Monday’s Purchase

Monday is my Saturday. The weekend rush is over, and folks working are back at work. I am retired, meaning I have nothing to do but sleep in and start on laundry for the work week. I made breakfast, liberal (Fair Trade) coffee, and some maple breakfast sausages (baked). I wrote slowly and talked to Deborah at her break at work. I finished and published the blog by 10:30.

I cleaned up, coughing less, and put on a white dress shirt, blue sweater vest, and gray cotton slacks. I went with my walking shoes. I collected my information and car information in a large envelope with the checkbook. I boarded Air Ford (Escape) and headed to Volvo to pay off the work on the former Air Volvo, about $2,400 to pay that off. I arrived and was treated well by the Volvo team at service, and they decided I insisted on a personal check and took my check. On the Volvo team, Doug had purchased an ID.4 from the Volkswagen (VW) part of the dealership and wondered what happened to my appointment. I informed Doug that I was ill on Friday and was expecting an email, but I did not get one. I had a miscue and was headed to VW to untangle that.

On Monday, Torrel was on duty with my original caller off. He took me for a test drive of their white ID.4 AWD Pro (not the top-of-the-line S version). I had never driven an EV before, which was a strange experience. The slow, noiseless start and driving (no shutter or sound of any type) were at first disturbing, but soon, I was enjoying the quiet. We had the EV set for maximum conservation (go all the way), and this means the acceleration pedal (can’t call it the gas pedal) must be pressed, or the car quickly slows and stops. Yikes, this explains some driving experiences I have had behind EVs! Torrel set the vehicle to a different setting; now, it feels more like what I was used to. Interesting. The EV will be a relearning for me.

It was far better than I expected. It was smaller than Air Volvo, but it was still an SUV, and this one did not have the dreaded Sunroof that leaked and killed Air Volvo. The gate and seat adjustments were manual. On the way in, Torrel and I talked about colors, and the only color they had was ‘pure grey’; we drove through their remaining 2024 inventory, and I said I could live with the grey.

As expected, Torrel wanted to sell me today. I told him I would have lunch and decided. I did not know I had taken the key to the white ID.4 with me. Oops. The cost to me was a short (7,500-mile a year) lease for two years at $270 a month with about $4,000 down (including the first month’s payment). It was insanely cheap.

My decision was to end the car nightmare, and I sent a text to Kia canceling my appointment, moved the cash to the checking, returned to VW, and then test-drove the car I was leasing. I took the would-be Air VW on Highway 26 (it went to 75 before I knew it was going too fast) and toured Nike WHQ. Torrel had not been there before. I was testing the handling, speedbump reaction, and just getting used to driving. Torrel enjoyed the tour.

I then sat in a room while they brought me things to sign. It took two hours to complete everything. I turned down all the extra coverage, as most things were covered by the warranty. I had to get my Allstate information; I added my card to my Apple Wallet, and they then took a photo. The final price was $269.54 a month.

I thought it was a good way to test the waters of electric vehicles. A two-year lease involved little risk, and the price was too low not to jump at for such an excellent model. I could also turn in Air Ford (Escape) and save a hundred bucks! The lease mileage was low, which may be a problem, but I will see. I drive much less than I did when I worked.

Air VW has a charging cable, which I can charge slowly from a wall socket. I drove Air Ford (Escape) home, and soon, another driver delivered Air VW. I unloaded Air Ford (Escape), primarily games, and loaded Air VW. The driver is picked up, and I then drive Air Ford (Escape) back to Enterprise. There, Cyrana, the gal that rented some of my cars, takes back Air Ford (Escape), and I pay $208. I walk back and nearly get lost as it gets darker.

I take Air VW for a drive, find a weak charging station, and plug it in—I have never done this before. I have to download Shell’s app and begin charging. It will take an hour to charge to 80%. I call Deborah and talk mostly about my new experiences with the EV. I pay $0 for 4.13 kWh. I am still trying to understand all this, but I remember reading that some charge stations are free in Oregon.

I have to order a home-charge unit, which also means cleaning out the garage. Then, I have some shelves to build/install and will likely make some trips to Goodwill. This is my new focus for the next two weeks.

After sitting for twenty minutes and charging three percent, I rang off from Deborah and headed to dinner. A sushi track near home was the choice. The food was good and let me reflect on the day. I had only managed to resolve the car issue, but it needed to be resolved. With car rentals, payoffs for repairs on the dead Volvo, and lease costs, it was a lot of cash.

I headed home in Air VW but was worn out and coughing. I parked it. I went to bed early and got some rest.

Thanks for reading.