“A brand new 1978 Dodge Monaco, ideally with a 360.” That was my honest, if unrealistic, answer to Mrs. Jason when she asked what I really wanted.
That’s how our automotive shopping adventure began. If you surmise we (Mrs. Jason and I) are less than enthralled with the current crop of automotive offerings, you would be correct.
So how do we navigate through the quagmire that is the market’s visually dull, and seemingly endless, models mixed with the likely inevitable verbal jousting with dealerships? Keep reading.
For the sake of protecting the guilty, I will (generally) refrain from naming the locations of these dealers. We visited dealerships stretching from St. Louis to Kansas City along with various others around the state.
We began tire kicking some time ago, aiming for new and careful about looking at used.
The prompting for this dealership jujitsu was three-fold. First, our “new” car is now eleven years old and is scratching the 100,000 mile mark. This Passat has been a great car, even recently taking us on a 2,559 mile road trip to Florida and back and yielding 35 to 36 mpg in the process (while loaded and running at hyper legal speeds). I would happily buy another, especially if a wagon were still offered in the United States, but VW eliminated that possibility.
We will be keeping it.
Second, our Ford Econoline is now 25 years old yet with only 142,000 miles on the odometer.
Mechanically it is great, but it’s all the ancillary components in which time is exerting itself. While the van is great for some trips, we don’t care to drive it as far and as frequently as we have in the past.
As an aside, prevailing speeds on US highways are seemingly a lot higher now than they were in 2010 when we bought this Ford. When we drove the van to Fort Worth, Texas, in June 2023, prevailing speeds were generally 10 or so mph above the posted speed limit. A section of I-44 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City was posted at 80 mph. This van does not like 80+ mph and I really don’t like driving it 80+ mph with others aboard. Handling is not on its list of priorities.
The third reason was this immaculate 1985 Chevrolet Caprice wagon. It has 65,000 miles but an unknown history.
For years I have spoken of our need to haul a harp. This Caprice would handily do so but, as I told Mrs. Jason, it’s even older than the Ford.
We were initially on the fence whether this new rig needed to carry a harp or not. We were, however, facing the harp direction. I mention this given a few wildcards mentioned below.
Ready?
Stellantis
Quite early in this endeavor I test drove a new, prior model year Jeep Compass. It was so (un)memorable this memory fragment was inserted during editing. The dealer was deserted on a Saturday morning and the salesman was quick to offer me the opportunity to take it home for Mrs. Jason to see. While price was not heavily discussed, there was no demonstration of willingness to come off the sticker price despite the unit being a year old.
Stellantis, like so many other manufacturers, seems to have a fixation with black interiors, a color we don’t care to have. Mrs. Jason asked a salesman at another dealer about a new Chrysler Pacifica and whether the interior could come in something, anything, other than black.
He stated they did not, but offered a remote start for cooling purposes. He earned an A for effort, but Mrs. Jason didn’t appreciate the encouragement to waste fuel simply because Chrysler is, in her words, “either too lazy or too cheap” to offer a lighter colored interior.
Toyota
It was a cold, dreary day when we stopped at the Toyota dealer.
The Camry did not excite Mrs. Jason. We looked at a Highlander, which was smaller inside than the exterior indicates. We also viewed a Corolla Cross, which was bigger inside than the exterior indicates. Mrs. Jason and I were intrigued with the Corolla Cross but not enough to discuss it again.
Ford
More often than not, we get ignored at Ford dealers. Such happened again.
Mrs. Jason was curious about the passenger version of a Transit Connect. It would be a smaller, more economical version of our Econoline. We walked all over the lot (they had no customers, it was the middle of the day, and this was one of the two largest Ford dealers in the state), we opened doors, we did not act meekly.
Then we saw the interior. Mrs. Jason observed it looked like the inside of a U-Haul van and her curiosity evaporated. We never did talk to a salesman despite having parked by the front door and not slithering around the place.
Soon thereafter I drove a new Transit Connect at work. It did not tempt me.
Volkswagen
Given the drama free experience of our Passat, we had been inclined toward Volkswagen, hoping for a repeat performance. Thus, they got some extra attention from us.
When visiting VW Dealer #1, I stated my interests were a Tiguan or a Taos; I was uncertain which. I was told that was not a problem, keys would be obtained so I could drive both – which I did. The Question was then uttered for the very first time: What color do you like? My response, which has become typical: Anything without a black interior.
It’s amazing how that response facilitates the same blank facial expression I might get if asking the salesman to yodel.
There are undoubtedly many predictions used when designing and building a car. The manufacturer must gaze into their often murky crystal ball and determine the prevailing winds of future market forces. It cannot be easy. However…
The color is richer than what it appears in this internet grabbed photo.
When a dealer has over 30 new Tiguans of all trims on the lot, but only one without a black interior, somebody somewhere has erred. The Tiguan I drove was the outlier, having a leatherette interior VW calls “Cinnamon”. It’s a very nice color VW should be proud of offering. But I guess they aren’t.
Volkswagen hedged their bets with the Taos; the example I drove had a patchwork of black and gray throughout the interior.
Fast forward to VW Dealer #2. The salesman was an arrogant person who, like the old saying goes, didn’t know shit from Shinola. Naturally, The Color Question came up. His response was how black interiors are what everybody wants.
Later, after he finally comprehended our absence of appetite for black interiors, he showed us an Atlas with a gray interior. It is amazing how much a lighter color can elevate interior ambiance.
He then stated anything with a gray interior sells as soon as it hits the lot.
So, let me get this straight…you have several dozen Jettas, Tiguans, and Taos with black interiors stacked up like cord wood, and gray sells immediately, yet black is what everybody wants? Right.
As another aside, one of the Atlases (Atlii?) he showed us (with a black interior, what else?) was an utter mess inside. It seems a few mice found their way inside and had destroyed the headliner with the underlying sound insulation with the mess having cascaded down throughout the interior. It made me wonder if the repairs would be disclosed to the new owner.
At VW Dealer #3, we test drove a Jetta SE. The sales pressure at this dealer was overtly bad. Before we even looked at a car, we were asked what we wanted our payment to be (I’m only concerned about an out-the-door price, buddy), what we would change with our Passat (fewer miles and less age), what brought us to this dealer (you are close to some other dealers I have already talked to), and what it would it take to “rock-and-roll and make a deal today” (seeing Elvis sing “Proud Mary” with Patsy Cline, although I gave a different answer).
The Jetta looked nice. It was white and had a very light gray interior. Getting in I noticed the fuel gauge was flashing and a warning light said “Zero Miles To Empty”.
As soon as we were on the street, the salesman, who was sitting behind Mrs. Jason and had just pulled the car up to the door for us, said “Uh, do you mind stopping at the gas station up the street? I see we need some fuel.” We do? Really?
Thus began a fifteen minute ordeal with inoperable pumps and other ridiculousness. This allowed Mrs. Jason and I ample time to explore the Jetta and discover a few things. When vacating the rear seat I heard a weird thump. Sure enough, a brand new Jetta with 9 miles on the odometer had a rear seat cushion that had not been fastened into place.
Upon returning to the dealer the sales manager asked if I was ready to buy. I responded by politely asking if he had married the first woman he had dated. Sheepishly, he admitted he had.
Dealership experience aside, the Jetta is off the list.
Mercedes
After finding the Caprice wagon, Mrs. Jason discovered the E-Series wagon. They are indeed quite nice.
Now, if you want to unicorn hunt, try finding a late model Mercedes E-Series wagon in the Midwest. Looking at certified used examples on the Mercedes website showed them mostly near New York City or around Los Angeles. Go figure.
