I am completely enthused right now! Instead of waiting until April to make the long-awaited trip to Toyota of Greenville, my parents headed over there on Friday to "talk money," then my mom drove away with the car yesterday without me.
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Here's what happened:
My dad and I went by Toyota on Thursday night after closing just so he can see the car again. Luckily there were two Flint Micas on the lot: one base manual, and one base automatic. Once again he fell in love with the color and the car itself, and hinted about purchasing it the next day.
After I woke up the next morning, my mother told me that we would be heading over there to do a test drive sometime that afternoon and I was very excited. Since I had been obsessing over the car since September, I never had the chance beforehand to drive it myself. Around 3pm we arrived and asked to test drive one of the cars on the lot. There were the two Flint Micas and a Black Sand Pearl one available, and the salesperson let us drive the BSP one off the lot. Problem: there was no gas in the car. He let us drive away with it but the gas light was blinking! My mother and I had to put gas in ourselves. Speaking of gas, my mother was the one doing the majority of the driving. She only let me drive from the gas station to my house which is only a 30-second ride. But don't get the wrong impression, she thinks the car is pretty but has no intent to buy it whatsoever in the future.
Finally we make it back to my house after my 30-second drive (whee. . .). My dad approached us and told us that he had been talking to "Poncho" (my dad's name for Jose, our 20-something sales rep whom we've known since September). Supposedly my dad went to "Poncho" and told him that he was there to buy a Flint Mica Auto with Side Airbags and a Rear Lip Spoiler and would write out a check that day for the car. He completely forgot the other options I desired: the mudgards, rear bumper applique, and carpet mats. I even printed out a sheet from the Build Your Scion page for him to give to Jose, but he didn't bother to bring it. Unfortunately there was a problem. Rice Scion of Greensboro, NC had a Flint Mica Auto with Side Airbags, but absolutely did not want to trade the car for anything. Period. The manager of ToyoGreenville was going to trade the BSP one that I drove with the Door Speaker Upgrade, Mudguards, Rear Pedestal Spoiler, and a lot of other "nifty" things for the FM one just for us. No luck. So my parents tried to convince me that the extra airbags was a ridiculous option and how they kill more than save. I had to tell my brother-in-law, an Allstate Insurance agent, to convince them that I was making the right decision.
So a few minutes later my mom drove the car back to ToyoGreenville. She still wouldn't let me drive it. "Poncho" and the manager talked to us again, and the manager said how much he was fighting for the car. Later that evening "Poncho" called and exclaimed "We got the car! We got the car!!" After 5 hours of not knowing the fate of the car, I was thrilled with the result.
The next day my mother and I went back once again to ToyoGreenville to see the car. It was gorgeous, except for dirt and grime from the 200mi trip it had in order to get here from Greensboro. The first thing I noticed was that the rear lip spoiler was missing, even though both "Poncho" and the manager said beforehand that the car already had that option. "Poncho" let the car be detailed for an hour and a half while my mother signed the documents. Since I had nothing to do except wait, she let me leave for a while and told me to come back by 5:30pm which was when the detailing was supposed to be done. I arrived back 6 minutes early, but my mother was nowhere to be found. She had driven off with the car without me! Therefore I wasn't able to have my first "key-giving ceremony."
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As for installing the options, I have to take the car back probably in the next 4 or 5 days which is when the parts will be here. After that, I'll be the proud owner of my own customized tC. Once it's done, I'll definitely post pictures of it in the sun, even though my digital camera is on its last leg.
So far there are 311mi on the odometer. No hatch rattle, no paint chips, no leaks from the moonroof, tires grip well, brakes work fine, none of the usual complaints I hear about the car. The one minor thing that bothers me is the new car smell is very faint, and that's mainly to blame on the fact that my mother made me haul food from my grandmother's house this afternoon. Arg.
And that's my story!
![]()
Here's what happened:
My dad and I went by Toyota on Thursday night after closing just so he can see the car again. Luckily there were two Flint Micas on the lot: one base manual, and one base automatic. Once again he fell in love with the color and the car itself, and hinted about purchasing it the next day.
After I woke up the next morning, my mother told me that we would be heading over there to do a test drive sometime that afternoon and I was very excited. Since I had been obsessing over the car since September, I never had the chance beforehand to drive it myself. Around 3pm we arrived and asked to test drive one of the cars on the lot. There were the two Flint Micas and a Black Sand Pearl one available, and the salesperson let us drive the BSP one off the lot. Problem: there was no gas in the car. He let us drive away with it but the gas light was blinking! My mother and I had to put gas in ourselves. Speaking of gas, my mother was the one doing the majority of the driving. She only let me drive from the gas station to my house which is only a 30-second ride. But don't get the wrong impression, she thinks the car is pretty but has no intent to buy it whatsoever in the future.
Finally we make it back to my house after my 30-second drive (whee. . .). My dad approached us and told us that he had been talking to "Poncho" (my dad's name for Jose, our 20-something sales rep whom we've known since September). Supposedly my dad went to "Poncho" and told him that he was there to buy a Flint Mica Auto with Side Airbags and a Rear Lip Spoiler and would write out a check that day for the car. He completely forgot the other options I desired: the mudgards, rear bumper applique, and carpet mats. I even printed out a sheet from the Build Your Scion page for him to give to Jose, but he didn't bother to bring it. Unfortunately there was a problem. Rice Scion of Greensboro, NC had a Flint Mica Auto with Side Airbags, but absolutely did not want to trade the car for anything. Period. The manager of ToyoGreenville was going to trade the BSP one that I drove with the Door Speaker Upgrade, Mudguards, Rear Pedestal Spoiler, and a lot of other "nifty" things for the FM one just for us. No luck. So my parents tried to convince me that the extra airbags was a ridiculous option and how they kill more than save. I had to tell my brother-in-law, an Allstate Insurance agent, to convince them that I was making the right decision.
So a few minutes later my mom drove the car back to ToyoGreenville. She still wouldn't let me drive it. "Poncho" and the manager talked to us again, and the manager said how much he was fighting for the car. Later that evening "Poncho" called and exclaimed "We got the car! We got the car!!" After 5 hours of not knowing the fate of the car, I was thrilled with the result.
The next day my mother and I went back once again to ToyoGreenville to see the car. It was gorgeous, except for dirt and grime from the 200mi trip it had in order to get here from Greensboro. The first thing I noticed was that the rear lip spoiler was missing, even though both "Poncho" and the manager said beforehand that the car already had that option. "Poncho" let the car be detailed for an hour and a half while my mother signed the documents. Since I had nothing to do except wait, she let me leave for a while and told me to come back by 5:30pm which was when the detailing was supposed to be done. I arrived back 6 minutes early, but my mother was nowhere to be found. She had driven off with the car without me! Therefore I wasn't able to have my first "key-giving ceremony."
As for installing the options, I have to take the car back probably in the next 4 or 5 days which is when the parts will be here. After that, I'll be the proud owner of my own customized tC. Once it's done, I'll definitely post pictures of it in the sun, even though my digital camera is on its last leg.
So far there are 311mi on the odometer. No hatch rattle, no paint chips, no leaks from the moonroof, tires grip well, brakes work fine, none of the usual complaints I hear about the car. The one minor thing that bothers me is the new car smell is very faint, and that's mainly to blame on the fact that my mother made me haul food from my grandmother's house this afternoon. Arg.
And that's my story!
