Fingers Crossed

I don't own the car yet.

We went back to the dealership on Saturday. They still hadn't gotten the lien release but DHL said they had it and it should be delivered today (Monday).

They weren't able to get any more money for the truck but they offered more than anyone else so I wasn't too disappointed. Sure, I can get more out of it by selling it myself but who wants the hassle?

The wife and I talked about it and the price for the car and trade-in weren't unreasonable as we had left it on Friday. We went in and told them as much and filled out all the official paperwork and were handed over to the finance manager. Based on his computer model, our payment was going to be over $500 per month... out of our range. We told him we wanted to check with our Credit Union. He said he's worked quite a bit with the loan officer at the bank they use and if she reviewed our credit reports, chances are she might give us a better rate. The computer works only on the raw credit score.

When we got home, we had a newsletter from one of our credit unions stating that 2004 and 2005 used vehicles are treated as new if they have less then 25,000 miles. This means a potentially lower interest rate and/or a longer term. Both improve the chances that I can get the car. I don't think I'll qualify for the 4.95% they advertised but it still has higher potential than the dealership.

I heard back from the dealership just before lunch. They were able to get a better rate but that still put us at a $481 payment. We're still waiting to hear from the C.U. and are still optimistic they can give us a better deal. If not, we may end up having to walk away. That will disappoint me but not terribly so.