First car... wow. 1970 VW Bug. Never tried jumping a curb, but it DID have a mind of it's own. It used to start honking the horn on it's own, blow fuses at will - boy did I get good at changing fuses, it would pop the tailpipe at will, I had to keep track of my miles because the gas gage fuse used to blow... if I had passengers in the back, the fender rubbed the tire... but all in all I loved that car - paid $1500 bucks for it and got every dime back out of it when I sold it 10 years later for a used 1987 Kawasaki Ninja... I used to pick up my girlfriends on that thing... parents LOOOOVED me! Still have the dang thing! NCTomatoman - wasn't a olive green pontiac tempest in My Cousin Vinnie??

Oh, they still make snow tires. Some are the "old-school" type, but more modern snows are designed to be quieter, better-performing on dry pavement, and capable of high-speed travel (within the realm of reason, that is). I use 'em partly because they let me keep my nice alloy wheels out of the road salt and sand (the snow tires are mounted on the steel wheels the car came with) and partly because they're the right tool for the job in a place in which it can freeze six months out of the year. Frankly, it amazes me that people won't blink an eye when spending more than a grand on a snowblower -- because they live in the snow belt -- but they won't spend a grand or so on tires that optimize winter traction and quite likely can help them avoid an accident. I understand that swapping snows can be a pain; there are some good all-seasons out there. The ones that are best for snow have a snowflake symbol on the sidewall. I can highly recommend Nokian's all-season tires; they are, in fact, one of the few all-seasons that qualify for the worst snow service.

Hi, I'm back. I have been MIA due to the wedding planning and bringing DH to Dr. appointments. I think I told you about his thyroid. After the CT scan we were told that everything looked ok, probably a goiter, but they wanted to do an ultrasound. We got a phone call from his Dr. saying come in so we could review his options. The ultrasound showed a huge mass in his thyroid, a nodule, but very large and it could start obstructing things. They also can not rule out cancer because of some other findings. He is having a biopsy in two weeks and then an appt. with a surgeon. Either way it has to come out. They just need to determine if part of his thryroid, or all of it will come out. Thyroid cancer is 100% curable so we feel good about the outcome. It has just been so upsetting and nervewracking. We did go to the Jimmy Buffett concert last night. It helped to take our mind off of things. It downpoured in the middle of the concert and ofcourse we had lawn seats so just go wet. What are you going to do? We still had a blast and he never disappoints. He performed for over 3 hours. It was a great time. QOD: My oldest DS started working when he was 15 for a Marina/Engine repair place. It lead to him going to school to because a certified marine technician and he is still currently employed by them. Prior to that he was always busy with scouts and band. He spent one summer coordinating and carrying out his Eagle project. He always seemed to keep busy. My youngest worked last summer when he was 14 for my brother's appliance business, but not this year (medical conditions forced DB not to work this summer). This summer he has been hanging out with his friends. He lifts weights and does power training for football conditioning. He has been starting to plan his Eagle project, but is basically dragging his feet and making me crazy. Next summer this boy will be working! My oldest DS informed us that he has been offered a job in Virginia at a marina and probably will be moving there the beginning of October, just after the wedding. :-( I understand it is a good opportunity for him and he has a better chance of buying a home there than he does up here, but it brakes my heart. Nobody in my entire family has ever moved away. We all live within an hour of one another, so this is very hard for me. Other than the Buffett concert last night, this week has basically s*cked! Love, Besh

Thanks for the advice. Cool, I have wondered why they bother but I guess it is just advertising Ang I agree with your father. I have seen those ads and you see in small prints that a FICO of over 750 is often needed. One time a credit union worked better, another time it was the dealership. I do think things have changed with financing as I posted above, now they do get a cut so they want you to finance with them but I agree that except in advertised offers, they will try to steer you higher if they can and pocket the difference unless you show them a better offer. However that is on the interest rate, not the price of the car. My needs are very specific such that at any point I can only buy one or two cars that are out there so if there is an incentive great, otherwise the last time my lease was up and I needed that car and nothing else was as good an option. Luann, I totally believe you got a good deal I have never traded in before. On my last car I could not buy 2 year old because the model with 8 seats was not available until 2004 when I bought my car (I have 5 children actually back then it was 3 plus 2 on the way!). The model I am considering also was not available as currently equiped before this year. When I buy a car I go to the various web sites, including any enthusiast web sites such as Sienna Club. Org. They usually have an area where people brag about their best deal and I will usually try to match it. I will pay one visit to a dealership I do not plan to buy at usually the full service high pressure one so I can test drive and see the car and find out which options are definitely available (sometimes they are listed but are not regionally available, avoids the cannot get it nonsense that salesment pull). Then I will go to the various dealer websites within 50 miles. If they give you access to inventory I will check out their inventory. At this point based on the MSRP listed I can tell which cars have the packages I want in their inventory. The reality is if they have 4 blue minivans with leather and only one with cloth you can probably get a better deal percentage wise on the one with leather (assuming you want that). I will then contact whatever dealerships have a decent amount of inventory or are known for discounting. Then I will pay a visit to various dealerships in the area to see what I can get in person from the ones with lots of inventory of the specific car, package and color I want or that I know from experience really will discount. If it all possible I will deal with the guy in the booth rather than the salesperson. I always take the wholesale cost breakdown with me, knowing it is not the true invoice because there is usually a holdback of 2% of the base price Also I have noticed that Edmunds TMV price should be ignored. It is usually higher than what I have paid One thing about the inventory, sometimes things are listed but are not for sale, owners wife is driving it and it will be a demo in a month. So just because the gray is listed, it might not be there when you get there