One day Mrs. Jason and I stopped at a Mercedes dealer. The lot was packed with new iron, from C-Series sedans to G-Wagens and a few Maybach S-Series. When asked about a used E-Series wagon the salesman displayed the same blank reaction we see upon saying “no black interiors”. We didn’t even mention interior color.
When stating he had no E-Series wagons, he directed us toward a new GLS450 then added there were more new cars on the lot than at any point in the ten years he’d been working at this dealer. An interesting observation I did not exploit.
Calling another Mercedes dealer later that day, I was greeted with the same silence as when stating our opposition to black interiors. After his painful pause, the salesman told me he’d been there over a year and seen all of one come through.
For various unique reasons we ruled out any wagon from Mercedes (and Audi and Volvo).
Honda
I work with a guy who missed his true calling in life. He is able to extract information from people in such a disarming manner they never know what happened. This Honda salesman had not yet developed that ability. Before looking at anything, he sat us down and went through a scripted series of questions, writing down answers to each. Yes, I understand the purpose, and I don’t begrudge him doing his job, but when I am anticipating his next question to be my mother’s blood type, the questions are a bit much.
He asked about my Honda experience. I disclosed my having owned a Honda powered lawnmower for about twenty years. He then asked about my experience with Honda automobiles. I stated I had never owned one yet disclosed how a good friend of my wife had a late model Pilot (or Passport) she bought new. I then disclosed how one of its connecting rods recently sought to exit the engine immediately upon the warranty lapsing.
This was yet another instance of someone not appreciating an honest answer.
That said, this young salesman gave an noble effort to find us something on the lot meeting our criteria for floor space. We then showed us an HRV, a CRV, a UTV, and an APB. Oh wait, Honda doesn’t sell at least one of those. Honda is either good at names (Civic, Accord) or not. Acronyms seem to be the BFF for some but are really a PITA.
YMMV.
We really liked the HRV and particularly the CRV, knowing they aren’t an automotive STD. My wife and I both appreciate buttons on the IP and Honda has kept buttons – at least on what we saw. However, both were insufficient in floor space.
The valiant young salesman did not suggest a Pilot or Passport. Not suffering from ADD, he knew he was SOL as that option was DOA due to my wife’s friend’s POS Honda and we then left PDQ.
Subaru
Okay, so Subaru calls the Outback an SUV despite it being a station wagon. Whatever.
While such sales hyperbole can be overlooked, what cannot be overlooked is the ascendency of Subaru in the United States.
During this ongoing process my wife has observed how most of the current crop of automotive offerings look too much like a hiking boot in both profile and cladding. The Outback is what inspired this observation. She isn’t wrong.
With the unpainted frontal cladding added for the 2023 facelift of the Outback, I said the black line running down from the headlights makes it look like Tammy Faye Bakker, especially on the lighter colored examples.
Remember her? She was married to televangelist Jim Bakker and she loved her mascara. Miss Tammy generally cried a lot on their show, with her mascara streaking down her face. The Bakker’s late 1980s downfall involved Jim’s extracurricular sexual escapades. It was also during this time the world learned about air-conditioned dog houses.
Since we wanted to look at a hiking boot, er, Outback, Mrs. Jason and I stopped by a Subaru dealer since it was down the street from the Mercedes dealer mentioned earlier. Accompanying us was our female offspring, Mrs. Jason Jr.
The young salesman was exceptionally helpful and attentive…particularly to Mrs. Jason Jr. He found us an Outback, relocated it so we could fully see it, and respectfully explained features, options, trims, and the dealership’s willingness to do a dealer trade or to order what we wanted. He then showed us a new Forester and Ascent to ensure we knew the differences in the Subaru product line.
This young salesman was exceptionally good, the best we encountered by that point. Mrs. Jason Jr. was aware of the attention but she did nothing to encourage him. I can’t help but like the guy; he has good taste.
Later, we visited another Subaru dealership. It felt like a Ford dealer; they were not busy and we were again ignored overlooked. Going inside, the theme continued. We even stood in the middle of the showroom for a while before a young salesman appeared. When asked how we were, I expressed relief about not being invisible.
This salesman was strong on talking but subpar on listening mixed with a touch of argumentativeness. At one point he asked how far away we were from home (this was in the Kansas City area), then argued with me about it. We picked a new Outback to test drive and he understood our desire for a not black interior. His questions were seemingly innocent but loaded. He was doing his job and I was doing mine – giving him nothing to use against me later.
Perhaps it was due to age and inexperience, but this salesman gave us neither his name nor a business card.
General Motors
Talking to GM dealers has been both annoying and financially rewarding.
Let’s start with the rewarding. For some time we have been stopping at a particular dealer after hours (it’s in a good place to stop and walk midway to a frequent destination) and each time we have found coins scattered on the ground. So far I’ve made over $4 from them, with another $0.42 our last time there after hours. Perhaps it is from all the cash GM has had to throw on the hood of some of their products over the years.
However, when we stopped during business hours, we were starting to think we were at yet another Ford dealer. So I suppose I’ll just keep stopping and collecting money.
Another GM dealer we visited introduced us to a unique fellow. When telling him we wanted to see a Malibu (my wife really likes the looks of them), he stuck us in one of the dozen or so Cadillac Lyriqs littering the place and drove us to one of their nearby overflow lots. It was hotter than Hades that day, the Malibu had a black interior (we needed to at least see a Malibu), and it was squeezed between a bunch of other cars.
Despite starting the engine, said salesman did not bother to pull it out so we could see it. Overall, he seemed distracted. This salesman did find us two Malibus having a gray interior; both were at other dealers far away. But he never asked for our names or phone number.
We returned to this dealer a few weeks later, but I called ahead to arrange speaking with a salesman. When the lady who answered the phone asked who I wanted to speak with, I said anybody but (said his name). Her response? “Oh, honey, I don’t blame you.” This second trip involved test driving a Malibu and a more rewarding experience.
This salesman also showed us a Blazer in RS trim, the Blazer being something else Mrs. Jason had been curious about. It had some very good traits we really liked. But good luck finding one (at that time) on any lot.
Outcome
I started writing this piece in August. In November we made a purchase. This process took a long time but we finally landed. This piece was intentionally a teaser, so stay tuned. I will likely write up the new one sometime in 2025 but, as of mid-January, we’ve only put 350 miles on it in six weeks. We’ve been staying home a lot.
However, the basic truth remains. I would much prefer a new 1978 Dodge Monaco, ideally with a 360. And not in yellow.
Related Reading from when we bought the Passat over a decade ago: Moving on With Life – Sitting Bull and Wedding Dresses by JS
“However, the basic truth remains. I would much prefer a new 1978 Dodge Monaco, ideally with a 360. And not in yellow.”
If you think you can leave a yellow one, then your suffering just isn’t great enough, man.
A very amusing read. And perhaps the most scattershot array of candidate vehicles I’ve ever seen.
I agree about the prevalence of black interiors. They need to be made of nice materials and have some contrast to avoid feeling cheap and depressing. But I like grey even less. I somehow associate it with economy cars. That Tiguan with the tan interior is a nice balance.
If you bought a Malibu, I apologize for slagging it a few weeks ago.
Yes, it was scattershot (a really good word for it). In short, we were torn between a sedan for basic transport and something with enough internal footprint to haul the harp. This second part is what led to the vast assortment of vehicles as some are deceptively small (and large) inside. We had a template of the harp case I would lay in the back. When we closed in on a candidate, the actual harp case was then loaded to ensure a good fit.
This was a very protracted process with more than what I mentioned here. But I think we ultimately did pretty well with what we bought. It’s hauling a harp to KC as I type this.
