two requirements for my new car: first, it had to be manual-shift; second, it had to be a coupe. If it came with extras like navigation, great, but I could live without them.
My journey took me first to the local Dodge dealership, where I looked at the Avenger. Nice car. Good price. It was a 4-door, but coupe-like, with one problem: it only comes with an automatic. Further down the street was a Toyota dealership. There, I looked at the Scion tC. It had everything I was looking for and was offered at a reasonable price, but there was one issue. Let's just say I didn't have the best experience at the dealership. Chevrolet was the next contestant. The Cobalt SS was ideal for my desires and needs. Just one setback: it was not available. With a skip and a jump down the yellow brick road I landed on the Honda lot. After about five total hours of car shopping, I finally drove off in a 2007 Honda Civic LX coupe. It met my requirements, gets over 30 miles per gallon on the highway, and it was reasonably priced.
Am I happy with my purchase? Yes. Is it the vehicle I wanted? Yes. In its current state, does the vehicle offer all the things I want? No, and with that it is time for me to enter the world of the automotive aftermarket. As part of this journey, I have mapped out a five-year plan of upgrades for my car. I'll start with aesthetics like tint, wheels, headlights, taillights, and maybe a lip kit. I'll definitely upgrade the suspension, intake, exhaust, and brakes. There is a possibility of going turbo, but I am not sure yet.
As I make my way through the world of the automotive aftermarket and upgrade my car, I will update this blog. If anyone else out there is doing the same thing, I would like to know what works for you.
