My New Car Buying Experience

I am a fairly frugal person with few excesses, save such tech items as smartphones, iPad, iPod, computers and camera; it’s a big reason why I drove my last car 8 plus years. I want to stretch my dollar as far as it can go, as most people do.

When I bought that 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac (in 2003) though, I wasn’t quite of that mindset. The vehicle, after all the add-ons, was over $31,000 when it was all said and done. That vehicle was the most extravagant that I’ve ever owned; all power, satellite radio, leather seats, security system, the works. And it was faithful too. It was never in the shop for mechanical issues, other than the two times that I was rear-ended at stoplights by inattentive teens.

But despite all of that it had begun to show its age at 142,000 miles; its tires needed replacing, the transmission had begun to slip at speeds above 75 miles per hour, and various rattles and squeaks were evident throughout the cabin. I was also getting much less than Ford’s rated 18 miles per gallon; a weekly fill up during the recent height of gas prices cost me $72, and that didn’t last the entire week. But the main question was whether I should throw $3700 into new tires and transmission repairs, or use that money as a down payment on a new vehicle. I had enjoyed four years of blissful car note free existence up until that time, after financing the truck 66 months (I had paid it off about a year early by making extra payments). I knew what I had to do, but what type of replacement was definitely a top question in my mind to settle.

I am a band/choir director in a smallish school district. I had needed the truck to haul equipment over the years, but my place of employment has also grown over these same years. I now had at my disposal a department truck to carry all of the stuff I needed the truck for initially, so there went my overriding need for a pick-up truck.

I have never been a sedan fan, so the obvious answer to me was a crossover. Let me state that I have been a Ford person for many years, owning – trouble free I might add – a 1997 Ford Ranger and a 2001 Ford Escape prior to purchasing the Sport Trac. Prior to that, I had owned a 1985 Nissan Stanza wagon (good car), and a 1987 Hyundai Excel and a 1991 Chevrolet Lumina. Those last two cars were dogs.

Since I had owned an Escape in the last decade I was eager to see what the all-new 2013 revision had brought to the car. This was where my odyssey began. My wife, who drives a company Ford Fusion hybrid, had picked up the car at Holmes-Tuttle Ford here in Tucson about ten months back. She had a great review of one of the sales staff, Scott Patty, who was especially helpful. He happened to be the internet sales manager there. In her experience dealerships are not very accommodating to pharma drug reps who have ordered replacement cars through their company’s fleet websites. The dealerships don’t make much money on these sales so they usually don’t spend much time with the reps either on the test drive or the delivery of the vehicle. But her salesperson did and she remembered him when I announced that I was ready to buy a new car.

I called Scott in November and set up a test drive appointment for the Ford Escape. He quickly remembered my wife and had a car ready for me when I arrived. The new Escape has been totally remade from its earlier version, with all new engines, sheet metal and technology. I was initially interested in the top of the line Titanium version of this SUV, which comes with Ford’s 2.0 liter Ecoboost engine, and a convenience package the includes an automatic rear lift gate (pass your foot under the rear bumper), all power leather front seats, keyless entry with exterior touchpad, and MyFord Touch/Sync. There is an amazing amount of new auto technology in this car, but not without some problems. The Ecoboost engine, especially the 1.6 liter, has been subject to recalls, and the MyFord Touch system has been finicky.

The car I drove was in perfect condition and I had no problem with the touch screen technology (which includes a backup camera, voice commands and navigation). I was bothered by two issues though; the windshield had a tunnel effect that I was not overly pleased with, and the front seats were very hard. Ultimately, the price would be the main source of my displeasure, however. With all of these amenities the price of the car is over $34,000 list. It’s a steep price.

I kept all this in mind as I saved money for the down payment. In mid-December I was ready and returned with my wife to test drive again the car and start negotiations. She drove it and was displeased with the seats, the handling and the price, all legitimate concerns. Additionally, we were not pleased with the dealership’s offer of only $2500 for my trade. We needed more and they did come up $500. But it was still not enough.

