I traded in my Touareg for a new car last weekend - a 2005 BMW X3 3.0i.

I'd been thinking for the past several months that it was time to get something new, mostly because the Touareg was out of warranty, had pretty poor fuel economy, had some pricey maintenance coming up, and just hadn't been the same since my deer hit last year. Looking at cars, I had considered:

• The Infiniti FX, which I loved, but was pretty costly and had mileage as poor as the Touareg
  
• The Nissan Rogue, which ended up being pretty on the outside but very CHEAP feeling on the inside
  
• The 2008 Highlander Hybrid, which very nearly happened, except the hybrid 2008 doesn't come out for a couple months
• Any car that met my criteria of being an SUV with decent mileage, good tech, and looked pretty/felt as comfortable as my Touareg, without being $45K+. And honestly felt like going less expensive.

So while looking at cars, we happened to stop at BMW of Des Moines. My car before the Touareg was a BMW - a brand I've always liked - but I honestly hadn't considered the BMW SUV line. We arrived at the dealership after they had closed, but a salesperson came out to talk to us as he had a buyer going through financing and was hanging around anyway.

We test-drove a 2004 X3, and even during the drive I wasn't really seriously considering the car. For one thing, it was used. And it didn't have all the tech I liked. Plus it was more than I was thinking for a used car. But then the salesperson said something that made me reconsider - he told me that A) they had 2.9% financing on the 2004s going through the end of the month (literally, through that night) and B) as it was the end of the month I was in a good position to negotiate with his sales manager.

Hmm...

When we got back, I told him that I hadn't planned on buying that night, but if we could hit a number I liked, then I'd consider it. He immediately went to work on trade-in value and loan payoff of my Touareg. This process took him an hour, during which I kept telling him that he might want to hold off until we talked price, as it might just be wasting his time. He continued. Eventually, we got to the initial offer.

I started off offering $7000 below Blue Book - a steal if they took it given that the X3 also now had a 100,000 BMW Certified Pre-owned Warranty. In exchange I would take posession of the car THAT NIGHT. They countered with $2300 off and tried showing my how cheap my payment would be with the 2.9% financing.

*** Never let them talk you into a price based on payment amount. The bottom line should ALWAYS be the actual price of the vehicle. ***

I told them a number $5000 below Blue Book and told them that was my number or I'd just leave it - how I wasn't really considering buying a car that night anyway and anything above wouldn't be worth it.

And that night I drove home with our new X3!

Tomorrow I'm having some extra power outlets installed in the dash-storage unit, and having an HD Radio/iPod/Aux hookup installed to the stereo. I'm narrowing down a NAV unit, and am adding a bluetooth phone connection later this month.