Well figured I had better post an update to my now concluded saga.
Ok so starting where I left off. I went to the tow yard and looked at the car. All in all it looked like it was in good shape. So I went ahead and wrote down a nice list of everything that appeared to be wrong with the car since it was stolen. I then returned to the front office of the tow yard and paid them for the impound and to tow the vehicle to a repair shop. Total cost – $220.
So the car gets to the shop and I inform the insurance agency where it is located. I also tell them that I left a list of issues with the shop so when the adjuster arrives he knows what to look at.
A couple days go by and I decide to call the insurance company. I talk with someone who tells me that the adjuster looked at the car and that the total amount of damage is estimated to be $3700. That is only for the problems that I directly saw to the car. That isnt including any possible mechanical damage. I am then told that I would be hearing within the next day or so what they are going to do.
So before I hear all this I make plans to go see the in-laws in California for the weekend. Well on my way home from work I get a call from the insurance company. They tell me that they have decided to call the car a total loss and will be settling with me for $4900. Which is really good considering that I figured the car, on trade in with a dealer, would only be worth $2000 – $2500.
So that weekend I head on down to California and take a look at a couple Honda dealers looking for a Blue 2007 Honda Fit Sport. I go to 3 different dealerships and no one has what I am looking for. I decide to call Honda West in Las Vegas to see what they have on the lot. I am told they have a Gray car available and they are selling it for MSRP. So I tell the salesman to hold the vehicle and I will be in first thing on Monday to pick up the car.
Monday comes and I start by heading to the insurance company to get my settlement check. They give me $4400, had to take the deductible, and an additional check for the $220 for the towing that I paid for. Once I am done there I head to the dealership to pick up the car. Well this is when things start to go wrong. I am told by the guy that the car was pre-sold to another person for $4000 over MSRP and in order for them to break that contract with the other person I would need to pay $2000 over MSRP for the car. Well that is just jacked so we go back and forth about what vehicle I want and whatever. I eventually decide that I have had enough and leave.
I then go to the 2 other Honda dealers in Las Vegas and only one has the car. Well while going from the one with to the other dealer it gets sold. So now the only car that I want, that is available in Las Vegas is being held by some jerk who is trying to pull a fast one on me.
At about this time that I decide that I need to take matters into my own hands. I decide to contact the credit union back home and find out what kind of financing they can get me. While I have them working on that I start calling/emailing dealerships in southern California looking for the vehicle. While looking I find only one dealer who is open to trying to locate the car for me and have it transported to their showroom. So while they are working on that, the wife calls a couple dealers located in Albuquerque and low and behold they have EXACTLY the car that I am looking for.
So I keep waiting to hear back from the California dealership. All the while having the guy in Albuquerque hold the car for me until the following Saturday. Well the California thing falls through. At the same time I get word from the credit union that I am pre-approved for a car loan for between $15000 and $20000 for 6 years. So I call the Albuquerque dealer and let him know that I am going to be there Saturday afternoon to pick up the vehicle and that I am bringing my own financing.
Friday comes and my mother-in-law comes up to pick up the baby and take her back to California. I then fly out of Vegas at around 8:30 heading for Albuquerque. There the wife meets me at around 11:00 and we head out to get a bite to eat. Once done with dinner we head to a friends house for the night.
Next morning we head to Starbucks and get a cup of coffee to start the day. We then proceed straight to the dealership. On the way I get a call from the salesperson asking if I was still coming. I then tell him that I am less then 10 minutes away and would be there around 9:30 a.m. That is about 3-4 hours before he was expecting me. We get to the dealership and everything goes flawlessly. It is so nice to know exactly what you are paying for and all the terms are already to your liking. We are easily done by 11:00.
So the wife and I head out for breakfast. Once done with breakfast we head over to a auto parts place to get a security device for the car as to hopefully prevent the car from being stolen again. This time the wife drives. See the wife had never seen or been in this car before today. She was allowing me to buy a car sight unseen. It was ok though because she absolutely enjoyed it! After doing our shopping I decide that it is time for me to start heading back. So I leave Albuquerque and start driving towards LA. It takes me a little over ten and a half hours to get to the in-laws house. However the car handles perfectly and everything is grand.
The next morning we have an awesome day and I head back to LV!!
So here we are now the next week and everything is finally finished. I have the car and am enjoying it immensely. I am going to up a picture of it once I get this posted.