The main problem was the cost of the car, which was too high for the money I wanted to put down ($3000) with my trade. I wanted to keep monthly payments around $550 and no more than 48 months. That was not going to happen with an Escape Titanium. Other models in this series were not as appealing and I felt were still overpriced. I also did not want that troublesome 1.6 liter engine, which at last account was subject to four recalls in 2012 for fires and other issues.

We went at this for three hours and we would not budge; there was no way that we were going to go down this road again without a car equipped the way we wanted, so we finally walked out. Scott was great in this whole process. I have no ill words to say about the salesmanship or professionalism that he exhibited. Both were top notch. We just could not agree on a price and terms.

I had also been watching reviews on line of the Mazda CX-5, a new model from the tires up. Mazda had been a longtime partner of Ford, and had in fact re-badged the former Ford Escape as the Mazda Tribute. Mazda though stated that its new CX-5 shared no components with any Ford products. My blood was up, so I visited the Mazda dealership (all in the Holmes-Tuttle/Jim Click companies) a few days later and drove the car.

I came away very impressed with the handling and the controls; while it came with a touch screen and backup camera (which I wanted), the package was simpler and easy to use on the go. Hands free telephone and voice commands were standard, as well as keyless entry, power driver seats and blind spot warning system. Seats were a high quality cloth in the mid-level model that I was interested in (Touring), and they were prepared to cut me a teacher’s deal of $1500 off the sticker price, which was $27,500 and change). There were no rebates offered at the time I bought.

The car only comes with a 2.0 liter 155 horsepower four, mated to either a six-speed manual or 6-speed automatic (which can be shifted manually). Most car magazines have not been extremely happy with the power, but Mazda calls this engine SkyActive, meaning that weight has been shed as a concept from the ground up to make this engine quick enough and fuel efficient, at 26-31 mph in an even mix of driving.

My wife had been worn out by the negotiations with Ford earlier in the week, so she told me to handle it on my own. We did have a lively text-conversation through this negotiation, but essentially she said stay with our original requirements, if I could. My trade still brought me only $2500 but they threw in a Sirius/XM radio and installation at cost ($140), allowing me to buy this add-on in cash rather than financing, so I finally said yes with her blessings.

I took delivery on December 15th and have been nothing but pleased with the CX-5 since. It is not overly powerful, yet it is quick. If I need the transmission to shift faster I can always throw it into manual and it scoots. Above all I am most pleased with the gas mileage, a main reason for ditching my old Ford. I’m getting 30.4 mph on regular at this writing. I’ve only had to fill up once since buying the car. I can’t beat that with a stick.

As far as room and comfort is concerned, I find it as roomy as my old truck up front, though I wish the arm rest was just a little be higher and longer. I can still get a tissue box, sunglasses, keys, pens and miscellaneous items in there. There is also a USB port, aux jack and DC power port in the storage bin, all nice to have.

Rear seating is about average for this class; there is more leg room than the Escape, but other SUV’s do boast slightly more. I don’t carry many passengers, so it doesn’t matter much to me. The rear seats fold flat for carrying cargo without much trouble.

Most of the materials up front are high quality and soft touch, though there are a few hard surfaces. I really wanted leather seats, but the cloth in my new car is very excellent quality and should hold up. Leather seats in Arizona are a mixed blessing. They look great, but they are also very painful after sitting in the 100 degree heat and sun a full day in the summer. Interior temps can reach 130 degrees. Try sitting on leather with shorts on after your car has been outside all day in those conditions!

I had the option of buying a car with a moon roof, but those have never appealed for me. Besides they tend to rob a bit of headroom. What I am missing most is a rearview mirror with auto dimming feature, as well as ambient lighting in the foot wells at night, as my old vehicle was equipped with, and a cargo cover. It’s no big deal though, because I can add them as accessories very easily during the coming months, and I will.

The bottom line here is that I paid less and at a lower rate and term for this vehicle than my Ford Explorer Sport Trac 9 years ago. I’ll conclude by saying that my buying experience was protracted, yet ultimately far less stressful than what I expected. You can get mostly what you want if you resolve to hold out and not give in to the ‘falling in love” syndrome that many car buyers do. If you do, you’ll be taken. Most professional car sales people are truly trying to help, even if they are looking out for their best interests. Shop around for the best rates (as we did) and stick to your guns!

