This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chris Astrella, a recent car buyer in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When my grandfather died, he left money for all of his grandchildren. I knew I would eventually need a new vehicle, so I put $25,000 of what he left me in the bank and decided I would use it toward a car.
It took me three years to figure out what I would buy.
I’ve owned nine vehicles in my life — but this was the first time I walked into the car-buying experience without knowing what I truly wanted. I built a spreadsheet with about 25 vehicles, including everything from a Ford Maverick hybrid and a Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, to a Toyota Venza, and even a gently used Lexus UX.
The only thing I knew was that I needed a hybrid.
My wife and I moved from Wisconsin to Las Vegas, where gas is more expensive. I couldn’t justify buying another vehicle that only ran on gas, so I eventually narrowed my choices to the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Tucson.
I walked away from the perfect Hyundai
There was a midsize Tucson SUV at a Hyundai dealership down the road from my house that I test-drove twice. It was perfect, and I was ready to make an offer. I had the money on hand and was prepared to buy it.
For some reason, the dealership wouldn’t negotiate.
The Tucson had been sitting there for months, but they wouldn’t move on the price. They, like other dealerships I had visited in Vegas during my three-year search, were adding upcharges, such as a $2,000 “reconditioning fee” for work like changing the oil and detailing the vehicle.
I wasn’t going to pay that.
So I went back to my spreadsheet and decided I’d look for the Maverick pickup truck. I found the perfect one when I expanded my search radius to 500 miles.
My wife, my dog, four hours, and $4,000
My search quickly narrowed on the perfect listing: a 2022 Maverick Lariat First Edition hybrid with a sunroof, heated seats, and only 9,000 miles on the odometer. It was $4,000 cheaper than similarly specced Mavericks near the Vegas Strip.
There was one catch: It was at a dealership in Flagstaff, Arizona, a four-hour drive from my house.
I had never seen the car, but I had a good feeling about it. I packed my dog, Thumper, in my old Chevy Equinox, and my wife came along, too. “You’d better drive home with this truck,” she said before we went on the long journey.
I felt the same way, but I also wasn’t going to spend that much money on something I didn’t want just because we’d driven four hours to see it.
Thankfully, the truck was exactly what I expected from the photos.
I paid about $31,500 out the door. My original budget was around $30,000: $25,000 from the money my grandfather left me, plus some of my own money and the value of my old Chevy Equinox.
For one night in a hotel and eight hours of driving, that was absolutely worth it.
The funny part came about three months later, when the Hyundai dealership called and asked if I was still interested in the Tucson. I got to tell them I’d already taken my business somewhere else.
That was one of the most satisfying phone calls I’ve ever had.
Lessons from my grandfather
My grandfather taught me how to manage money.
He grew up just after the Depression, and he was incredibly careful about what he spent. He had a saying that he could “squeeze a nickel until the buffalo pisses.” I thought about him throughout this entire process.
It mattered to me that I wasn’t taking the money he’d worked for and using it to buy some wildly expensive car. I wanted something I could afford, that suited my needs, and that I genuinely liked.
I think my grandfather would’ve liked the Maverick. He owned some Fords during his life, though he was more of a Lincoln and Cadillac guy.
He’d probably be proud that I was focused on finding the right value. Like him, I stuck to my budget, kept searching, and didn’t settle on something that wouldn’t have been the right fit.
Maybe three years was a bit too long to keep researching for my next car. But I think he’d be proud of where I ended up.
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