My First Brand New Car

Two weeks ago I was involved in a crash in the Kohl's parking lot. Thankfully nobody was injured. However, my car has seen better days.

My poor car.

I was headed to work after picking up a salad to-go at SouperSalad. I had the main right of way in the parking lot and before I could even react, a car pulled out in front of me and despite stepping on my breaks I knew we were going it hit. Talk about a terrible early Christmas present!

As I said, nobody was injured and it was left to the insurance companies get to shorted it out. Since we were on private property there was no police report and nobody was cited. The gal that hit me was nice and cooperative although not really wanting to take blame for it. I hate being that mean person to point fingers. I was pretty sure the end result would be that we just pay for our own damages.

Kenyon has us covered well with our insurance including a low deductible and rental car coverage. I dropped my car off at the shop and for a week I drove a brand new Ford Fusion. It was really high tech and there was a bit of a learning curve with this fancy car and if it wasn't for Kenyon's help I am not sure I would have made it out of the driveway.

I got a call on Christmas Eve from my insurance company that due to the cost of the damages they would be considering the car a total loss and offered me a sum of money. I always thought having your car totaled and having to get a new car would be awesome. Well, turns out it was bit of a headache!

I was about to finish paying off my car in the next few months and while new cars are nice I had convinced myself I wasn't going to get a new car so I could instead save money for future travel. That decision ended up being made for me and I found myself shopping for cars online for a few days.

I love Edmark Superstore in Nampa and I already have a great contact. Bryan Hallowell is wonderful and both Kenyon and I bought our cars from him. If you are live in the Treasure Valley and you need a new or new-to-you vehicle, go see Bryan. He is seriously awesome. I called Bryan immediately after talking to the insurance agent, which Progressive has been wonderful and Rory was a bit help. We meet up on Saturday to test drive a car. On Sunday I signed the dotted line(s) and drove a 2015 green Kia Soul off the lot.

Here I am with Bryan.  He is seriously awesome.

I love it!!! I have never had a brand new car so it is quite exciting. I was able to finance the whole amount and still get a fairly good payment. This allowed me to keep the whole amount from the insurance check. I used some of that to finish paying off my student loan and the rest went into savings towards a trip to Europe.

It all worked out in the end and while I still have a car payment, I do have a fun car to drive. I miss my HHR and I loved the orange color. I am really happy with my new Soul though.