A Lighter, Healthier Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo

I absolutely love shrimp gumbo, but it doesn’t love my waistline because of the heavy oil and flour based roux that is the basis of the dish. I mean without the roux, what do you have? You have soup, of course. But what can be done to simulate the silky texture of that roux without all of its heaviness?

If you are a purist when it comes to Gumbo, probably nothing can be done. But without feeling guilty about it (and paying the price with a scale going in the wrong direction) I wanted to taste something approaching this great food without worrying and fretting, so I tried this take recently. Note that there is no sausage in my version. Smoked pork sausage would add too much fat, and to me smoked turkey sausage only adds bulk, but not much flavor, so I left it out. You may of course use these meats as an option. In Weight Watchers point values, my version is only 6 quality points, so it’s a win for me.

PREP TIME: 15 minutes COOK TIME: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cooked, roasted skinless chicken breast, medium dice
4 oz. raw shrimp shelled and deveined (or other shellfish if you have it)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, low sodium
½ cup tomato paste, low sodium
1 cup chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup water, divided
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup okra, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ chop fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. your favorite Creole spice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp. Liquid Smoke
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce (optional)
Dash salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

In a medium heavy pot, heat the oil over medium high heat, until it begins to shimmer. Pour in the chopped vegetables, except the parsley and sauté until the onions are clear. Season this layer with salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and stir for an additional minute, then add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock and half the water. Now add in the cooked chicken and make slurry with the remaining water and cornstarch, pouring it into the pot and stirring. Season with the creole spices, cayenne pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce if desired, reduce heat and simmer until mixture begins to thicken. At the end toss in the shrimp and chopped parsley, stir and turn off heat,letting it rest covered for 10 minutes. Serve immediately afterward.

The dish can be served over brown rice, but that will add calories without necessarily enhancing taste. It’s hearty and filling as is, and won't throw your diet all out of whack. Give it a try!

Weight Watchers Update

Boy, I'm so behind here in updates! Thus far, I am about 15 pounds on the good side after seven weeks of following the Weight Watchers For Men system. Honestly, I don't know how I have lost this weight because I have not been working out as I should, and I have eaten what I want. But the scale does not lie. What I am doing is following my daily points very closely (and being honest about it).

That is the key, because if you can accurately account for what you eat (and it's simple if you login daily online) it becomes easy to manage what you are eating. I'm also making use of many of the recipes on the site and posting a few of my own and sharing as well.

The secret to all of this is simply portion control! Measure your portions and stick to it. We overeat as a society as if it's a virtue; indeed we believe that restaurants that serve oversize portions are good values, and patronize them enthusiastically. I've nothing against a dining good value for my hard earned dollar, but I'm also realizing that what may be good for my wallet may not be so good for my belly, and as an extension, my health and well-being.

So what do you do when eating out at Claim Jumpers or Cheesecake Factory, for example? Look for menu items that are not fried, or if you must, don't feel compelled to eat every thing on your plate. Some of those servings are really three or four meals in one. Ask for that doggie bag and take home a portion!

Alcohol consumption is hidden calories that we don't often consider. Two glasses of wine, innocuous to say the least, can equal a whole meal in calories. Add a beer or two and dessert and your meal is now equal to several days worth of calories. Our problem is that we don't think of the cost as we consume the calories, then regret them later when those clothes we just bought suddenly are too tight.

Using the Weight Watchers system, I have become acutely aware of what I'm eating. Really, I don't feel starved or deprived at all. I'm eating what I want, mindful of the fat, carb and cholesterol content, and feeling quite satisfied. A big test was the Thanksgiving holiday, an opportunity to throw caution to the wind, as most of us do. I came out of this long weekend by losing a pound and a half, and I ate my fair share, not feeling deprived at all.

I'm not delusional in thinking I'm there. There is a long way to go in order to meet my long term targets and I know it. But now I have a system and a way to cope with the setbacks along the way. I'm confident that I will meet those targets and maintain afterward!