Shoulda bought a new 1978 Monaco wagon, that would carry the harp too.
I share your lack of enthusiasm for new vehicles in 2025, of our fleet of 6 cars the newest is 2016, so this situation cannot last forever and I’m not looking forward to the inevitable shopping trips.
Black interiors never bothered me, I’m covering the seat and looking outside most of the time.
It seems even those buggies that don’t have black seats and door panels still have black carpet and steering columns. Or black trunks / cargo areas. Which the new one does. In a dimly lit garage I could not see anything in the rear due to all the black. One should not need a flashlight in an otherwise lit room.
During this process I did find a ’78 Monaco wagon on YouTube. It had a 360 but had started life at Hertz or Avis.
@ Jason: I really enjoyed reading about your exploits with the various salespersons! The Honda one (with all the acronyms) caused me to LOL!! It has been my experience to have dealt with many of the same types, and thus, when I bought my last new car (a Honda, BTW) I took the painless route of going through my credit union. The process involved minimal dealings with salespersons. I eagerly await the reveal of the new vehicle. And make my Monaco a two door!! 🙂
The salespeople were just doing their jobs, so I can’t fault any of them. Their methodologies are just like that of the general population – all over the place with varying degrees of effectiveness.
Had we not been on a discovery mission, the process would have been much simpler. But given we had a purpose to fill (or aimed to), this got more complex than I had hoped (or envisioned).
I feel your pain, because there is no time of my life before the present when the crop of cars on offer holds less appeal to me. Random thoughts:
The black and white interior of the VW Taos would make me feel like being inside of an orca. And I will never, ever look at the front of an Outback ever again without imagining a blubbering Tammy Faye. Thank you.
My problem at Honda was restricted to a single three-letter name: CVT. As in the only kind of transmission they will sell you unless you buy a Ridgeline or a Pilot. Someday, someone will build a CVT that will reliably last 200k miles. And maybe that is Honda right now. But I have my doubts.
I think my 2023 Charger 3.6 is the functional equivalent of your ideal 78 Monaco with the 360. We chose it despite black being the only interior option. We have traditionally hated black interiors too, but sacrificed on that metric because everything else was so suitable. We only have 2400 miles on ours now, despite owning it for nearly 9 months. And in a bit of bad luck, my other car now has a black interior too. Oh well.
I look forward to the next report.
I almost used the word “orca” myself when talking about the Outback.
We have several trips coming in the next few months with this newbie, so I will have to report later this year.
Charger 3.6. Monaco 360. I see a correlation between the two.
I confess, I’d rather drive a Charger. I rented a V6 Charger once, I liked it. However, the Monaco is cooler (NOW, five decades later…).
I enjoyed the piece. I don’t envy. I would like a new car, but I detest today’s new cars.
Yes, objectively, today’s cars perform better than ever. Subjectively, however, I don’t like the touchscreens, the intrusive electronics, including the nannies.
I was fortunate to have lived during the greatest automotive era in history, the early 1980s to the early 2010s. Cars objectively were improving, and on an ABSOLUTE scale offered excellent performance and comfort with excellent fuel efficiency and very good reliability.
Since the early 2010s, and especially since 2020, the big (and expensive to replace and NECESSARY) touch screens, turbos, direct fuel injection, CVTs, 10-speed automatics, and “long service intervals” (most cars no longer even have auto trans dipsticks) don’t bode well. The era rhymes with the 1978-82 in terms of car prices too.
I think today’s cars will have more issues at the 10 year, 120k point, and many of them will prove not worth fixing and be junked early.
Good luck with your new car, I look forward to reading about it and hope the sequel to this CC is as enjoyable to read!
Again, I just can’t understand the idea of reading an article from complete strangers about their experience with such a mundane task like purchasing a new car.
So don’t read it. No one is forcing you, right? Yet you did.
You keep making similar complaints here about other stuff. Would you like a refund of your subscription?
Humor, everyone needs a bit of humor and possibly you especially.
I agree 100% about the crazy fixation automakers have with black interiors. I just don’t get it — they’re hot, they always look dirty/dusty, and in a number of vehicles with gun-slit windows, they make the interior seem like a dark, depressing cave.
My current car has a grey interior. Grey isn’t perfect, but by comparison, it seems so bright and airy compared to the same vehicle with a black interior.
I was all set to buy a new version of the same car (Honda) until I discovered that the only way to specify it with anything other than a black interior would be for it to be painted red or white — my two least favorite colors.
My favorite interior was the Tiguan I test drove and mentioned. Otherwise, it was all gray. With us now having four vehicles, three of them have gray interiors with the old Ford being tan inside.
I never thought I would miss all the red, green, and blue interiors from the ’90s.
The absolute moment I opened this page, and saw the light yellow ’78 Monaco, I knew this would be a fun read by Jason. lol
My dad bought a new ’78 Aspen wagon in Light Mocha Tan, with the Super Slant Six. On the reference of another family member’s purchase of a ’76 Volare wagon in Harvest Gold, with the 360. The 360 made all the difference, in the Volare wagon being an all-around more fulfilling and enjoyable experience, for the duration of its lifetime. Hoping your journey, has a happier next phase!
The next phase will be good. And, at the rate I’ve been going, I won’t have to worry about undergoing this torture for the next decade or so.
Great news! Wishing excellent automotive experiences for you, for a long duration, going forward.
I’ll take a Monaco as well please.
Last time I went to a dealer to take a test drive, I came away with a distinct preference to sign up for a colonoscopy than to go through the experience again.
After wandering around the showroom looking at this and that car, asking for a brochure (they don’t have those any more), a saleshole finally tripped over us. English not being his first language, it was (more than) a little difficult to communicate. I asked to test drive a Jeep Cherokee. After much database searching and computer engagement, he went to find keys. He brought me to see a Grand Cherokee. I said no, I wanted a Cherokee, whereupon we returned to his kiosk to start the process over again. Upselling at its finest.
I finally did drive one. It did have sufficient fuel in it as well! Oh and they don’t have business cards any more, he wanted me to scan a QR code to download his coordinates to my phone. As if.
Best car salesman I ever encountered was one who quietly tipped me that he would negotiate on my behalf with his manager to reduce the price. Which he did. I signed a deal with him that day, and I also won that day’s in dealer draw, an iPod if I recall right.
You are correct about brochures. What we bought is one of the holdouts for having brochures, and somehow I wound up with three.
Like you, I refuse to scan somebody’s QR code in lieu of a business card.
My first car was an ’82 Pontiac J2000 LE, a.k.a. Sunbird, which of course was a near-clone of a Chevy Cavalier. People asked why I bought that car instead of, say, a Honda Accord. One reason: 6 interior color choices (dark blue, burgundy, grey, tan, black, or as in my car, green). And I don’t mean a small patch of green upholstery on the seats and doors of an otherwise black interior. I mean green seats, green headliner, green dash, green carpet, and green seatbelts.
My current ride, a ’19 VW Golf, has a black interior of course (grey may have been available but is even more dull and depressing to me), but at least the GTI seats I swapped in liven things up with that red plaid cloth. Also high marks, even with just a 1.4T under the hood, for feeling completely secure and poised at 80+mph. I understand all the things I read about German cars in car magazines when I was a teenager now; these things really do feel like they’re designed for autobahn speeds. My ’07 Rabbit was the same way. I had to buy the ’19 as certified used though, because they stopped selling standard Golfs after 2021, and GTIs were out of my price range. This was a few years ago when tight supplies caused 4-year-old used cars to be priced like new ones.
