Saturday, July 25, 2009

Christmas in July

Today, to celebrate Christmas in July, Terry and I took advantage of the Federal Government's Cash for Clunkers program and Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep's $4500 rebate to turn in our used 2000 Ford Explorer with an R (for reconstructed, making it about as much of a clunker as could be) title for a 2009 Jeep Compass.

2009 Jeep Compass

The Explorer's R title means the vehicle had once been in an accident that had done substantial damage. Other than having had 4-wheel drive, the Explorer had little value. It served its purpose for two winters getting Terry up and down our hill but I was always concerned when she drove any distance. We paid only $3400 for the vehicle and were given $3500 under the "clunker" program plus another $4500 from Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep. A deal was too good to pass. And the peace of mind of having a very sound vehicle is priceless.

Anyway...the Compass has a 5-speed manual transmission and is EPA rated up to 28 mpg on the highway even with the 4-wheel drive. The 2.4L six cylinder puts out 165 horses--enough that Terry complained about how sneaky fast it was on the way home. And it's a nice sandstone tan so any dust from driving the dirt roads around here won't show up too well.

I did the "shopping" which means I looked it up on line, drove down to Williamsport this morning, saw the vehicle I was interested in was still available, took a short test drive around the block, and started the paperwork process. Elapsed time at the dealership was approximately 15-20 minutes. Then it was a matter of waiting for Terry to come down with the Explorer.

My little test drive proved quite comfortable. I'm sure I'll be driving the Compass more than I did the Explorer.

4 comments:

Rev. Paul said...

It looks nice - congrats!

A.G.T. said...

Yep, dittos on that looking nice plus it sounds like it's got about all the features you'd want. Also, being 4WD you're ready to take on anything ol' man winter deals you on up there on that mountain top! :-)

joated said...

It's not your old, squared off Jeep Cherokee or Wrangler, that's for sure. Smooth lines and plenty of room inside, too.

As for handling Ol' Man Winter... well, we'll see. Guess it depends upon how much "climate change" we get this year.

JDP said...

Nice looking ride!

JDP