Italian Lentil and Rosemary Soup

I've managed to lose about 10 pounds in the past month on WeightWatchers for Men, mostly by portion control, cutting out chips, fatty foods and amending recipes we use normally to reduce the fat and salt content. I have a long way to go but I am feeling good in my goal of taking off two to three pounds per week, with recipes such as the one below that I created and converted to WeightWatchers Quality Points. It's easy to make and very satisfying to the palate. It was dinner this evening!

Prep: about 30 minutes
Cook Time: One Hour
Points Value Per Serving (1-1/2 cups, each or 8 servings total): 4

Ingredients

1 cup cooked lentils (in 4 cups lightly salted water, about 30 minutes or until soft)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 strips diced bacon (optional)
1 small uncooked onion(s), minced
1 cup celery, minced
1 cup carrot, minced
1 cup red bell pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp rosemary, minced or crushed if dried
1 tsp bay leaf, 2 leaves
14 oz canned stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
dash salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Optional Italian season spice mix, favorite
1 tsp olive oil
1 quart of vegetable stock, low sodium

Directions

Pre-cook the lentils in a medium sauce pan with about 4 cups of water for 30 minutes, or until the lentils become soft. Drain and set aside. In a large stock pot over medium heat saute the diced bacon in the olive oil until rendered and pour in the minced vegetables. Cook until the onions are clear. Add the lentils and stir to incorporate.

Now pour in the stock, tomatos and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for one hour. Extract the bay leaves and serve with a green salad drizzled lightly with olive oil and balasamic vinegar.

Working Through Weight and Health Concerns

I’ve had fair to middling success as a person who diets once a year or so, usually when that belt cinch starts running out of holes. I do watch what I eat and drink, mostly, but my main culprit is low metabolism. It has always been that way; I’m as energetic as I need to be at work, but once I hit that garage door button coming home I can feel everything draining away. All I want to do is to relax, put my feet up and watch the news or sports.

And it has gotten worse as I have grown older. It is a lament I think most middle age people have to deal with on a daily basis. Along with that loss of energy, we often have aches and pains from arthritis and damaged joints to contend with as well. That makes some types of high-impact exercise a thing to avoid. With me it is knee, shoulder and lower back pains that are of concern. If I ignore them they all have a way of reminding me that they have not gone away! I’ve of course talked to my doctors about this in my yearly exams. There have been some good (and one not so good) remedies that have been prescribed. I’ll talk about the latest shortly.

My blood panels always come back within very good boundaries, so low testosterone levels, which are currently a popular culprit, cannot be looked at; my T levels are normal for my age. One doctor put me on Phentermine a few years back for three months. These pills are “uppers”. They actually work by jacking up your metabolism. Good luck though if you want to sleep at all at night. I really did lose 45 pounds in those ninety days, but it all came right back when I came off the pills because my body’s metabolism normalized. I was very happy to finish the course too, despite the weight gain, because the medicine made me feel like a caged tiger all day long. I felt like I was drinking a cup of coffee every thirty minutes all day long. It also caused mild heart palpitations. The palpitations were harmless in my case, but also very, very scary. Scratch that method of weight loss!

I’ve always been involved in a fitness program or one type or another. When I was younger I lifted weights. I still enjoy working with weights, but have to be mindful of damaging my shoulders again. Rotator cuff surgery recovery is no laughing matter. I have changed over to fitness bands of late. They can work muscles even more effectively. Damage to joints and tendons using weights most often comes not in the lift, but in the recovery after the lift. Using a good set of bands eliminates the recovery move stress.

Knowing all of this, I spoke at my last check up to my doctor again and this time we are taking a different approach. Because soreness in my lower back really bothers me in workouts, she decided to take a proactive approach and prescribed eight sessions of physical therapy. She also endorsed WeightWatchers for Men as a way to change and manage my lifestyle and to get feedback and encouragement from people like me all over the country. I was hesitant at first, because I thought it was about buying all of this bland, tasteless food and having it delivered to my door.

