A New (To Us) Car

In September 2015, we traded our 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche V8 on a used 2014 V6 Equinox LT1 with 23,500 kilometers on the clock.

The powertrain warranty on the Equinox would cover it until March, 2019. After keeping the Avi past its warranty date and then having a differential and a camshaft fail to the combined tune of $7,500, I made a promise that this car would be gone before the warranty expired.

The little 300+ HP Equinox pulled our combined trailer/motorcycle weight of about 2,000 miles with ease. Fuel mileage was good without the trailer and adequate with. The only serious problem that occurred was a failure of the manual gear selector switch on the shift lever. This would have been expensive if the dealership had not gone to bat with GM and substantially reduced the cost with a goodwill gesture. The car now had about 125,000 kms on it.

With six months to go, I was considering what to get next. We had been very happy with the Equinox. If we followed our last acquisition pattern, we would be looking for a used low mileage 2017 V6 Equinox. But the V6's were hard to find and we could not go for a new 2018 because Chev, in their infinite wisdom, discontinued the V6 engine in the Equinox. The four cylinder engines, including the little diesel, were not suitable for towing 2,000 pounds.

However, Chev had also redesigned the seven passenger Traverse in 2018 and it had the same 3.6L V6. Biker has a GMC Acadia, which is very nice and is analogous to the Traverse. But more research ruled out the 2019 Chev's because they dropped the powertrain from five years/160,000 kms to five years/100,00 kms. That matters when you look at the miles we are capable of traveling.

I woke up about 2:00 AM this morning and was unable to get back to sleep, so I was browsing Ontario Chev dealerships for new 2018 Traverse LT-cloth models. Crosstown, my own dealer, had one but I didn't like the price. Southside, our other local Chev/GM dealer, had a new grey 2018 Traverse on the lot. Then, taking a look at their used inventory, I was surprised to also find a 2017 V6 Equinox with 25,000 kms. It was about 6:00 AM when I noted both stock numbers and told Sandy we needed to be at Southside when they opened at 8:00 AM.

At 8:00 AM sharp, we walked through the door of the dealership and were welcomed by new salesman Ray. He pulled up the records on both vehicles. Unfortunately, the Traverse was only a Front Wheel Drive model. I have grown used to AWD in the winter, so this was a non-starter for me even though everything else was just what I had been looking for. On the other hand, the Equinox was my original plan anyway. It was a Premier trim and had more goodies than our LT1.

Another plus was that the Equinox was built in Ontario (Ingersoll near Heather's house) while the Traverse was built in Michigan.

It was pouring rain when we decided to go for a test drive. Ray backed the car into the service area so we could stay dry getting in. A test of town and highway driving felt almost exactly like the 2014. We struck a deal and said we would pick it up Thursday morning because we would be on Manitoulin Island Tuesday and Wednesday.

This car, which had originally been shipped to Crosstown and traded to the Sturgeon Falls dealership, had been a lease. The young lady who leased it was returning to school and could not afford the payments, so her father bought out the lease and then traded the vehicle at Southside. It had just come in late Friday and been listed over the weekend. While we were dealing with Ray, they had gotten several calls including one person from Toronto who wanted to come up and see it. And we were here because I could not sleep.

So my original plan came to pass. Sometimes the deal you need just falls into your lap.