I had a girlfriend in Santa Cruz years ago who set up her doghouse with air conditioning (and heat too); it was in the crawl space below a house, and she thought “why not run ductwork to the crawl space so it’s comfortable in there?” Probably diverted only a small amount of forced air, at less cost than the separate window A/C unit the Bakkers had.
It’s too bad VW discontinued the Alltrack wagon – lots of room (maybe enough for a harp), and a nice, *common* brown interior available. The 2025 Golf GTI may be roomy enough and it drives great, and has better controls than the ’22-24.
Had the Alltrak still been available, I would have looked at one. They had a lot of positive attributes.
A former co-worker appeared on the Bakker’s local children’s program in Norfolk VA long before the Pass The Loot Club. She remembered Tammy wore little makeup and had a great complexion–but she was a child then.
I assume the awful black interior “craze” is cost-driven. It can’t be the customers.
A low-mileage STS (with all-tan interior) came up for sale 250 miles from me on Jan 1 and sold in 2 days. I was worried about its expensive magnetic shocks being impossible to find and discovered passive ones are now $500 a piece.
Yesterday a coworker purchased a new Explorer with a black interior. He has two kids under 5 and thought the black looked upscale. To each their own, I suppose.
I purchased a used vehicle around Christmastime. Based in part on input from CC contributor Yohai71, I went with a 2017 Mazda CX-5 Touring FWD. Like you, I’m not a fan of black interiors (and the Mazda has other colors available) but the black interior on the model I bought is offset by a lighter color above the beltline. It really helps the interior feel less like a cave. I also refuse to have a grayscale exterior, and found a car in Deep Crystal Blue Mica.
I specifically wanted a 2017 model, because after that, the CX-5 got auto start-stop, and cylinder deactivation, neither of which I wanted. The CX-5 also has a conventional geared automatic transmission. It’s also built in Japan, and I have a bias towards that. I also wanted to avoid AWD, and it became standard equipment in the early 20s.
As for the dealership experience… I bought the car at an Autonation-owned BMW dealership. Even though it was one of the cheapest vehicles on their used lot, I was treated well. Autonation operates on the “no haggle” model, but their price was just slightly below nationwide comps, and their first (and only) offer on my trade was a few hundred more than I was expecting. Honestly one of the easiest car buying experiences I’ve ever had.
That’s good to hear about the dealership experience. Our dealership experience was about as good as one could hope for. Not perfect, but much better than what I have heard others mention here over time.
Evan, we have a 2019 CX-5 Grand Touring model, and it has neither auto start-stop, nor cylinder deactivation. Our ‘black’ interior is much as you describe, lighter and less cavelike than most. I’d call it more of a graphite color. Ours is AWD which was standard in that trim, I do believe, but you’re right. It later became standard across the line-up.
The black interior works for me because my wardrobe consists almost exclusively of black or dark-blue jeans or shorts, my last Miata had that “version of the Audi TT Baseball interior” and my fashion choices showed.
But I also despise the lack of options. Mrs. Beetle’s ES350 has a Parchment interior that disagrees with my black trouser choices but when it’s clean it’s stunning. At the risk of changing the debate – that her ES is in metallic brown “Autumn Shimmer” is also a big in-yer-face to the current automotive exterior palette of greyscale plus maybe one shade of blue or red.
As others have stated, any color so long as it’s black has gotta be a cost consideration; but if the likes of Mazda can also offer white and terra cotta leather – manufacturers with greater volumes really have little excuse.
Mazda’s been good enough to me over the past almost-20-years I’ve have just headed straight there – after this many years in a daily-driver Miata I’ll bet I could fit the harp into a CX-30. (the fold-down pass-thru rear seat in my 1992 Capri was like having a minivan)
What?! No spreadsheet??? (-:
Thoroughly enjoyed this, Jason, although I will probably have flashback/nightmares remembering my transition away from the ’13 Beetle TDi convertible I owned briefly (a decade ago!).
You will remember (maybe) we bought a lot-queen ’18 Buick Regal TourX as the successor to our ’12 VW Routan (it was a year old with 39 miles on it). Still have it, and it clicked 100,000 late last year. It’s not been flawless, but there’s also been nothing super major to repair. We still like it, and, Lord willing, plan to run it until it drops. It still easily hits low 30s on the highway and is very comfortable on a road trip. It has the shale interior, which is much more pleasant than the only other option, “black.”
We had spreadsheets that included everything from fuel economy rating to tire size.
A Regal TourX like yours came up in conversation, but I was concerned (rightly or wrongly) with Opel no longer belonging to GM that parts availability could become an issue down the road. We keep cars a long time and didn’t want to have that potential issue.
Perhaps the deliberate ignoring of prospective buyers in the showroom described in the article is pure tactics: a kind of non-verbal recording of the price negotiation right from the start.
They tell you: “We don’t need to sell. So we certainly don’t need to negotiate the price.”
All I can say is I did not purchase from any of the dealers that acted that way.
Yes a dealership visit is about as fun as a trip to the proctologist, something to be avoided at all costs. Your experience with VWs and a friend’s Honda are certainly contrary to that of the majority of their owners, but YMMV re; VW CRV, if not QED.
Make our acronym a RAV:
We recently bought a new-ish very low mile RAV4. Luckily no dealers were involved as it was a company car pre-owned by our daughter’s company in Denver that was being de-accessioned when they upgraded their company vehicle to a new Venza. So a private inter-family no-dealer deal, and at our age (assuming Toyota quality) it may well be the last driver-car we’ll ever need to buy. And if we ever have to buy a new one, it’ll be a no-haggle deal through Costco.
It has to be said that, though a great vehicle with a stellar and very well deserved reputation, the best cars like the RAV these days are no more than appliances. No drama is expected, but fun is certainly not on the agenda. That’s OK really, one gets to an age where getting there safely, cheaply and without any hassles is enough. At least one can still own vintage/sports cars or motorcycles for gettin’ those gasoline in-the-blood jollies ya-yas out.
I should add that the RAV is dark gray on gray, boring to the max, albeit a smart choice for resale. We may have the roof wrapped in Turquoise to allow it to be picked out from the other 10 identical ones in any given parking lot. It’s the best selling car (non-pickup) in the US of A, and most of them are gray 🙁
I’ll take a ’77 Gran Fury Brougham in Forest Green Sunfire Poly with 360 and NO Lean Burn (it was available without it that year). Wonder if the yellow ’78 Fury there had LB.. it’s to be avoided!
Frankly, I am surprised more people haven’t taken issue with my statement about that particular Honda experience. She lives in the Kansas City area and after the engine self-immolated she learned from a Honda rep there have been a series of similar failures; enough to get the attention of the company but not enough for them to be willing to do anything about it.
She sold it as-is and bought a Camry. Black on black. She hates it but wanted a ’24 model and that was all that was left at the time.
I think in the last 20 years Honda had some issues that weren’t very well publicized and were taken care of under-the-radar by dealers for customer relations reasons w/o a formal recall (I haven’t checked NTSA) but overall were not a very common thing. Honda has always been known as an engine specialist going back to motorcycle GP in the ’60s. The reputation of Honda’s cars in the ’70s was originally heavily built on the excellence and dominance of their motorcycle engines. The only significant engine problems at Toyota that I know of were sludge issues and sort of common among several makes in the late ’90s. Toyota has traditionally been more about anvil-like reliability than sportiness.
“The only significant engine problems at Toyota that I know of were sludge issues and sort of common among several makes in the late ’90s.”
