I’ll be honest with you, since my kids where born, the things in life that seemed important just are as important anymore replaced by the demands of being parent and watching your children grow, learn, live and explore life.
Last night we were out and in my wife’s car and it needed gas so we stopped and I proceeded to fill the car. At the pump next to ours there was a Dodge Charger with stripes extending across the hood, roof and trunk, I believe part of an R/T package offered by Dodge and my 6-year old son commented on how he really liked that car and asked me if I thought it was cool.
Truthfully I really didn’t, but I told him I thought it was neat. I for one was glad my son was taking notice of cars, and he proceeded to mention that he was getting excited about going to the Nashville Auto Show which opens later today. Car show time was always something I looked forward to doing as a kid, sadly my dad was never a car nut like I was so it was often with much begging and pleading that he’d take me to the annual car show at the local convention center. I’m thrilled my son (and my 3-year old daughter as well) are excited about going, and truthfully I am too.
I’m not in the market for a car at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I won’t dream a little and pontificate on what I’d like to be driving right now, but the whole prospect of the auto show got me thinking about the actual act of buying a car.
If you’re reading AutoSpies.com than I can safely assume you are a bit of a car nut. I for one think liking cars, any car is better than not liking cars, and I really don’t care if you’d be considered a fanboy of one make over another, the point is that you and me share a common interest and passion.
The question that entered my mind however was how many of you have ever ordered a car to get EXACTLY the car you want. How many of you have not chosen to settle for what was sitting on the dealer lot instead choosing to wait an extended period to get “the one” that occupies your dreams at night.
If you are anything like me, you’ve probably ventured on to your favorite manufacturers website to price out the perfect car for you, but how many of you have turned that exploration into an order.
I don’t know about you, but in thinking about this it dawned on me that 5 different times I ordered a car EXACTLY the way I wanted choosing to wait versus instant gratification of buying a car off the dealers lot.
My first ordered car was a ’99 BMW 323i that took 4 agonizingly long month to arrive from Germany, months that included many trips to dealer lots debating whether or not to settle on what was parked and ready to go home today. The second car again was a BMW, this time a ’02 BMW 330ci, the timeframe again around 4 months, the difference however was the fact I was still driving the 323i helped make the time more manageable. A few months later my wife and I ordered a ’03 Mini Cooper S, and this was still when waiting times where running 4-6 months. Thankfully due to the 2 previous BMW purchases, we were given priority ordering status and the timeframe was only about 2.5 months.
In 2006, I ordered a 911 Carrera S and my wife ordered an Audi A6 4.2 both of which took about 5 months to actually get our hands on. For obvious reasons, I loved the Porsche, the Audi was so-so but my wife liked it so I guess it wasn’t terrible.
But sadly 2006 was the last time I ordered and got exactly the car I wanted. In ’08 I bought an M3 off the dealer showroom and man did I catch grief for that one seeing as while almost fully loaded, the car didn’t have heated seats and my wife reminded me of that on every cold morning thereafter!!!
Enough about me however, what car(s) have you waited for to get exactly what you wanted, and how long did you have to wait. Chime and share with us and tell us your “dream car” story including what went through your during the agonizing months you had to wait.