I bought a car!

For the past four months, I have been agonizing over buying a new car.

It has finally been settled.

The whole thing started with my current car, the Freed.

When winter came, a mysterious error started appearing.

When I had the dealer check it, it turned out that the hybrid battery is getting weak.

However, it has been 12 years since I bought it.

If I've driven it this long, well, it's unavoidable.

Thank you, Freed.

You served me well.

So, I started looking for a new car on the premise that I would sell the Freed.

Initially, the requirements I had for a new car were as follows.

■Requirements

1. Suitable for sleeping in the car
2. Hybrid
3. Strong autonomous driving features
4. Equipped with an around-view monitor
5. Minivan
6. Easy for my wife to drive
7. Under 4.3 million yen
8. Can also serve as a shelter during disasters

My hobbies include traveling, snowboarding, and golf.

It is especially helpful to be able to sleep in the car when I go on snowboarding trips.

Furthermore, I live in the Tokai region.

I am afraid of the Nankai Trough earthquake.

If I have a car that can serve as a temporary shelter during a disaster, it provides a different level of peace of mind.

In other words, the ability to sleep in the car was an important requirement that serves both my hobbies and disaster prevention.

Also, I have been traveling to distant places more often lately.

In that case, a car with strong autonomous driving capabilities is quite attractive.

The around-view monitor makes parking easy.

Minivans are tall, which makes driving less tiring.

Furthermore, on long-distance drives, there is a possibility that my wife could take over.

The candidates that met these conditions were the following three models.

A Honda Freed Crosstar
B Toyota Noah HEV Multi-Utility
C Nissan Serena e-POWER XV with Multi-Bed

I got quotes for each of them.

The result.

They were all around 4.8 to 5.1 million yen.

So expensive!! (￣□￣;)

It is completely over budget.

This is out of the question...

At this point, I suddenly calmed down.

Will I really sleep in the car that much?

Isn't it at most once or twice a year?

Should I pay an extra 500,000 yen or more for that?

No, that would be lacking common sense.

I was about to burn through my wallet just because of a longing for sleeping in the car.

I changed direction here.

■Requirement 2

1. Hybrid
2. Strong autonomous driving features
3. Equipped with an around-view monitor
4. Minivan
5. Easy for my wife to drive
6. Within 4.3 million yen
7. Capable of providing power during disasters

I ruled out models specifically for sleeping in the car.

Instead, I decided to strike a balance between daily use, travel, and disaster preparedness.

That changed the candidates.

A: Honda Freed Crosstar
B: Toyota Noah HEV S-G
C: Nissan Serena e-POWER X

A remains the same.

The next one I got a quote for was C, the Serena.

4.53 million yen.

It's getting much closer.

But, the Serena.

Wasn't it cheaper a long time ago?

4.53 million yen for a regular Serena that can't even be used for sleeping in the car.

Hmm...

Also, I'm concerned about the resale value.

The last place I went to was Toyota.

I went to the nearest dealership, which was a grand building, to get a quote.

The person who assisted me was a young woman.

First, I requested a quote for the Noah HEV S-G.

The figure that came out.

4.44 million yen without any discounts.

Oh.

This price without any discount.

That's pretty good!

So, I had my old Freed appraised and asked for a further discount.

Then, the young lady made a proposal.

If you decide today, I will fight the manager to the death for you.

How reliable.

However, I couldn't quite say, "I will definitely decide today."

I replied that it depended on the price. (￣ー￣)

"What is your approximate budget?"

The young lady persisted.

At this point, being the modest person I am,

"If it's in the 4.1 million yen range..."

I replied.

By the way, the trade-in value for the Freed was at most around 150,000 yen.

I had heard that the discount for the new model was around 100,000 yen.

In other words, I thought it would be a great deal if they took 250,000 yen off in total.

At this point, the young lady went off to fight the manager, breathing heavily.

After a while, she returned with a slightly gloomy look on her face.

I asked her without expecting much.

The price presented.

4.1 million yen.

Whoa!

You really did your best for me! (￣□￣;)

The breakdown is as follows.

Freed trade-in: 140,000 yen
Discount: 200,000 yen
Total: 340,000 yen

This is a better answer than I had hoped for.

This is a done deal.

"I'll take it!"

That's what I said to finalize it.

The saleswoman is delighted.

However, it doesn't end here.

While we were checking options like autonomous driving and automatic parking, my wife suddenly asked.

"Does it have a footrest for the back seat?"

The saleswoman replies.

"That is only on the S-Z..."

Fade to black.

Indeed, when taking a nap in the back seat, having that makes it incredibly comfortable.

I had assumed it was included on the S-G as well.

It doesn't have it!

My desire to buy rapidly deflated.

However, I asked just in case.

"How much is the S-Z?"

By the way, I had already heard a price of around 4.8 million yen at another Toyota-affiliated dealership.

Therefore, I hadn't even considered the S-Z from the start.

The young lady stood up again to do battle with the store manager.

After waiting for about 10 minutes.

She returned with a slightly gloomy look on her face again.

I guess it's expensive after all...

Thinking that, I asked for the price.

4.47 million yen.

Oh.

It came in under 4.5 million yen.

Not bad.

However, humans are greedy creatures.

I made an unreasonable request to the young lady once more.

"Can you lower it to 4.4 million yen?"

The young lady answered immediately.

"I think that is 130% impossible..."

That makes sense.

I am aware that I am asking for something unreasonable, even by my own standards.

However, I asked them to consult with the store manager one more time.

I told them I would accept whatever the result was.,

The young lady stood up again, summoning all her energy.

Five minutes later.

She returned with a gloomy look on her face, as expected.

Perhaps a gloomy face is her default state.

I asked for the price.

“It was really tough this time.”

The quoted amount.

4.45 million yen.

It went down by 20,000 yen.

And she said this was the limit.

In the end, including the trade-in, the discount was about 400,000 yen.

I have absolutely no prior relationship with this Toyota dealership.

I am just a mysterious middle-aged man who suddenly appeared, asking for all sorts of unreasonable things.

Even so, they tried this hard for me.

I bought into that spirit.

I made my decision.

“I’ll take it!”

So, I just finished making the most expensive purchase of my life today.

Delivery is in December.

I should have come sooner... (￣□￣;)

That said, I am looking forward to the new car arriving.

Until December, I will have the Freed complete its final mission.

Farewell, Freed.

And welcome, Noah.

It is our family's new mobile fortress. (￣ー￣)