In a rather surprising turn of events, Toyota is currently dealing with a huge issue affecting the V-6 engines primarily used in their trucks. There is an open recall on 108.000 vehicles and in many cases Toyota is replacing the entire engine. It’s getting a lot of coverage in the automotive Youtube space, and there are many of questions as to how this could have happened, and if the problem will extend past the initial recall vehicles,
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60992514/toyota-tundra-lexus-lx-engine-recall/
I had heard of this problem recently actually, Toyota is doing the right thing by replacing complete engines instead of GM-like obfuscation or denial. What other auto company would replace entire frames including ,ancillary gear to rebuild it, as they did on my friend’s old Tacoma. Any company will have mistakes come back to bite them as long as cars are being manufactured but Toyota will go to extraordinary lengths to keep customers happy and protect their reputation for quality like no one else, that’s why we own one.
I hate all kinds of random shopping, cars or otherwise. If I can’t get it online, I figure out where I can get what I want. Same with cars; I figure out what I want ahead of time and then let my fingers do the walking until the deal is done. Your approach sounds like absolute torture to me. But to each his own; humans evolved to browse randomly, apparently.
There’s a very good reason Tesla and other new EV companies have no dealers. And why Carvana exists.
Our approach was indeed torture but we were torn between basic transport and something to haul the harp. I gave Petrichor our rationale above. Landing at the harp purpose, we had to try a lot of vehicles. It’s amazing how physically large vehicles may not translate that to the interior. And vice versa.
Had we decided for basic transport, the process would have been less grueling.
Having gone from 13 Passat to 24 Jetta, I can tell you it takes a minute to get used to the loss of space. The Jetta is roomy for a compact, don’t get me wrong. But the Passat was ENORMOUS inside.
I moved on from my Passat for much the same reason you did: mileage. I was at about 110k and little things were going wrong. Well, replacing the ac compressor wasn’t a little thing.
Then long story short we decided to buy a car for one of our kids so they could get the hell out of the house. We found a Honda Fit for about 6 grand and it was a total hoot to drive. But the whole time I was realizing I should have just kept the Passat, fixed all the little things, and given that to the kid.
The Passat is currently at 97,400 miles. When you stated you had dumped yours a while back that got my attention. And it is indeed enormous on the inside.
The only indication of age on ours is the front suspension will occasionally creak when the not in compression. But it’s not that bad at this time.
I may be uniquely qualified to comment on this… because I owned and daily drove a 1978 Dodge Monaco for twelve years, and it was really a sort of cream yellow.
I am so uninspired by the current crop of new vehicles that I almost understand the concept of “shopping for a new car” being an exercise of seeing what can be had at a (typically low) monthly payment.
Maybe my affinity for the Monaco is because it had a not-black interior.
It’s a rather amazing thing…any random car can be named and somebody around here has owned one.
Chrysler had a lot of challenges back then (sometimes things just never change) but they were smart enough to offer a variety of interior colors.
This is an article I was glad to read for a few reasons. First, our family is in a somewhat similar situation, where our “new” car isn’t quite so new any longer, but everything we’d consider buying is either frightfully expensive, or just otherwise unappealing. A few random comments:
Black Interiors: I absolutely agree with you. Black interiors are depressing, scorching hot in the summer, and show dusts like crazy. That’s actually a deal-killer for me. Even gray is better.
Transit Connect: We also have a Transit Connect at work. I haven’t driven it, but I’ve ridden in it a few times, and consider it to be the least impressive vehicle I’ve experienced in the past several years.
Damaged New Cars: Your experience with the mouse-infested Atlas reminds me of when we came across a new Kia Sedona that looked fine, but when I opened the hood, the engine bay was covered in mud as if the car had been flooded. I can’t fathom what actually happened, but I feel bad for the hapless soul who bought that car.
Dealer Sales Pressure: Just this week my daughter told me that in her high school economics class, they had a lesson on buying a car (actually a useful lesson). She mentioned that the teacher told the class the dealers will often asked what you want your payment to be right away, etc. I confirmed for her that this kind of nonsense really does take place and that a lot of people learn the hard way when they get ripped off by a car dealer.
Flirting: I told my daughter that we’d include her in our next car-buying adventure. Never thought about a salesman flirting with my daughter, though. Thanks for the heads-up.
Mercedes: For some reason, I just can’t see you and Mrs. Jason owning a Mercedes.
Subaru Outbacks: The hiking shoe analogy is perfect, as is Tammy Faye, though its almost inconceivable that one product could resemble both of these things.
Anyway, great overview of the otherwise mundane car-shopping chore. I’m looking forward to the next installment.
“Transit Connect: We also have a Transit Connect at work. I haven’t driven it, but I’ve ridden in it a few times, and consider it to be the least impressive vehicle I’ve experienced in the past several years.”
If you think a Transit Connect is bad, go drive a Nissan NV200. I’ve test-driven all manner of new and near-new vehicles over the past 30 years, and I’ve never driven anything that was worse than an NV200. I’d rather drive a Yugo.
Thank you. I’m looking forward to the next installment myself. Life is an adventure as you never know where it will lead you.
You could have an LS engine installed in your Thunderbird and use it to keep miles off the Honda and Kia. Just a thought…
I hate car shopping. Dad took me car shopping with him when I was age 4, 1955. I was a brat and got what I wanted. It was 1994, thought I wanted a BMW convertible. Sales person said we do not recommend towing with our cars. I could have paid cash for a new BMW but that finished me with BMW.
It was late 2010, and thought I wanted a new 2011 Camaro or Mustang. Shopping on-line with dealers. Chey dealer 5-minustes from my home discussed on-line. Ford dealer 10-minurtes from my home insisted I come for a test drive. I special ordered my Camaro after three weeks of on-line negotiation’s. I got what I wanted, at the price I wanted, without setting foot at a dealership.
What you did is the perfect way to purchase if you know what you want. I’m hoping that will happen for us next time.
Suspense!
It may be something in the water, but I’ve noticed that cars commonly purchased recently by CCers have been either a lime green Dodge or a Mazda CX-5. And coincidentally and independently (honest!) I myself vacillated between precisely this odd couple for many months before finally making a decision.
Since you haven’t mentioned Mazda or the Dodge part of Strllantis yet, I’ll be wondering …
I can safely say it is neither a Dodge nor a Mazda. But I must maintain the suspense for a while. 🙂
Having a Mazda CX-5, I can honestly say, a large harp is not fitting in that thing, and it definitely won’t fit in either JPC’s Charger, nor Arron’s Challenger! 😉
Here’s the one line that really stood out to me in your story:
” His response was how black interiors are what everybody wants.”
This type of answer can also be found when looking for a CAR (sedan) and not an SUV. It’s 100% the same. All the dealers and manufacturers only stock SUV’s and trucks with no or very few sedans. When asking about a sedan, the response is always that everyone wants SUV’s now. Nope, not me. And the results are still not finalized for 2024, but the final numbers from 2023 is that nearly 4 millions people in the USA purchased a car (sedan, couple, small hatch like the VW Golf and convertibles). So just about 1/3rd of the vehicles sold were cars. And yet “nobody wants them”. Hmm. Got it.
So when I read your line in the story about the black interiors (also something I loath), it made me think of the SUV vs sedan thing.
That reminds me…at both VW Dealer #2 and particularly #3, there were gobs of Jettas on the lot. All were 2024 models with 2025 models readily available on competitor’s lots.
At the rate we’re going, I may not be alive when our 2015 Golf hits 120k; it’s at 50k now and we’re putting on less than 5K a year. So far troublefree. All three of our cars have black interiors. Where I live it’s not a big deal for heat, though since we became owners of a light-colored dog, it does show dog hair. It’s interesting that the sales folk mostly ignored you; I don’t know if that’s better or worse than the old days where you were circled by the hungry sharks. Our Golf purchase, as I’ve written before, was from a locally-owned used car lot that seemed to specialize in VW, Audi, Subaru, and BMW, and it was very positive. I’d go back for the next one, but the salesman seemed a bit older than me so he may not be there in 15 years either.
