new car

I didn't end up buying the Honda Element. My key problem with it is that it only seats four. Instead I bought a Toyota Scion--the new model this year is considerably bigger than the previous model and has a more powerful engine. It also doesn't look quite so much like a toaster. For somewhat less money, I got a car that seats five with significantly better gas mileage than the Element. It isn't as big a space as the Element--my bike fits in with the front wheel on lying down, while the Element is so tall that bikes fit in it standing up. I took my bike with me to the dealer to test out how it would fit, which at least kept the saleman from treating me like a little lady.

The Scion isn't as much cheaper as it would appear from the list prices because Toyota has a no-haggle policy on the Scion only, but they really wanted to sell me a car and gave me a ridiculously high trade-in on my damaged Ford Escort. I was prepared to buy then and there, but when it looked like the price was going to be close to that of the Element I was also prepared to walk out and go see what kind of a deal I could get on the Element. That gave me huge bargaining power.