Yaris is ordered :)

We do still plan to get a smart car - but that will be our little car. Our big car will be a 2008 Yaris liftback ...quite like the one pictured here. It will be about 3 months before we are driving it, since the only way to get one with side curtain airbags and ABS (both requirements for us) is to do a special order.

The Yaris and the smart car will each get around 40 mpg (a little under 6 litres per 100 km). Since we're buying the Yaris through Costco, we were able to skip all of the usual hassle of negotiating price and trying to decide what is truth and what is lies from someone just trying to make a sale. We met with the individual referenced from the Costco site, told them the options we wanted, and they showed us the invoice. We put down a US$500 deposit and when the car arrives, we will pay the rest of the invoice price and skip the nasty part of car buying. Very cool.

When our Blazing Blue Yaris shows up (a little brighter, I believe, than the image above), we'll sell Shirley's '94 Acura GS. It's been a pretty good car, but it requires premium fuel, is larger than we need, and is half as fuel-efficient as the Yaris and smart car will be. The plan is to then sell my 10-year old Subaru Outback when the smart arrives. We have mixed feelings about changing vehicles, since both of our cars have been pretty good. But it's time to downsize, go for better fuel economy, and get more safety features.

Any suggestions for vanity license plates?

Comments

[Barry in Portland]

I've been trying to come up with a catchy license plate for hours, but so far I got nothin'.

[Barry in Portland]

Two days later: still nothin'.

[brian]

was looking at that same car and considering going through the costco auto buy....do you mind letting us in on what you paid and what other options you got?

[Joe Litton]

Brian,

We weren't quoted an exact price, since the 2008's had not been released when we ordered ...and the 2007's were no longer be made. We'll take delivery in 2-3 months ...should be by the end of November. If you use the CostcoAuto site to select the model and options you want, it will show you the invoice price. It will also show you the MSRP, so you will be able to see the difference. Part of the Costco program is that the dealer will show us the invoice, so we can see for ourselves.

As for options (I'm going off of memory here), we ordered ABS, side curtain airbags, the 'Power Option' package (I think that's what it's called - split rear seats, 15" steel wheels, AM/FM radio/CD/mp3 jack), rear spoiler. I think that was it. Manual transmission (I prefer a stick shift).

I believe we figured we're saving $500-$750 off the MSRP.