Black interiors definitely work for some people. Really I don’t begrudge that so much as I do the lack of color choice.
Your Golf will likely be good for a very long time.
Interesting account of a process we all do, one way or another. I’m not sure about all online option – seeing, touching, sitting in, driving have to satisfy as well as the actual deal (which is tedious at best I agree).
I’m possibly getting close to doing something similar – my 2017 Alfa Giulietta has done 115,000 fault free (I mean free of all fault and failures) so you do wonder about replacement, based purely on age and mileage. But what with?
4 key constrains – not an SUV (I have no need for the extra height, bulk or lurch and roll); to be something a bit off the beaten track, so Alfa not VW or Toyota; buttons and knobs not a screen for HVAC; and not a coal hole inside. Harder than you might think.
Alfa only offer SUVs now. The Focus has gone, the Megane has gone, Stellantis products all seem to fail on the HVAC knobs and are bit too comfort oriented, and not cheap, Skodas feel like Walmart VWs, some Kia and Hyundai look good but are a bit too “appliance”
Strongest candidate has been the Mazda3 hatch, but the interior is essentially black and dark grey, including the headlining (???) and the windows shallow. “I think we had one with dark red leather once” says the dealer. Maybe, on the top of the line as an option.
So, for now, it feels like the Alfa’s staying and I’m fine with that.
And Jason, you’re obviously fully committed on the Dodge Monaco – your ideal car when you started the tale and still is now. My “ideal” car has changed twice this afternoon…….
I agree about the need to touch it. Driving is a tactile experience.
The upshot is you have a few more choices (I am guessing) about such things than those of us living a few miles west. Not that the diminishing number of choices helps any.
It’s good to hear your Alfa has been trouble free.
At least in the DC area they had several red-interior Mazda 3 hatchbacks – the red isn’t available on sedans at least in the US. Like most non-black interiors nowadays it’s only partially colored, but at least a large part of the dash is red as well as the seats and a section of the doors. I shopped for these and really wanted to like this car, but I found it very hard to get in and out of the driver’s seat, with the severely sloped roof making me duck my head way to the side. And once in the high beltline made me feel like a little kid behind the wheel of their parents’ car, barely able to see out. I also found the seats uncomfortable and rearward visibility poor. I don’t care for the exterior rear styling either, though the front half of the car looks good. High marks for the soft-touch interior materials and still offering a manual transmission, very rare in the US now especially for a non-sporty but luxurious trim level. Bought a CPO Golf instead, but the Mazda3 was likely my second choice.
I’m in the same boat except for the harp hauling requirement; I have a 2000 VW Golf, would like pretty much a direct replacement (but newer and automatic this time, getting too old and no one else can drive my car). About the only car that comes close still available new is a Mazda 3 hatch; though I don’t have the “no black interior” edict I would have liked the option of cloth seats for similar reason living in the sun belt, but they like VW abandoned them (VW had them on base model for a few years). I’m too old for a GTI (had one in ’86, liked the handling but ride comfort has gone up in my priorities since then). I actually like the older Mazda 3 hatch, like 2013 and prior, the current ones have difficult vision with not much glass out the back.
Yes, nothing much to get excited about for me in today’s market, guess I’m an old curmudgeon but my list of what I don’t want seems to be getting bigger than the list of what I do want….the don’t list has AWD, non-car (i.e. truck nor SUV), non-cloth seating, CVT and to a lesser extent a turbo. After 44 years driving manual my do includes automatic (though reluctantly) but would like fewer gears and no CVT. Also exclude Ford Focus for 2012 forward because of the delicate powershift automatic. Add “mid-sized hatchback” and you can see there’s not much out there targeting me as a customer.
As far as the ’78 Dodge Monaco, ’78 was the last year I was driving for Hertz as a transporter, too me that year was the end of big cars at modest prices, all but luxury cars (which held out another couple years) downsized the next year. Hertz back then mostly offered Fords, but Mopars were probably 2nd at our location, I mostly drove Diplomats (including 2 door) and Aspens, never a Chrysler nor a Plymouth so I guess Hertz was targeting mid-level offerings. The one that stands out I drove but once was a Magnum (the old style), I drove but once and didn’t take the opportunity to open the hood but it may have had the 360. For a PLC it was pretty roomy, and I was impressed with it, but with the late 70’s gas shortages plus still living in the snowbelt making small FWD more practical, never got to buying one when in the market. Yes, I’m aware that the Magnum isn’t a hatchback but I still liked them.
Great article! In the 2000’s, I was working with a dealer. People would come to me, tell me what they were looking for in a vehicle (mostly used) and I would call the dealer.
Then I would go to the dealer, pick up the prospective vehicle and drop it off to the prospective customer for a 24 hour test drive. Then the customer would drive it back to the dealer, and make the deal. It was very successful as I sold 7 cars in the last two weeks of April in 2004! The dealer would then give me a “bird dog fee.”
As for the black interiors, I’m so over them. So when our 18 Sierra was giving up it’s torque converter this past June, I pulled into the closest dealer to me (it felt like I was driving on the rumble strip so I knew it was miles from shattering)
The dealer was a Nissan dealer. They had a dark blue Rogue with an oyster color leather interior. A deal was made and my truck was left behind.
Manager told me about a week later that they had sold our truck, only to have it brought back by the new customer. They wanted a refund, stating that “the transmission is going out!”
Two rules in our home when car shopping (well, three if you count my desire for a manual transmission). Me: no black wheels, she: no black interiors.
This story aligns nicely with the mint looking ’77 Fury wagon that recently went up for sale at a dealer near me. It does have a 360 as well, and appears to be sans Lean Burn. Just imagine a yellow Monaco and this baby blue parked side by side!
https://www.connorsmotorcar.com/vehicles/1135/1977-plymouth-fury-wagon
Saw that car a while ago. I’m a fan of any bigger (B or C body) late ’70s Mopars. Many of the B-body sedans of this era were police or municipal specials, and many now get turned into police car clones and C-bodies are popular as Derby cars by idiots. This wagon is a really nice original car, pricey, yes, but it may well sell for near that as some similar era Plym/Doge B body wagons have sold on BAT for this kind of money or more.Where would you find another this nice if you want one? These are big enough to hold a 4 x 8 plywood sheet flat on the floor.
It’s likely a good thing I didn’t see this Plymouth last fall…
One of the editors of another car site pointed out that “Fury Wagon” has to have accidentally been the most metal car name ever.
Great article, Jason. The last time I went dealer to dealer shopping for a new vehicle was nearly 20 years ago and my experience was very similar to yours. I suppose it’s kind of comforting that in a constantly changing world, certain experiences remain pretty consistent. Still, it’s also kind of amazing that after 100 years of this, nothing has really changed for most people who have to engage in this experience. It’s been over 30 years since the idea of “no haggle” auto sales (and other low engagement ways of buying cars) appeared widely on the public’s radar, and yet still most people who want to buy a car wind up having to interact with sales people doing their sales people kind of thing. I guess some people will make their purchasing decisions based on the sales environment (so, choosing a Tesla for online ordering, or only used so that they can buy from Carvana), but most people are not going to do that.
A couple of random observations. Black interiors. Bleck. But unavoidable. This also reminds me of a VW Taos I rented a couple of years ago. Black and grey interior (sort of like you photo), but horribly uncomfortable. The upholstery was some kind of cloth that felt like hard plastic stretched over styrofoam. I could not imagine ever owning something like that.
