We finally found Tex!

Meet Tex, the newest member of our little family, named after the last three letters of its license plate.

Hal and I both laughed when we walked into the office at the car dealership this morning to sign the papers and saw the license plate for the first time. TXN ... Texan. We didn't even have to request a personalized plate - this one is perfect! Hal's family is from Texas, it's where we got married and we both love Texas. That car was just meant to be ours! We both always name our cars, but we weren't sure of this one's name until today. So, Tex it is! That name might be better suited to a truck, but how could we not with that license plate. 😉

We decided a couple of months ago to start looking for a used car. The realities brought on by the pandemic have resulted in some significant transportation challenges for us so, for the first time since moving to Montreal, we decided that it was time to get a car. Hal started talking to friends, doing research online and learning as much as he could about inspecting and buying a used car (and then teaching me what he had learned), and I must say that he did an amazing job in that process. In the past 8 or 9 weeks, we have learned so much about buying a used car.

Thanks to advice from a few of our friends, we were able to narrow down our search to a few makes and models and decided that we wanted to buy a used car from a reputable car dealership instead of a private seller or a used car lot. We also decided that we wanted a car with only one previous owner, no liens and no accidents. Thanks to the Car Angel, we learned how to properly inspect a car for damage that is not reported on the CarFax report, how to avoid buying a lemon, how to inspect a car for highway vs. city mileage, and so much more. And thanks to a good friend who used to own a car dealership, we learned how to talk to and negotiate with car salesmen and, most importantly, how to stay in control of those conversations.

It has been a very interesting process, albeit also much more time consuming and tiring that we had initially imagined, and the research and patience finally paid off when we found this car online and then went to the dealership a couple of days later to inspect and test drive it. After seeing a lot of cars that looked great online but, upon close inspection, were clearly less than desirable, this car was a blessing to find. One owner, purchased at the dealership, serviced at the dealership, traded in at the dealership, no accidents, no red flags, relatively low mileage, and in impeccable condition. This car was clearly very well-cared for by its previous owner.

Welcome to the family, Tex! We are looking forward to some new-found freedom and to exploring and experiencing new adventures with you. 😁