Granted, I was a bit bummed out because I had for so long planned on getting myself a new vehicle. I have made NO secret to the fact that I HATE my car. Nor have I made it a secret that I HATE Ford cars. (Ford trucks rock though, Y'all) In the past, I have owned three Ford cars and of all of our vehicles- we have had nothing but rotten luck with our Fords. The others all ran beautifully. Not to mention Shawn and I both come from Saginaw, Michigan. Not Detroit- Motor City- by a long shot. But Saginaw was and is home to many of GM foundaries. We were raised in Chevy country.

But after doing a bit of research, we found out that my car blue booked at much less than what I still owed on it. (A measley $706.00 mind you.) So it's trade in value was nil. However, his truck blue books at far more than what we still owe on it. So despite my anxious desire to purchase a new vehicle for myself, it was in our best interest to go with Shawn's.

And then I got a couple letters in the mail. One from the Ford dealership I boguht my car at, one from a Toyota dealership in a nearby city and one guaranteeing my credit approval from the new Kia dealership. I had tossed the letters aside and gave them no more thought. That is until Shawn mentioned the Kia one and told me about how they were coming up in the world and how awesome their warantees were. So I thought about it a lot last weekend and Monday. Then Tuesday morning, I awoke early and decided to arouse him to go vehicle shopping.

On a whim, I pulled into the Kia dealership and met Clarence. The salesman who happened to walk out our way and was more than happy to hear that I had gotten a pre-approval letter and to show us the various vehicles on the lot. I looked at the Kia Sportages, the Sorentos and the Sedonas. I had said that I had been thinking of mini-vans a lot as of late due to their new styles of doors on both sides for the rear passengers and their storage capabilities. But the Sedonas didn't appeal to me as the SUV's did. So we went back to look at them again.

I fell in love with the Sorentos. The Sportages were nice, but a bit smaller than I had wanted. Before I knew it, I was filling out all of the paperwork to apply for the credit to purchase one. And to make a logn story short, a half an hour later, after arriving at work, I got a call that I was approved. Please bring in a list of references, a pay stub and a phone bill. Well, woo-fucking-hoo!

We returned wednesday. And to make another long story short, we ended up getting the loan on a blue-grey colored Kia Sorento. A 5 passenger mid-sized SUV complete with power everything, (My car had power nothing) cruise control (My car had none) and the sports package which added side bars to get up into the truck, a cd/cassette radio, fully automatic with the ability to make it a manual transmission and 4 wheel drive SUV. It rocks!It has a 100,000 mile warranty, a 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty that even guarantees against rusting, and a 5 year roadside assistance plan that covers everything from towing, free gas if I run out and a locksmith should I lock my keys in my vehicle. WOOT!

It is such a beautiful truck. It rides smooth. I know it's going to last with all the right warranties in place. And it's mine. All mine! I did it on my own. For the first time in my what will be 29 years soon, I purchased my very first brand spanking new vehicle. I didn;t have to settle for what the salesman said the lenders would allow. I picked it out, color, style, options and all.

I am just giddy! Absotively, posolutely amazed, flabberghasted and on cloud nine.

And even though it was made in Korea and not union-made (somethign I neglected to think about until long after the sale was finalized I assure you) I am thrilled.

Thank You, Kia. Thank you Clarence and Harvey. (The salesman and finance guys)

I'm honored!

Thanks for tuning in!

Simply,

Sara