And thank you for the hiking boot image. I suspect that if there’s ever going to be a new car in my household, there’s a high likelihood that it might be a Subaru (because it won’t be me who gets that new car or chooses it)…and the hiking boot thing is unavoidable. I remember when that awful cladding trend started, and I’ve hated it ever since.
Well anyway, just in case I was tempted to go random car shopping, you’ve put me off of that. And for that, I thank you.
Glad I could be of service.
Over the last few years I have heard people opine about the dealership model being antiquated…I don’t disagree but buying a car (at least for those of us around here) is quite unlike buying a dishwasher. We need to try it out. People even still try hiking boots on to make sure they fit before purchase.
Glad you found something you like! I have to be the one vote for black interiors. Of course I prefer vinyl seats and rubber floors as well, so there is that.
I am curious about replacing a modern car that one likes and is fully functional at the 100k mark, most vehicles today will go well over double that with minimal fuss.
We didn’t replace the VW. We simply needed an additional vehicle for everyday stuff due to the daughter’s changing life and such. The van didn’t suit itself for such things.
I suspect that VW will be around for a very long time yet. It’s still just as much fun to drive now as it was new.
If you must (have to) get black leather seats, get ventilated.
I wouldn’t get any color leather without cooling, or even think about vinyl.
I got an ill-fitting Chinese sheepskin seat cover two years ago because I was tired of cold leather half the year, but it largely blocks the ventilation. I haven’t taken a long summer trip, but it was fine for 1500 miles at Thanksgiving. I hadn’t seen one in decades, so it didn’t occur to me to look for one.
Great article; I love your sardonic humor as in, “Did you marry the first girl that you dated!”
This was a discouraging read though. I’m in a similar situation as with your Volkswagen Passat. Our 2015 Toyota Camry Hybrid just crested 103,000 miles yesterday and has been absolutely reliable over the nearly 10 years we have owned it. However we are thinking about a replacement; mainly for improved crashworthiness and advanced safety features. Those ever-upward trending highway speeds are certainly top of mind.
We also own a 1998 Nissan Frontier that has also been remarkably trouble-free since it was purchased essentially brand new in August 1998. This truck has only 108,000 miles and is now primarily used simply to transport by bicycle to places where I can ride it more safely. Therefore the truck isn’t going anywhere as long as it continues to function.
Unlike you though, we at least know the make and model we’d like to purchase this time, but have been putting it off because of the hassle factor and the fact that our last 2 car purchases were from my place of work, with very easy transactions and very reasonable prices.
Unfortunately now that I’ve retired, I’m no longer eligible to purchase from my former employer. This means of course slogging through dealerships, mostly online I’m hoping. And with our new Costco membership, in theory we should be able to avoid the majority of the anguish that you’ve had to endure.
Like you, we don’t want a black interior, and we also would like a lively exterior color like red or medium blue (my first car was yellow BTW). Our current Camry is Ruby Flare Pearl Metallic (deep red) with a tan leather interior, so quite striking. It seems that even tan is somewhat difficult to find today, so we’re willing to settle for gray. It’s interesting though that all 7 vehicles we have had starting with our 1990 Mercury Sable have had gray interiors, with the exception of the current Camry. I keep thinking of the lovely blue Interiors we had in our VW Rabbit, Volvo 240, and Chevy Impala of the 70s and 80s, the last most similar in spirit to your dream ’78 Monaco.
Last time I bought a new car was just before the pandemic and most of the models on my shortlist only came with black (cloth) interiors. I ended up with a Honda Fit, had to settle for silver to get a manual and later discovered it *was* offered in some other markets (India) with a beige interior.
Back in 1978 I’m approached by a Herb Tarlek-looking Dodge salesman who seems almost relieved I’m interested in the new Omni or maybe a Colt Mileage-Maker (“We’ve had a run on Monacos lately, people asking for 360s in them. Normally they’re lot poison…) I walk around the back of the Colt row looking for stick shifts and settle on a lime green 4-door with a parchment interior whose darker cloth seat inserts perfectly match Tarlek’s sport coat. I ask him about the resemblance (not the cloth pattern one) and he goes off (“Yeah, Herb’s my brother. Damifee bought a Cordoba from down the street when I coulda put him in a Charger SE for more than twenny bucks a month less than he’s paying now. I’ve had to send the last couple of you Curbside guys down to that store since I think they have a couple 360 Furys left…”)
My key rule for buying a vehicle that all shoppers should learn these days is to be flexible with what you want. Being strict (e.g. no SUVs, no specific color interior) may have worked in 1980, but with the current market trend, keeping an open mind is more important than ever.
-Although you may not want an SUV, sometimes we may not have a choice since that’s how the market is these days. If you have never driven one, take one for a test drive. You’ll be glad you did.
-Try new technologies (e.g. electronic safety nannies, touchscreens) before you buy. Avoiding them can avoid problems down the road, but they are things that can really help in an unexpected situation.
-Be acceptive of AWD/4WD. It’s becoming more common than FWD/RWD, plus it can add a lot to resale value down the road.
My two cents.
I went through this last year, needing something with a third row/room for my mother-in-law’s walker. I wanted to love the Mazda CX90. Beautiful red with a lovely light colored interior. Sadly, it had major front-end creeks on a new vehicle. I think there was a recall for it, but it sat on the lot without it done.
Ended up with a Pathfinder. Nissan does a beautiful tan interior.
As soon as I saw your tag line and that beautiful Dodge, I knew this would be a fun and rewarding read .
I’m lucky (?) in that I live Way Out West where things get sun baked to death but not overly rusty .
I occasionally wonder what the hell do the poor saps anywhere in the rust belt do for new vehicles ? .
I have no memory of where you live but so far you’ve been good with long lived vehicles, whatever you bought I’m sure will be a good ‘un .
-Nate
Thank you.
Where I am has winter weather but we don’t get the rust others north of us do. But those who do get rust buy new ones just like anywhere else. Buying used, unless going far away, would likely just introduce rust into the equation a bit faster.
Sounded like a helluva ordeal… I’ve purchased exactly 2 brand new car in my 73 years of life. A 71 pinto and a 79 first year fox body mercury Capri… In the interim though I’ve had hundreds of great used cars and collector types and still rock to the oldies. The current fleet being a 2002 530 and 1993 525 bimmers and 1963 comet convertble… Loved your reference to the shinola, was at a car cruise at an antique emporium and saw and photographed an early edition of the product. As soon as I saw it the slogan hit me… Can’t wait to see what you’ve purchased, stick with an oldie in your collection though. I would have gone with the Caprice wagon…!!! At least you could still fit that harp.
Thank you for an entertaining write up of your extensive car shopping adventures! What a range of vehicles to try to examine & pick from. Your story really speaks to me as I’m going through this process myself now. Honestly it seems just examining your wants/needs & matching those to what’s available in the marketplace is a full time hobby. Thankfully I’m not to a need for replacement yet, more in a want.
I’ve visited only one dealership so far, but the sales guy, who did sell a friend a car recently, seems uninterested in getting back to me to let me know if they even have a car on the lot I can test drive. Finally they’re getting some inventory in, but it seems like getting what you want down to the interior color is more like winning the lottery.
Second dealership visit coming up next week. Same guy has sold me the last 2 cars I’ve had & is only too happy to find something on the lot or order what I want. So will examine the options his represented make can provide me & go from there. I can’t even figure out if it’s time to try something different or not. My list of cars to consider might not be quite as wide ranging as yours was but still finding it hard to narrow down. And a bit gun shy after the last trigger pull wasn’t quite as expected.
LOL, you want honest? Well BAE tells you, FWIW and TBH you can’t handle honest.
