We kept getting drawn to the red one

/ August 19, 2014

My dear wife Karen and I have been watching Daryl drive his Honda Civic for a lot of years.

Pretty car. Almost new car when grandpa helped him out back then. Sturdy car. A car that did its duty well, far more than 100,000 miles worth. With summer winding down, though, my fine stepson wasn’t pulling the trigger on new tires. Last winter, he slid through the eastern outskirts of Syracuse after he bought he moved into his new house.

Karen figured she wanted to help the new homeowner and offered a generous down payment toward a newer vehicle.

After figuring his finances and spying online offers, Daryl came up with another plan.

Karen's 2010 Mazda CX7.

Karen’s 2010 Mazda CX7.

He rather coveted a car sitting in our driveway.

His mother’s 2010 Mazda CX7 was a beauty, with just 25,000 miles on it. It was an all-wheel drive monster in the winter, able to maneuver its way through anything Mother Nature through at it. It was big enough to haul plenty in its back.

He offered a price.

Daryl's Mazda CX7.

Daryl’s Mazda CX7.

After giving a fine family discount, Karen led our two-car caravan east to Daryl’s house, where we left that beloved CX7 on the grass next to his Honda Civic in the driveway.

We’d already visited Romano Mazda, a couple miles from our house in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse.

One fine-looking red car kept catching Karen’s eye as we roamed the aisles that first Sunday. We always make our first trip to the dealership on a day when it’s closed, so we can eye-shop without pressure.

We loved it on the test drive when we returned.

Karen's new 2015 Mazda CX5.

Karen’s new 2015 Mazda CX5.

Karen’s 2015 Mazda CX5 is smaller than her old CX7, but we figure it’s big enough for our needs.

Om the five years since her 2010 model, Mazda has unveiled new engine technology, so we’re promised it’ll get us much better city mileage, better mileage overall, in fact.

It’s also an all-wheel drive vehicle, and will be our go-to car in heavy winter weather.

I think it looks beautiful today, its first morning in our driveway.

Do you like to keep good cars in the family? What vehicles tend to stay in your family, and how many people have owned them for how long? What is your dream car, and when do you think you’ll be able to own it?

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52 thoughts on “We kept getting drawn to the red one”

  6. oh, that is a great looking car, mark! i tend to keep my cars for a long time, and quite often they go to someone in the family. the car i recently sold, went to my daughter’s friend’s daughter, so it will still be around. well done mark and karen, i’m sure you’re going to love it! (as for the red car insurance issue, my last car was red and no price uptick because of its color )

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  7. I haven’t had crazy awesome cars….I did have a Toyota Rav 4 that I loved loved loved. Gave it to my daughter and between us we had it about 12 years. Loved it. Don’t like the new ones. And now I drive a Honda Element.

    I love your new car. New cars are awesome. But new bikes are better! 😉

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  8. I’ve always wanted a red car! But here in Canada, red cars are the ones that are stolen the most.

    I hear that in the US, insurance rates are higher if you have red car because red indicates it is a sports car. Is Karen paying higher insurance for her red car?

    Diana xo

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  10. Our first car was a ’58 Chevy purchased for $75 from some hippie we knew in our flower child days back in 1973. I know my husband regrets to this day getting read of that beater….er, car, and would love to restore one someday.

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  11. Oooooo, I love it! Red is my FAVE color. It looks so sleek and sharp. A 2015 no less! I am happy for Mrs. B and now everyone has a good reliable winter car. Win, win! I hope the salesman/woman was more honest than ours. 🙂

    BTW, this afternoon we leave to take my baby daughter to college. GULP! I meant to tell you that her roommate is from Fulton/Oswego County. Her father happens to be a judge. 🙂

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    • Yes, Mrs. B., my Mrs. B and our Daryl both have great winter cars. The silver Mazda did us well and will do him the same for a good, long time. The red beaut will be our winter chariot! I am psyched. I loved the ride home form work today.

      Good luck on the trip to take your baby daughter to Villanova. How exciting. And a Fulton/Oswego County coed as a roommate is kind of exciting news! We know who gets drive-in-the-snow duties if that should come up, right?! Tell your daughter Karen and I wish her the best on her first semester. Go Wildcats.

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  12. I passed a carrier today with bright red Scion xB on it…I am so tempted to look into it, but I like my “classic” original xB. I keep hoping one day it will be like a VW bus and people will want one LOL

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  14. So exciting! I always wondered about people who drive red cars, being a neutral-colored vehicle person myself, but I think some color would be nice. We always make our first trip to the dealership on a day when it’s closed, too! Sundays. When my husband is done with his trucks (over 100,000 miles), he gives his dad the family discount to use at their ranch. We’ve only had Toyotas for 10 yrs now, but after driving two rental SUVs this summer (a Buick and a Chevy), I’m really getting the itch for a new car. Mine is old and way over 100K. This post is making the itch much stronger. Surely you all can put 25K on it before 4 more years pass.

