Well my Malibu was finally paid off last month after 5 years of payments. I was planning on waiting till the end of the year to get another vehicle. Something bigger this time and not a car.
I was thinking of the Ridgeline, the Avalanche, a quad cab chevy pickup. Still was undecided.


Well today was such a nice day I said to my fiance " let'* go for a drive". Well we stopped for a quick bagel and coffee and had to return a wiper blade for my parents vehicle, then we went for that drive. Took all of 10 ins to get there. She even told me that we aren't going to that car lot. Well we did. Then she said she wasn't getting out...but she did.

Now inventory on this lot is changing all the time cause they are a great dealer and sell alot of vehicles. This time around it was probably 90% fords. The remainder was mixed with gm and I think 1 jeep. I was looking at the Ford sport track and then the escape , cause it was a nice burnt orange color. I looked at their website earlier in the morning and seen one other GM that I might look at.

I went to the end of the row in front and seen a 2006 Buick Rainier. The salesman came out and I went to high school with him. He brought the keys and opened it up. This thing had the trailer package on it, leather interior, heated front seats, dual power seats, so fully loaded except for navigation and dvd entertainment. Then he asked if we wanted to go for a ride. Right the I knew it wasn't a good idea, but Crystal was no help stopping me. It took us all of maybe 2 blocks to realize this thing was great. I drove back towards my house on roads that are beyond terrible. This SUV was absolutely silent inside and smooth. It also has self leveling suspension, I kinda missed not having it anymore since I no longer have any bonnevilles. Oh yeah did I mention that inline 6 in that thing puts out 291hp.

Got back to the dealer, and wrote up the paperwork and will find out Monday if I got the financing on it.

All I have to say is damn weather....... spring fever strikes again, haha.

Good luck with the purchase Mike, man I dont miss the payments but know how nice a new car can feel

So your buddy give you a good deal?

I guess I would ask why you're looking at new vehicles? The 'bu is just fine in terms of age, and unless you have real needs for a bigger vehicle, it will be a pretty costly change.

This place basically puts the best deal right up front. That is why if you see something you like, buy it cause it will probably be sold the next day.

Just between Friday and today and it was early, they already sold close to 10 vehicles. And there are only really 3 people that work there, the owner, my buddy and one other guy.

This Rainier has 48,000kms and I got it for 22,000$.

On a side not, the owner just bought himself a 1970 roadrunner if I am not mistaken. It might be the wrong year, but this car only had 600 ever produced. This dealer is known for selling very nice cars. I mean I have seen some used cars that he had and seen them up on a hoist ( my other buddy used to work at the garage that certified all the vehicles), and anytime he brought a vehicle in, it looked better than new.

This one was off a lease and it was from the US.

Well the car now has 236,000 kms so about 146,000+ miles on it and is probably going to start costing more than it should. I missed having my truck and the Malibu kinda sucks for towing my enclosed trailer ( I built for hauling my racing kart to the track), but now is used for hauling the 4-wheeler and my street bike.

So it was either truck or SUV, and the SUV seems more practical to me.

The Rainer is a nice truck. If I'm right, its the Buick offering similar to the Trailblazer or Envoy?

Yep. Consumer reports calls it the luxury version of the trailblazer and the envoy.

In that case, find a used TB SS for a lower price...

FWIW , i'd just go with the Rainier. The V8 has just a little more power, and the I6 is a VERY powerful engine for what it is, i think it'* a 4.2L .. and check out www.TRAILVOY.com to see typical problems and what problem areas there might be

Sounds like a real winner good luck