Spending the superannuation

Five years ago we bought a new car. The ever so cute salesmen said to us after we had test driven some SUVs, why do you guys need a big car? Won't this Mazda 3 sedan do you well? R has not let me forget it, although  he agreed at the time.  He didn't say he would turn 70 and struggle to get out from such a low car. He didn't say that my mother would need a walker and that he would have to sit in the back seat with a handle of the walker stuck in his face as it wouldn't fit in the boot. He didn't say how good it was to be a bit higher and see the traffic better.

No, none of that at the time but it is my fault for buying the wrong car. Nevertheless we have quite liked our Mazda 3, it being our fourth Mazda with a brief flirtation with Hyundai. You probably don't remember but we gave the Hyundai to Ex Sis in Law and her husband and while it was ok for us, the 18 year old car soon failed for them as it was suddenly heavily used. They wondered what to do with the no longer working car. Amazingly a friend of a friend has taken it as a car for his daughter after he fixes it up. The Hyundai lives on.

We have been looking at small SUVs, that will fit Mother's walker in the back and be easier to get in and out of. We have been to dealerships over the past month but nothing was grabbing us. Eventually R said, I would really like a Mazda CX5, a medium sized SUV. Oh yes, I now know better than to talk him out of it with logic.

So, this Saturday I bought a new Mazda CX5 Maxx Sport from City Mazda. Unlike the last two times we have bought a car from the dealership, this time we felt good about what I paid for the car. The first time we bought a car their we felt quite cheated by a smart arse smarmy car salesman. The second time as the deal was being clinched, he threw in free floor mats, and then said if you could just increase your offer to.... which was exactly what the floor mats cost.

The experience kind of put a bitter taste in our mouths in spite of the pleasure of the new cars. This time the salesman was of Greek heritage, 25 years old. While he had a nice face, he was short and will go to seed early and his skin wasn't so good. Well, I am not employing him for male on male massage, and he was pretty good as a car salesperson and we did not feel like we paid too much. It was a fair deal with a good trade in price for our five year old car that had only travelled about 60,000 km, say 37,000 miles.

We pick the newie up on Wednesday. It will be invisible among all the other cars on the road. I wonder if Mother will notice it is a new car on Thursday. Rather a long and stressful day this Saturday, but nicely wrapped up by dinner across the road, and running into a former workmate at the restaurant.