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  15. My first car was a garish orange (hey, O’s color!) Chevette. It had no FM radio, just AM. No air conditioning, and windows that rolled up and down manually. Cost me $3,000. I was sooo young then and sooo excited just to have a car. ANY car. That darned thing ran forever – never broke down. Lasted (are you ready for this?) ten years. A Chevy! A Chevy Chevette!

    Anyway, I met my husband a few years after owning the orange bomber. Next car was a silvery blue Mustang. I felt so cool after the Chevette. 😀

    My brother-in-law, all of 18, inherited the orange bomber and drove it until we had to bury it.

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    • That was a great first car, Kate. Way to go, Chevette, Birds color, yet! My first was a Chevy, too, a blue 69 Nova my mom gave me as a graduation present from junior college in the summer of 1977, when she got a Suburu. I drove it until my feet went through the floorboards, a la Fred Flinstone, and then I got my worst car ever, a usec yellow AMC Hornet. I was a U of Maryland graduate by then, I should have known better! But I also was a young, broke journalist!

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  16. Love keeping cars in the family! I sold my niece my Honda Civic years ago and she, two brothers and a younger sister drove it into the ground–at 200,000 miles:). Red is good–a little zip in the later years is good for the soul!

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    • I love that your fam got 200,000 miles and multiple hands on the wheel of that Civic. Honda should have made a commercial. Andy, hey, Kay, we are not getting old. Ha. Red is good for our soul.

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    • Yes, he’s a bit old for the freebie, but never too old for the family discount. Shop without the sales pressure is a good deal. And I’ll tell Karen you approve of her red, Rachel!

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  18. The only thing better than that new car smell is that new running shoe smell. Of course, that wears off after far fewer miles.

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  19. Karen’s new car looks fabulous sitting there in the driveway Mark – I can almost smell it. Ha! It’s a wonderful feeling to wake up in the morning, look outside and realize you bought a new car the day before. Only happens a few times in a lifetime and it feels great. That color is snappy, she’ll have to be careful though ’cause cops are known to check red cars more often than any other color – tell her not to speed, her car look fast even when it’s stopped. 😀

    My first car was a hand me down ’67 Chevy II station wagon.It felt like I was king of the road. I had it until 1976, 10 years. Cars these days last a lot longer. Towards the end, the Chevy II was always having rust repairs done. Eventually, I was driving in a snow storm and cut through a snow bank at the top of a ramp (the car handled well in the snow) and the snow came right up through the floor almost to my knees. Ha! I eventually traded it for a brand new ’76 Acadian (the GM/Chev version of the Chevette).

    Anyway, memories. Thanks so much Mark and I’m sure Karen will love her new wheels – they look sweet.

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    • Thanks for the compliments, warning and memories, Paul! My 1969 Chevy Nova, my first car, had the same rusted floorboard problem you had. On Long Island and in Maryland, though, I would get rain all up in you know what, not much snow. Your story is something!

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  20. We just bought a new car over this past weekend. What a debilitating experience! I visited four dealerships before finally making a purchase. Every salesman started off by badmouthing the competition and SWEARING they’re not like them. They all threw around words like “transparent” and “honest.” Like they were all reading from the same script. I felt kind of dirty afterwards. Thank God that’s over. With a generous 10-year/100,000 warranty, I won’t have to do that again until both kids are in college!

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    • We try to do the online thing and know what we want before going to the dealership, Mark. And have an idea of the fair price. The last two cars, we’ve had the same young salesman, and he’s been a straight shooter. I feel very fortunate. I’ve had bad experiences in the past, as you’ve said. I bet I know the brand you bought with that warranty, and if I’m right, I owned two in a row and they were solid, and my daughter drove my second four more years until my wife gave her a newer car after that.

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      • It certainly pays to do your homework. Those guys are professionals and can spot the tender mark as they approach the showroom. I think I got a fair deal and I’m pleased with the salesman and dealership, but it was a long road to get there. We got a Hyundai Santa Fe. Big, boring, suburban snore-mobile. I’d rather have a BMW convertible but I don’t make that kind of money. I do okay, but not THAT okay.

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      • I had two Hyundai Elantras in a row, and they they did me and my daughter justice, even in the upstate winters. Good luck with your Sante Fe. We can’t all be Beamer owners, Mark.

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