It turned out it wasn’t like that at all; I could follow thousands of their recipes online each week or incorporate my own into the program. That appealed to me, since anyone who follows this blog knows how much we love to cook. The WeightWatchers system assigns points to foods and offers many suggestions for meals throughout the day. It’s also available as a mobile app, so it is easy to make notes of foods you eat throughout the day.

The first road to health for me is taking care of my back pain. The physical therapy sessions have been very good. Stretching and exercises tailored to recruit other back muscles have really helped and of late there have been days in which I have no back pain at all. That I love. It has also inspired me, along with encouragement from WeightWatchers, to return to a daily program of exercise.

I’m back into using my bands, light weights, recumbent bike and treadmill. We have all of that equipment at home already (Linda stays very fit using it daily), so there was nothing for me to buy. The stretching and PT exercises don’t even call for equipment, so there is really no excuse, now that I have a strategy for dealing with my lower back issues.

My first week on the plan has paid off; I lost five pounds without really altering much at all in my dietary regimen. We generally don’t each much fried foods, stay away from fast foods and other fatty foods, and do incorporate fruits and vegetables in our meals. Alcohol we have always kept limited, but the program does not eliminate it completely. I’ll have to keep you updated as I go through the initial 13-week course, but so far it is working and I feel much better already!

A New Hobby For Me!

I admit it, I am a tech geek! But the problem with that for me is that I half understand the concepts, just start to get used to equipment and then something new comes out. I get frustrated easily. Take music editing, for example. I am a musician and educator, so it would seem quite natural for me to be involved with recording studio principles. Yes, I have some audio equipment, and have had some minor successes, but it seems as if the technology constantly changes and there is always a new gizmo to own, whether it programs, computers, hardware ... you get my drift. It also gets very expensive very quickly.

I also have always enjoyed photography, but have had so little time for it with work and my other interests, which include of course includes writing and blogging. Recently I decided to upgrade my old camera with a new Nikon DSLR and also to take a few online classes. It's a whole new world to me; that world is so full of sights that we take for granted or never even notice. With this new hobby i have found myself taking far more interest in the environment around me; plants, wildlife, clouds, rock formations and lighting effects.

I'm learning how to adjust aperture and shutter settings to bring the spectacular out of the mundane. Here for example is an inexpensive water fountain on my wife's desk. It's just a collection of plastic tube with a few rocks and water highlighted by an LED light kit. Open up the aperture and slow down the shutter speed and textures you never imagined come into play:

As I get better I will be posting more pictures that I have composed here and on Facebook. It's a fun avocation and while it too can be pricey (some of those telephoto lenses can cost $1200 or more), you can easily build a nice portfolio with about a $700 initial investment. Brand loyalty I'm not in to. Canon makes great cameras as well (plus a few others). You don't have to spend a fortune either. Classes? Man, here is so much free stuff on the internet that I don't know if it is possible to absorb it all. Grab a camera and start experimenting!

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms

This dish is a combination of several recipes that I have run across over time. Sunday we were fretting over what to make for Sunday dinner and of course fried chicken comes to mind as a traditional kind of meal. So we decided to take a different angle on this dish and braise it with onions and mushrooms.

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves, butterflied
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk
1 small onion, diced
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 oz. vodka
2 tsp paprika
1/4 stick of butter (about 2 tbsps.)
tsp of olive oil
chopped parsley sprigs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Beat the eggs and milk together until mixed well in a shallow dish, season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of paprika. On a plate or shallow tray mix the flour and remaining paprika, salt and pepper together. Heat a large cast iron skillet and melt the butter with the olive oil. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and coat with flour on both sides. Shake off the excess and fry in the skillet for 3-4 minutes a side.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a rack or paper towel to drain. Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and saute lightly until the onions are clear. I also like to season the vegetables at this time with salt and pepper, too. While the vegetables are cooking combine the chicken stock, vodka and lemon juice with the cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved in a bowl. Add the chicken back into the skillet and pour the stock and vodka mixture over the top. Reduce heat and cover for about 30 minutes.

This dish goes great with a rice variety, green vegetable or salad and a glass of Chardonnay!