New Shiny!

Well today was the day! I finally took ownership of my first new car!
Tuesday, the day after we got back from Chicago, (yes I'll write about Chicago sooner or later) I got a call from the sales guy at the Burnsville Toyota dealership asking if I had received his e-mail. I said I had just returned from vacation, and I was still catching up on stuff. So he told me my car had finally come in, and would I like to set up a time to come in and get it? I knew I wanted to finance through my bank, and not Toyota, at that point. I also knew I needed to finalize some things with the bank so I told the guy I'd call him back later and set up a time.
I was pre-approved for a new car loan by the bank in mid-April, but the approval was only good for 60 days. So I called the bank to see what it would take to get things going again. Well it was Tuesday afternoon when I called, and it turns out the lady I was working with was going to be out of the office Wednesday, and had already slipped out a bit early, so I left a message for her to call me back.
Wednesday I called the Toyota dealership back and said I was wrapping up the financing, and that I'd like to come in on Saturday to pick up the car.
Late Thursday morning the bank returned my call. After a couple quick questions the lady I was working with said she'd get things moving and give me a call back in a few minutes. Well, about 30 minutes later she called back saying everything was ready! All the dealership had to do was fax a copy of the purchase agreement and title application to the bank!
Usually I telecommute on Fridays but we had a big quarterly meeting at work and attendance was mandatory. It all worked out though because I car-pooled up that morning, and just stayed at Mom and Dad's place that night.
Saturday morning we all piled in Dad's vehicle and headed down to the dealership. We hit some heavy rain on the way there, but it slowed to a light sprinkle by the time we arrived. Sales people were loitering around the front of the dealership waiting to descend on the unwary. I told one of them I had an appointment, so we were ushered inside, and shown to the sales guys desk. The owner's manual and other literature for my car were sitting in an envelope on his desk, so I started pulling it out and looking it over while Mom took a few pictures. A couple minutes later the sales guy showed up and everyone made introductions. There were some quick questions, and after a few minutes we went down to a garage where they prep the new cars. I was introduced to the woman who would be taking me thought all the manuals and answering any questions about how the car worked. The sales guy left and everyone checked out the car, looking for anything out of place. Then I got a quick tutorial on how the car worked, and some of the manuals.
We were part way through when we were paged to the Finance Office where I would actually write the rather substantial check to pay for the car! I probably signed about a dozen different things along with the check! I also opted to get an extended warranty (don't hate me Grace). Hybrids are comparatively new in the grand scheme of automobile history, and if the wrong (or right depending how you look at it) part goes out, it will pretty much pay for itself with one trip to the repair shop.
Well after a small mountain of paperwork was signed I went back to the garage to finish going through everything. When we got to the final sign-off, there was a check box stating that the car was in an acceptable state. Mom said when I was in the Finance Office she noticed a slight scratch on the top left, near the back where the tailgate opened. Sure enough, there was a slight scratch about eight to ten inches long. The scratch was quickly buffed out, and I was about to drive off in a perfect Prius. Thanks Mom! (* hugs *)
We quickly finished going over everything else and I hopped behind the wheel and drove out while Mom snapped a couple more pictures!
Mom rode back to their place with me. Part of 35E was closed, and I must have missed a turn for the detour somewhere so we would up taking the scenic route.
After a light lunch, I was ready to head back home. Before I left, Mom blessed the car. I gave her a hug, jumped behind the wheel, waved to Mom and Dad, and I was on my way!
For anyone interested, I got 48 MPG on the way home!