I don’t know about you but buying a new car is exciting.

Not really. For the most part, it’s a pain in the ass, in my opinion. I always dreaded the whole process.

First you need to decide what car you want and whether you can afford said car. I’m not much of a car person so this first part is taxing. As a short woman, one of my primary criteria for a new car is whether or not I can see over the steering wheel to drive. And then once I get the seat into a position where that is possible, I don’t want my head near the roof or my chest to be close to the steering wheel. You’d be surprised at how many cars are knocked out of the running.

I also want to feel like the car is safe and well made. Once we went looking for a car that I really thought I wanted. It was a hybrid SUV and I had one previously but they changed the body style and I didn’t want the new version. So I was on the lookout for something new. This particular SUV had the look and features I wanted. But when I sat inside it, it felt cheaply made and I didn’t like the console.

And then of course there is the test drive. Again, for me I need to like the feel of it but I don’t care if it can go 0-60 in 3 seconds or 7.

But I need to like it in every other way. I don’t need to love my new car but I do have to like it.

So back to this weekend. I started looking at new cars. I had fallen in love with the Fiat but of course everyone was questioning my judgement. And then as we were driving up to New England these last two weekends, I noticed the BMW X1. I liked the body style and I was looking at getting back in an SUV. My initial criteria were met!

Hubby and I went and looked at them on Sunday. Hubby will say that I manipulated him but that wasn’t the case. We had been discussing the pros and cons of keeping my current car or getting a new one for a while.

Needless to say, I fell in love with the car. And our sales rep, Nick (Nichita) was incredible. He was not only personable, but we didn’t feel any pressure while there. Two thumbs way up!

When we returned the next day to complete the paperwork, the finance staff was great too. The whole endeavor didn’t last hours and hours on end. For that I am grateful.

So now I’m zipping around in a new BLUE car (Can I add that I’ve wanted a dark blue car forever but they never had them in stock?). Not only that, but the color’s name is Mediterranean! And me with my love of Europe! It was meant to be.

If you see me around town, toot your horn and wave at me. I’ll be the happy driver amidst all the chaos that is DC driving.