NEW CAR!

So, for those of you who don’t know, I’ve been driving a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier since August of 2001. I loved that car. It is small and cheap, but it ran and ran and ran. Only major issue was that the fuel pump went out while I was on my way to work with Phil Collins, but was under warranty. Recently though, it was starting to show its age. A small coolant leak. Squeaky brakes. Finally the transmission slipped a couple times and it was in need of some good work. But at 135k miles, how much money could I justify pouring into it versus what its worth?

My old baby!!!!

So after cleaning out and washing my old car I met my parents at New Smyrna Chevrolet. My parents over the past few years have purchased both of their cars from New Smyrna and so we decided to try them for a third time. I had used their website (see link above)  to check out their new and used inventories of the new Chevy Cobalts (which happens to be the make that replaced the old Cavaliers). Being that I love my two door I decided that I wanted a coupe again and they had one 08 used one and a few new ones. Being that I’m not in a position where I have a ton of extra money I decided on the used one. It just happened that it also happened to have EVERYTHING that I wanted in the car, except the color.

I don't HATE the white...it is actually grown on me

When thinking about colors I would never PICK a white car out of my head, but this one does REALLY look nice. It is officially a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt LT. It had just over 20k miles on it and drives like a dream.

Monday I took the car back over to get it fully detailed (detail shop closed when I bought it) and to have a headlight replaced (noticed on the way out). They fixed her up and made her look pretty before I drove home through a thunderstorm (DOH!). When I got home I still took a whole bunch of dorky photos. Enjoy (or not):

At home in it's parking space

Got to get a plate for that...never had a front plate before!

Side shot

The interior doesn’t show up the best in the photos but I wasn’t going to take too much time screwing with my camera because the weather was turning bad. The seats are a light gray and the floors are a dark gray (pretty much black). The dashboard and doors are all also two-tone that match the other colors. It looks hot!

Drivers door

Floor...kinda

Steering wheel

I love that the cruise control is on the wheel. Also there is an “info” button on the steering wheel that scrolls through a TON of information that is displayed under the RPM guage on the dashboard. Everything you can think of from exterior temperature to the tires air pressure is on there. I LOVE IT!

The radio is also pretty kick ass:

Bad picture (sorry)

I love that it has an AUX jack so I can plug in my Zune. I also love that for my “fave” presets I can mix and match AM/FM on the up to SIX pages of presets. Six presets on each page, six pages, that is 36 presets!! I don’t know that we have that many radio stations!!!

If you are driving on the road with me this is the view you’ll most likely be seeing:

Love the spoiler. Love the round lights.

The trunk has a smaller opening than my old Cavalier, BUT it seems to have more room (definitely deeper).

Maybe the closest to the actual color of the carpeting in the car...

As I said before the car drives really smooth and has a definite boost in  pep over the old car (even though they have the same size engine). For the nerds who want to see this, here is the engine compartment:

Hot!

For those of you who are paying attention, something is missing. Where is the battery? It isn’t under the hood!!!

There it is!

Yup, the battery is kept next to the spare tire under the floor of the trunk. From what I understand, this should help keep the battery in its best operating conditions, which should extend the life of the battery. Don’t worry though, if you are looking to jump your car, there is still a place (that red tab) under the hood where you can connect to the battery for a normal jump!

So far (mind I’ve only put a couple hundred miles on it) I LOVE it. And I got a great deal on it thanks to the guys at New Smyrna Chevrolet. If you are in the market for a new car, check them out! I spent time there Sunday and Monday and I know that the place definitely wasn’t as busy as the salesman would like. This economy is hurting everyone I’m sure. To help do my part I’m telling you that there are some GREAT deals on their new and used cars.

Check out their inventory online and pick out a car and go buy it! If you do, be sure to ask for Skip Sage or David Meeks. Let them know that I sent you their way please!