Ask Seattlest: So Did You Get a New Car, or What?

Don't leave us hanging. What's James driving these days?
A 2003 Passat GLS wagon. It's anthracite blue, with black leather seats and automatic transmission.

How'd the acquisition go?
About a week after we first talked to her, Janna of Auto Consultants Northwest called us, described the car, and asked if we wanted to try and buy it at a dealer's auction in California. We gave her the thumbs up, and ACNW got the car for a price within our range. It arrived in Seattle a few days later, and passed mechanical inspection with flying colors.

Are you disappointed by anything?
We didn't get a V6. Which we couldn't afford. More realistically, we miss the stick shift on our old 626, but automatic is fine.

And when Janna described a "blue car, not exactly navy," we weren't expecting anthracite blue, which is "blue" the same way an oil slick is "rainbow." You can see the blue if you look hard enough in the right light, but really, it's dark grey. We like the color, but it was a surprise. (Janna hadn't seen it in person either, so our issue is with Volkswagen's color-naming department.)

Otherwise?
We likey. We're currently infatuated with our automatic door locks, but many other features will catch our fancy eventually. It's quiet, it's roomy, our daughter's car seat fits in the backseat while leaving leg room for the passenger, and it calculates your average mpg on the fly.

Why didn't you get a Prius? They're so fuel efficient!
We decided early on in the process that we wanted a wagon, because we want the cargo space for our kid and related items. That ruled out the Prius. We're commuting for the forseeable future from Wedgwood to Renton, so the bus is not really an option, and the Prius wouldn't be getting the amount of in-city stop-and-go driving that makes it super fuel efficient. And we think the Prius is kind of ugly. Finally, we hate the environment and want to pave the earth.

Was it expensive to go through the broker instead of haggling with people yourself?
Not really. We didn't get the cheapest car possible, but our price ended up being in the bottom half of what we could find available locally. And we've never had better customer service from anyone having anything to do with a car. She brought the car to our house and went over all the features, pointed out that it's still under warranty for a couple thousand more miles, and otherwise gave us the grand tour.

Soo...is there a minimum amount of money you have to spend to use ACNW?
Five people asked us this in person, so we asked Janna when she delivered the car. She laughed, and said not really, but it's probably not cost effective if you're going to spend less than $3000 or so. That's the lowest-priced car she's found for someone, anyway.

Want Janna to find you a car? Call 800-635-9717 or visit their home page to email her--or their other consultants. We assume they're all great.