Now I am going to take a drive in my 1973 Polara, with 360, in white!
Interesting read. I for one like black interiors, at least on BMWs that I tend towards. Especially for me, I just get things dirty. My wife on the other hand… On the third hand, I hate black exteriors and rather dislike white and silver with a modest dislike for gray. Blue, green, red, orange, yellow, what happened to colors?
I’ve bought used cars, well, lots of cars over the years, all used. Some, well, for the time, good money, but well short of new car money. But I can’t imagine buying a new car without let say, a weekend trip in it. I’ve driven a fair number of work cars and rental cars, some seem ok on the first 10 miles, they start, they stop, they accelerate ok, but by the end of the first tank of gas I’m swearing at them. And now I’m imagining paying $40K for one to find out the seats make my back hurt, I can’t reach the controls without taking my hands off the steering wheel and the g*****m car thinks it knows better than I do how to set the HVAC controls. I just, I just, …
Ok, breathing now, slowly, I’m ok. Really, I’m ok.
Interesting on the car salesmen. Men all it would seem. Curious. I’ve only dealt with used salesmen, again, always men, for better or worse and they seem to fall into two categories, all initially mellow, here’s the keys, take it for a ride. But then as it gets close to a deal, either businesslike, or pushy, you’ve got to buy now, we can fix this or that, but buy now. The latter of which makes me turn around and walk away. I guess that MO makes money, but not from me.
CC effect: I parked next door a white Tammy Outback Friday afternoon. They should offer a cheetah-spotted paint job.
I was pondering whether or no it would be incautious to reflect that it’s possible you may be a bit of a tough customer, but then realized I am in no position. I hate shopping, passionately, and in my heartfelt desire for the torture to be over, I have no patience at all for anyone who a) isn’t serving me and b) now is serving me, but offering something I did not ask for.
In truth, I lack your patience, which can make me quite the wood duck: “I’m not sure if those pants fit you…” “I don’t care, I’ve tried two whole pairs, we’re off!” I hate negotiating, and because I’ll shop only when unavoidable, I’ll miss some deal that is starting only the next day. I have thus bought quite a few things that were either quite overpriced or suboptimal otherwise.
Black hole interiors are a depressant. And if you live in a hot place, they’re foolish. Where I am in Oz – where most of the population is in Oz – really isn’t that warm, however, our south-ness means that the sun is always fierce: skin cancer is a huge cause of mortality, for example, so the last thing needed is a nice black place under a nice slopey glasshouse to really cook up those UV’s.
Not feeling much of anything for current cars, and often being unable to identify them, your (amusingly-told) efforts here described are wearying just to read. If I had to, I’d chose the Honda, for their quality feel, and the buttony dash, and the fact that they always make a good driver, but I’m suspecting you were not able to squeeze in your harp. (Which sounds more ribald than intended, but you get the drift).
I guess I could be a tough customer. Or simply one that doesn’t tolerate their bull hockey. It also makes me wonder how many do fall prey to the various approaches, particularly the overtly bad as at the VW dealer. It must work or it wouldn’t continue.
The burning question I have after reading this is: what do those twin harpists I see on YouTube use to haul their gear around?
Having talked to some harp vendors, who often haul multiple examples, I would wager it is a cargo van of some variety.
Fleet sales sometimes get unrequested upgrades when manufacturers have excess inventory of a certain model. My last company car was a Chrysler Pacifica. Although the RFQ called out very basic specs, mine was delivered with the Pinnacle trim. That trim comes with some sort of copper colored seats as standard equipment. Don’t even think black was an option.
Despite the Chrysler being down to a single vehicle, it seems your salesman somehow managed to remain ignorant of the variations available in his own product. As a retired sales guy, I’m amazed at how little product knowledge so many newer sales people have. Some I’ve tried to train don’t even show an inkling of curiosity.
OK – enough of the old guy rants. Had you somehow managed to find a decent running ’78 Dodge, I hope someone already eliminated the %$#@*! Lean Burn system. Good luck getting a harp into it though. I’d think you really need the wagon rather than the sedan.
Great piece, Jason, and I think after having read this recap that I might be okay with skipping the Chicago Auto Show this year with such thorough details provided. Man, the dealership experience speaks volumes. Show the customer you want their business and that you want them to find the right vehicle for them. Is it that hard? Do you want that commission? And the Tammy Faye reference is now going to have me specifically looking for a new Outback while I’m out and about this weekend.
Having worked as a mechanic in the service department of several Mopar dealers in the late ‘70s & early ‘80s, you are incredibly lucky to not own, even (especially?) in new condition, any 1978 domestically built Chrysler product, particularly the (7 years old, but felt more like 20) B body cars, particularly the “Lean Burn” V8s…
If I wanted a Coronet or Fury, or Polara, or whatever the 4 door B body was, it would be a ’74 at the latest. They ran better than the ’78s did, for sure and the weirdo emissions stuff like the Orifice Spark Control could be, um, bypassed with a 1/8″ drill bit and about 4 seconds of drilling. All the OSC did was slow down the vacuum advance, and make the car a little sluggish. A 360 4 Barrel in a B Body was easily a low 15 second 1/4 mile car, as long as the rear end ratio was the correct 3.55. My ’74 Roadrunner ran 15.22 on it’s first pass at Milan Dragway. My Roadrunner was ordered in “Silver Frost Metallic” with the only colored interior I would ever actually want, black.
I grew up in cars with blue, green, red, white and some weird beige interiors and I hated them with a passion. I loved the styling of a lot of late ’60’s and early 70’s cars, but man, I hated those awful colored interiors. The last one I had that wasn’t black was my ’86 Camaro, it had the really bad, only bought it because it was such a great deal, “Camel” interior. It was maroon outside, which was fine. The gray interior that another car had on the lot was vastly better, but it was a manual, and I would never buy a stick as a daily driver.
This period of time is odd, I hate the looks of most of the vehicles made today, with a few exceptions, but for a black interior lover, like me, this is a great time to be alive as you can almost always get anything with a black interior. Other than the looks of most vehicles, another of my annoyances is the lack of color choices, some have NOT ONE single decent color choice, period. If the best color is white, something is wrong, Hyundai. The color choices on the Santa Cruz are truly awful. I like potent colors, with black interiors. It only takes a little time for them to cool off! My favorite vehicle of all I’ve owned:
Our 2009 Pontiac G6 was approaching 180K miles, mechanically sound but cosmetically awful, I finally acquiesced to my wife’s wishes to get her a new car. We looked around at a bunch of different vehicles (sedans were out due to her knees), but in late 2022, I had heard about the new 2024 Chevy Trax that was due to hit the dealerships in Spring 2023. We both agreed that the Trax would be a good car for our retirement years.
We went a few rounds with the local Chevy dealers in the Spring of 2023 and finally found one that wasn’t up to playing games. Some of the games included: trying to sell us a 2022 Trax (the old Trax went out of production in 2022, and confirming that many salespeople don’t keep up with new products), or upselling us into an Equinox, Blazer or a… Suburban. However, one guy got us and put our name on a unit coming over from South Korea in July of 2023.
It finally arrived in October of 2023 and the post-sales process went as expected: with the F&I guy trying to bend us over. Once I refused all of the “third party extended warranty” offers (more like demands), we were able to actually take delivery of the Trax. Which included the ceremonial syncing of the smartphones and complimentary filling of the fuel tank. Sixteen months later and other than a minor cosmetic issue with the grille, no issues. Right now, we mostly use it for long trips and have only accumulated 8000 miles on it.
At this rate, this will be our last new car. And with that, I pray to God, Allah, Buddha and even Mephistopheles that I will never have to buy a new car again…