So over the past few weeks, I have been visiting dealerships and taking test drives. I have driven a new Kia Forte, a new Nissan Versa Note, and a new Ford Focus Titanium. I had planned to test drive a Hyundai Elantra too before I made my final decision.

I loved that Titanium. All of the bells and whistles, so pretty, and it rides so nice. The salesman made me a very nice offer too. The MSRP on the car is 26,685 and he quoted me 21,301. It is a good price, but still more than I want to spend. Also, the car has the dual clutch automatic transmission. Ford has been putting those in the Focus and Fiesta cars since 2012, and there are a lot of complaints and lawsuits over that transmission. Of course, some people have no trouble with them whatsoever. I prefer to just buy one with a manual transmission in the first place and avoid the whole issue. There are no Focus cars with a manual transmission and the other features I want sitting on a lot anywhere in my area. If I have one special ordered, I will not have much bargaining power to negotiate a better price. Paying 26k is completely out of the question.

Last night I was browsing CarMax's website, and I found a 2013 Focus SE with a manual transmission, the navigation, heated front seats, and moon roof which I crave, in my preferred color (dark grey) with only 18k miles. The "no haggle" price is 14,998. This price is much more what I had in mind. The car is close enough to new that it should provide reliable transportation for many years to come. I have already called and they have placed the car on a 7 day hold. I plan to go see it over the weekend, and if it is as advertised, I intend to buy it.

As you might guess, J is thrilled with this news.

I have applied for a used car loan from Wells Fargo, and I can get 3.69% on a 6 year loan. I like the rate, and I want my minimum monthly payments as low as I can get them. I do not intend to take the entire 6 years to pay off the car.

I still have full coverage on the Accord. My car insurance premium went from about $90 per month to about $140 per month when I added J as a secondary driver. (This is with the pay-in-full-up-front discount). It will double when I add another car and J becomes a primary driver. I will have to cover this myself until J graduates, gets a job, and takes over his share of the insurance. OUCH!