My newest plaything - Toyota RAV4

After 13+ years of driving the same old boring Honda Civic hatchback, it was finally time for a new vehicle. I had beat up that old car so much, and it was beginning to show its age.

This time around, I didn't skimp on features. My last car barely came with a horn, but this time I started with the Sport model, and made sure to get one with a moonroof. You drive the same boring beast around for so long, that anything with more buttons than a portable calculator is just fun to drive.

I discovered a new program through Costco....you can buy a car through them! Well, not really through them, but part of your membership is a service where you get a super great deal through a participating dealer.

My biggest hesitation in buying a new car was the actual negotiation. I SUCK at negotiations, which is one huge reason I did so poorly in sales, but this program takes away that part of the transaction. Part of the deal of going through Costco is that you pay a fixed price over the invoice. That's it. No starting at MSRP and working them down to a better number. Start at the invoice, and add a reasonable margin for the dealer.

In the case of the car I bought, that dealer mark-up was only $750. I thought that was more than fair, I actually expected over $1,000, and would not have been surprised if it had been $1,500. So, I was really happy with the $750.

The only drawback to purchasing a car this way is that you have to take whatever is on the lot. You can't go in and design the car of your dreams, have them order it, and then go pick it up when it arrives. Well, you certainly can, but you can't expect to be able to get the Costco program pricing. So, either you make a compromise with yourself on what you find to me a must have and a nice to have in terms of options, or you keep going back to the dealership every few days to see what new deliveries they got since your last visit.

The only option that I didn't get that I thought I wanted was a power driver's side seat. It certainly wasn't a need to have though, and since the price difference would have been about $2,000 to get a model with the power seat, it certainly wasn't worth the extra expense.

I've had it about 3 weeks now, have put all of 700 miles on it, and am loving every minute of it. It's so nice to actually feel safe when driving on the freeway. I'd had too many close calls recently in the Honda that I was starting to feel skittish when getting out there with too many other cars. It's worth the reduced gas mileage to feel safe on the road again.