Cars, Cars, Cars

I have been such a slacker lately. But with so many things going on in my life right, blogging has sort of been put on the back burner. And for that, I'm sorry. I don't have too much to report right now. But my car is in the shop - AGAIN. It's time number 5 I believe since September. It's getting a little ridiculous. But, I would rather get some of these issues fixed while the thing is still under warranty! It all started off with a window problem. My windows go down about a half an inch when you open the car door (due to the convertible top). But then it happened that they wouldn't go back up when the door was shut. That's how this mess all began. And then there is the tiny irritation of the steering wheel radio control not working properly. Each time I would take the car in, they would "fix" it. But once I got it home, I realize it wasn't actually fixed. But through all of these visits to the shop, I have gotten to "test drive" quite a few VWs. I guess that's helpful. I mean, if I'm in the market for a new car, I can knock three off my list of ones to test drive.

Let's see. The first car they loaned me was a beauty. It was the Tiguan. And they gave me the LOADED Tiguan - even better! I absolutely loved this little SUV. It drove great! We had test driven the Touareg at one point and were devastated to realize we didn't like it. It was just so heavy of an SUV. It didn't have much pick up. It was very disappointing. Because if we were going to replace Jeremy's 4Runner, we really thought the Touareg would be a logical choice - then we'd be a VW family. ;-) Anyway, the Touareg is off the list. So after our unfortunate experience with the Touareg, I was skeptical about driving the Tiguan. But I was pleasantly surprised by it. It drove great - not too heavy, but you also didn't feel like you would fly off the road with a small gust of wind. In all honesty, the Tiguan is probably about the same size (and in fact, looks very similar) to the Honda CRV. But I LOVED the Tiguan's sunroof - the whole roof of the car almost was a window. It is so amazing!

So fast forward a few weeks and my car is in the shop again. They tell me they are going to give me a loaner car and I got all excited - thinking I'd get to drive the Tiguan again. Wrong. No such luck. This time I get a base model Passat. I know. I have become a car snob. But come on! No Serius Radio?!? How am I to live???? I was very distraught. Plus, the breaks squeaked really loud. So I didn't get as excited about this loaner. But it was still nice that they offered me a car rather than making me get a rental like the people in the building before them (ahem, BMW).

(BTW, I don't recall this being what the Passat they gave me looked like. It didn't feel so . . . ergonomical. Hmmm....)

Now for the third time, I have been given a loaner car. And this time they were bringing the car to me, rather than me having to drive out to them. FINALLY! I was told via email that I was getting the Tiguan again. I barely slept last night because I was happy (ok, that's an exaggeration, but you get my point). So imagine my disappointment when they show up and it's not the Tiguan, but another Passat. :-( However, this time it is the Passat Wagon. WTF?!? You want to put me in a station wagon????? But then I took a deep breath, and realized "wow, this thing looks nice!" And it is! I just hope that I get to keep it over night so I can properly drive it. I'm in utter shock. Me. Liking a station wagon. Wow. But it's pretty nice. And at least this time they gave me a top of the line one, rather than base-model. Yes, I'm a snob. I've already acknowledged that. Deal with it.

So through all of this I have gotten to test drive three different VW models. I think I may be a VW expert. But through it all, I still love my little baby. She's the best. And I hope they send her back to me all patched up.

Sorry you had to sit through a post about cars. I promise I'm not being paid by VW! But this is what is on my mind today. That's all I got.