This weekend was a crazy weekend.  J came up to visit and he needed to find a car (he was stressing out not having one, whether he’ll admit it or not).  We woke up semi-early on Saturday and left to go car shopping down Brand Ave in Glendale.  He was really only interested in getting another Jeep either wrangler that someone had put a lot of money into, or a Rubicon (nothing brand new, he didn’t want higher payments again like his old, but brand new 09 Rubicon that was totaled).  Since we didn’t see a Chrysler/Jeep dealer on Brand (they must have went out of business), we stopped at Toyota.  J had been talking about a Tundra before he traded in his last truck for the Rubicon, so we went to check those out to see if he was still interested in one. 

As soon as we walked into the Toyota parking lot (we parked across the street), a salesman grabbed us right away, which pissed J off (he needs his space).  We headed to the rest room, since we both had to pee, badly, and then back out to the used car lot.  Sam found us again just as we were walking out (he was on us like a vulture).  J answered Sam’s questions, but walked faster, really wanting to look on his own first.  We headed towards the trucks when J saw an FJ Cruiser, black and “pimped out”. The price for this 07 FJ Cruiser was marked at $14,995 – WTF? What’s wrong with it? Do they lose their value fast? But it’s a Toyota, usually they hold their value…  Is there high mileage? Is it so low because they are not selling due to the market? These questions were all running through my head as J asked Sam for the keys to do a test drive (no longer interested in the Tundra’s or anything else on the lot).  We took it for a test drive, not sure if it would run out of gas (it was way below “E”).  Once we got back, J told him he’d take it depending on the deal.  Sam came back with $26K offer… What?  J went back out and pointed out that the offer stated $14,995.  He took J to his manager who then noted that was a mistake (of course), meanwhile I had my mom on the phone looking up KBB prices, it should be selling at a dealership for around $25K… go figure.

J, pissed off that they wouldn’t honor the $14,995 price blew up at them (he’s under a lot of stress, trust me), then we took off.  We drove all around LA looking at different Jeep dealerships and Toyota dealerships… Jeeps were too expensive (we couldn’t get the same amazing deal we did in Washington, bummer) and all the FJ Cruisers had been sold (apparently it is a popular vehicle, with only limited numbers made).  So after MUCH thought and playing “lets make a deal” back and fourth with Sam, J decided he’d buy the FJ Cruiser for $27,990 (tax/licensing included).  Good thing is, since his Rubicon was totaled, they sent him a check (after paying it off) for $7,500, so he used that as a down payment and took a loan out for $20K (planning on paying it off next July once he gets his Navy Seal bonus).   Once the car was in his hands, insurance, etc all figured out – J was a happy camper again, FINALLY (you can tell he had been stressed about a car).

Sunday was my day!  We got up early to wash J’s laundry before he had to head back to Coronado.  Then we went to look at bikes for me, yay!  We went to Chubby’s Cruisers in Culver City and J bought me a Beach Cruiser for my birthday present – so very sweet of him! I love it! It’s a baby blue, with white trim, and a white basket, totally comfortable to ride.  Too bad it took this long for me to finally get a bike. I could have used one while filming The Bicyclists, when all those “what kind of bike do you ride” interview questions came up – all I could talk about was what my character rode.

Overall, great weekend.