Kelsey here, behind the scenes with SPIRIT 105.3. I’m so glad you’re here!
Like probably most of you, I don’t necessarily look forward to car shopping… but it’s one of those things in life that come up that you just have to take head-on. My family needed a new vehicle to accommodate our growing family – my little 2 Door Ford Focus just wasn’t going to big enough for the 2nd car seat. Not to mention we needed something that would fit our busy lifestyle – space for our 2 year old daughter Carlee, room for groceries, toys, strollers, guitars, camping gear, and more! Plus, getting great gas mileage was one of our top priorities seeing how I, Kelsey, commute a little over an hour to SPIRIT each day. What can I say!? I LOVE my job!
Since car shopping always seems to be a drag, if not intimidating, I thought why not give all of our SPIRIT family an inside look at my family’s car shopping experience!? We all need to help each other out, right? 🙂
My husband Cory and I did some research online and ran across Parr Auto Group’s website – they provide Ford, Mazda, Volkswagen, and Hyundai, plus an assortment of used vehicles. It looked like we’d be able to find any make and model from their selection of vehicles to match our needs. That was a good start! We decided to look at their online inventory to get an idea of what we liked stylistically, and what to expect in terms of gas mileage. Once we had narrowed it down to a few vehicles we then found Parr’s handy-dandy calculator! This was very helpful in figuring out exactly what we could afford – because let’s face it – we didn’t really want to be adding on another car payment but didn’t know where to start.
So we took a drive.
Immediately we were greeted by the receptionist who put us in touch with John and Mac at the Parr Ford Mazda location. It wasn’t too much longer that our daughter Carlee noticed the awesome playroom for kids and I noticed the espresso maker at the deli! Cory was pretty excited about the snack options too. It’s definitely a bonus having an area designated for the kids to play while you discuss your needs and options with the salesmen. It can be a long day and the last thing you want is to have is a screaming 2 year old because she’s bored, tired, or hungry! No one wants to be THAT mom.
John and Mac were very warm and welcoming. Turns out Mac and I grew up in the same area out in Lake Tapps. It’s always fun to find those small connections – makes the experience that much more comfortable. After discussing our needs in a vehicle and our budget, John showed us the three vehicles we thought we’d be most interested in – he listened! We were shown the Mazda CX-5 (a crossover, my minivan alternative), the Ford Focus 4 Door Hatchback, and the Mazda 3. While all were great vehicles – they turned out not to be a great fit for our infant car seat. I would encourage you to bring your car seats when looking at a new vehicle – you don’t want to get it home and figure out the car seats don’t fit! What a waste of time!
It was kind of a bummer finding out the car seats didn’t fit to our liking – especially since these vehicles seemed like they would be the perfect new family/commuting car for me. But John and Mac did not give up! They knew the clock was ticking with baby #2 on the way and we need a vehicle preferably before Madi Mae made her grand entrance.
John ended up doing some research and found a 2013 Used Ford Fusion on the lot that he guaranteed would fit our car seat AND receive 35 MPG on the highway. He had me at 35 MPG! Then he said, “But wait.” He also had a 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid available that gets 47 MPG on the highway!! SAY WHAT!?
It was great having my husband there – he thought of a lot of questions I probably wouldn’t have even considered. Things like… warranty, mileage on the used car, special features (hands-free capabilities), battery life, tires, easy access to the fluids under the hood, etc. THANK YOU CORY! It was the answers to those questions that ultimately landed us at our decision. Parr made it easy for you by creating a checklist – Click HERE.
We really appreciated that John and Mac from Parr Ford Mazda gave us the space we needed to discuss between husband and wife without feeling like we had to purchase that day. They knew this was a big decision and we were taking it seriously. Not only that, they really worked with us in finding a vehicle that met our travel needs, AND our financial needs as well. I would definitely recommend purchasing your new vehicle, whether off the lot or pre-owned from Parr Auto Group. I’m sure this is a relationship that won’t be going away any time soon. Thanks Parr!
I LOVE MY NEW CAR! – Watch behind the scene videos HERE.
Comments