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Driving a new car is generally enjoyable; the process of acquiring it? Not so much.
Bruce Aldrich, the co-host of The Weekly Driver Podcast, hadn’t purchased a new vehicle in more than a decade. His Subaru Outback will soon approach 200,000 miles, and it’s doing fine.
But Bruce and his wife, Alene, decided a new Ford F-250 pickup truck is the vehicle to get. It’ll tow an RV just fine, which is a good thing since the couple is planning to do more traveling with friends who are also RVers and who also own a pickup truck.
Bruce “built” his new truck online from the Ford website, and now he’ll wait for the truck to arrive. Delivery could take months.
The process of buying a new vehicle is the first of three topics this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. I interview Bruce about his experience negotiating with dealership personnel and what he expects from the sales department when the truck arrives.
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Buying A New Truck Isn’t Easy
Bruce’s purchase is also timely with the current chaos in the truck segment. Inventory is still slim because of the microchip shortage. If he didn’t want to wait, Bruce could have purchased a recent-year used truck. But it would have cost more than a new truck.
In the second portion of the podcast, Bruce and I discuss two recent e-mail letters I received from the readers of my new car reviews. The Weekly Driver began in 2004 and I recently received that could have motor
One letter writer provided overt praise about a piece I wrote on Charlie Watts, the deceased drummer for the Rolling Stones. Within a few hours, I also received a harsh letter about my recent view of the 2021 Honda Ridgeline. The letter pretty much said I’m in the wrong line of work.
Bruce and I discuss the letters and have some fun doing do.
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Lastly, with this episode, listeners who like our podcast can help support. The podcast and its host website, TheWeeklyDriver.com have a new feature. It’s called “Buy Us A Cup of Coffee.”
By clicking on the area below that shows a cup of coffee, you can contribute as little as $3 as a one-time contribution. Or, you can contribute more on a one-time or monthly basis. Contributions are secure and submitted through PayPal.
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Article Last Updated: September 13, 2021.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
