We got the check from the loan company last Friday, one day too late. We'd hoped to go and see about buying the car that Thursday, when the dealers were open late. At our first opportunity since then, Monday the 4th of April, we went back to Toyota of Bedford. We waited a few minutes for the salesperson who'd helped us the first time around, got some keys, a dealer plate, handed over Renee's driver's license, and took it for another spin, just to be sure.

I'm not sure what happened between the first time I went out shopping and the last two weeks, but I wasn't able to find a good seating position in the Scion, either. The clearance of the wheel over my right leg isn't dangerous, but it isn't good, either, and if I don't sit just so, I bump my head on the ceiling. Maybe I just need to get used to leaning back one more notch than was comfortable.

By the time we got back, I was feeling much more ambivalent about the purchase than before the second drive. As if this wasn't bad enough, we found out that our salesperson had misplaced Renee's license. Now, we're supposed to be getting on a plane in two days and that's difficult to do without I.D. nowadays.

A frantic half-hour search by half the dealership staff and ourselves ensued. Eventually, Renee found it in the drawer that held the keys for their inventory after no fewer than 3 members of the dealership staff had looked there.

Despite the hassle (and expecting it to help with the negotiations), we decided to carry on anyway. None of the other cars we tested were any better in terms of my comfort and most of them were not as much fun to drive. So we went in to talk money.

Apparently, there's not much to talk about. He was unwilling to budge at all. The price listed is the price everyone pays. Period. He went so far as to say that Toyota audits the deals and penalizes dealers that break the rule. I can't think of anyway to verify this, myself. But considering that he was obviously losing the sale over a fairly paltry difference, it's feasible.

Naturally, they didn't have the color I want in stock. Most of the options are dealer-installed accessories, so that doesn't really matter. So, we left with the salesman planning to find other dealers in the area willing to swap and he was going to get prices on the accessories which can apparently be installed less expensively after the sale.

It's wait and see time, I guess. We definitely won't have a car until after the trip.

Daaaamn! What a trip to the dealership. It really sucks that he wouldn't budge on the price at all, but more importantly, you don't fit in the car. I'm not sure about Scions.

I hate to suggest it, (because I love to aim you towards convertibles) but what about a Corolla or a Civic? I really love my 2001 Civic and it handles nicely. It gets fabulous gas mileage and has lots of head room too. I think we paid like 18,000 or 19,000 fully loaded. The Corolla has even more room inside and might more comfortable for you. I would mention the Focus, but its side impact crash results were poor.