Car shopping

Started shopping for a used car. We experienced some funky behaviour on our Toyota Camry 2 weeks back which prompted us to look around.



1. the windshield wiper fluid stopped spraying around the time that I came back from my mechanics around end of May.
2. light bulb on the driver side (front) stopped working (July 13) and started working again when I had it checked out (July 16).
3. I started the car to get it checked out (July 16) and the car started pumping out white smoke out of the muffler.

Because of these, my sister and I decided to begin looking for another car.

I started with the Automart. Located a sweet Volvo S40 2001 for a really good price. After further investigation and a visit to my mechanic I decided against buying the automobile.



It's really too bad because the car was beautiful. But there was enough reason NOT to purchase the car. And I learned alot from dealing with them. My only advise is trust your people. If your going to trust the advice from anyone, trust your people.

Car shopping (checklist)

1. Any liens on the car?
2. Any accidents (causing structural damage)?
3. Take the car to your mechanic.

If your paying in cash a good start for a price discount is to subtract the tax. It's a wise move (which I learned from my buying co-pilot). Standard costs that go into buying a used car are:

1. D.O.T. - $350
2. Admin fees - $150
3. Safety test (and repairs) - $300
4. Emission test - $50

These were the standard costs on top of the listed price for the car.

So I'm still in the market for a used car. My first choice was to buy a Mercedes. I've got over 10 years of driving experience and in that time I've driven a Chrysler Reliant (1985), Honda Civic (2003) and a Toyota Camry (1988). I want to try a luxury vehicle. My co-workers at work are telling me that I should go for the car of my dreams. It's the time. "In a few years you may be married with kids and that opportunity won't be coming back soon". It makes so much sense. When I found the Volvo (practically the first car I saw) I considered it a purchase in which my sister and I would share (since we'll be parking it at her place). It's a good thing it didn't work out because I'm not sure my sister would want it after I move out. So in that case I really should shop for myself. And the car that I've been wanting to buy is the Mercedes Benz.

New York New York

I'm writing this 3 days after returning from New York. Getting back to my day-to-day means that I can't remember much of the experience any more. It's just not as vivid.

Let me start from the end and work my way back.

We left Long Island (near the Baldwin railroad station) around 10:25 AM. It was sunday and Americo just finished playing his Bronze medal game (the Ottawa Barbarians didn't make the Gold medal game because of the goals-for tie-breaker). After the game we were basically ready to go. We drove out of New York taking the I-385 north of Manhattan. There was a delay as a bridge was closed down due to a fire on Friday. Once we got onto the bridge that was available we were off to the races. It was a nice drive. We took I-81 through New Jersey and then back to New York state. We drove to Syracuse then near Rochester. We hit Buffalo on our way to the Lex bridge and discovered that the way at the bridge was 2 hours long. We decided to head back and go to Peace bridge instead.

The way back was pretty irritating. GPS is pretty cool when the girl knows where you want to go. But after we started backtracking she was just getting on my nerves telling me where to go. What's a guy to do when your GPS is giving you bad directions!? Jeesh.

We got to Peace bridge but before we got on we stopped to get some cheaper American gas and to switch drivers. Funny thing is when we got to Buffalo the clouds were hanging over the city like a plague. But driving through New York, and driving to Toronto (after Buffalo) was a pleasure. Strange I know.

Actually, driving to Toronto wasn't a pleasure. The sky was clear but the road was blocked. Stupid accidents along the QEW meant that our projected time of arrival for 8:53 PM turned into 10:26 PM.

Washington DC

I'm on my way to New York. My friend Americo asked if I'd like to join him. He's playing hockey at a tournament there. So we're driving.

We left around 10:10 AM on Thursday morning (had to rent the car and load it). It's been an easy drive so far. Blue skies, open road. Driving can get tedious. When I 16 years old, Americo and I couldn't wait to drive out to the States and see what we can find and do. The first time we went to down to the States we got turned back at the border because I didn't have official papers. Next time, I made sure I got my passport and a few months later we tried again. This time we were through and we crossed the border sometime in the morning. It was an interesting experience at the time (as you could imagine). We crossed Peace Bridge and then you were in downtown Buffalo. Downtown Buffalo isn't too pretty. So I remember we were eager not to spend too much time there, we didn't want to find any trouble. But that trip ended with us spending 2 hours at the border (coming back) as they took some time stripping down our car looking for drugs. It's funny in hindsight but at the time it was a little nervewracking. They interrogated us separately. We were guilty of trying to cross the border without declaring our purchases. Kids.

Old memories. We crossed the border easily yesterday. Followed Americo's GPS and we were driving along I-79 South route towards Pittsburgh. Somewhere before Pittsburgh I took over the driving and I drove the rest of the way. Poor Americo, I took a washroom pitstop, but Americo didn't need to go. I took over the driving at around 3:30 PM and I drove the next 4.5 hours. Americo was hurting by the time we got to Washington DC. :)

If you check out google maps you can see our route. We had a few missteps along the way. We had to get off the I-76 (exit 57) to get some gas but when we tried to get back onto the highway (trying to avoid the toll of the I-76) we found ourselves going westbound on the I-376 heading towards Pittsburgh! We lost maybe 30 minutes on this venture. It pushed back our projected time of arrival to 8:23 PM. Steadily we made the time back. We arrived in Washington DC at 7:53 PM. All-in-all it was a 9 hour drive plus the 1 hour for washroom, food and gas break.

From 8 PM onward it was a rush to take in the National Mall before it got dark. Americo preferred to stay with the car, so I jumped out and took in the sights. I walked toward the centre of the park, orienting myself to the pier of the Washington monument. The first thing I found was the White house christmas tree. It was undecorated (of course) with a plague containing a picture of President F.D. Roosevelt and his christmas tree. It situated the tree to the White house. So I turned around and there it was.



At this distance the impression is the same impression you would get from a postcard (or from television). The view wasn't so impressive as it was secure. We were separated from the building by a road way which cordons off the building from uninvited visitors. Surrounded by the national mall (with no vehicular access) means that security is high with visibility from all directions (from the vantage point of those protecting the site).

I took my few pictures and then I started off in the direction of the Lincoln memorial. Given that the White house and the Washington memorial makes up 2 of the triad I knew that the Lincoln memorial had to be to left of the White house. I walked to the west street and spoke to a southern gentleman who directed me to Constitution Ave. and a walk toward 22nd St. I jogged there.