New Car? I think yes :)

So, a year or so ago, my mom got this dodge neon, which I have been driving around since.  We got it from a Ford Dealership, and the guy swore to my mom that it was a good car (after she insisted she didn't want a dodge, because they always give her issues).  Well, when it hit about 80,000 miles, the transmission started giving us major issues.  It would slip, and sometimes the car wouldn't even start.  It would make jerking movements and not go into gear when you were driving slower, and you'd have to turn it off and back on just to drive normally.  It eventually got to the point where it would slip at least once within a 30 minute drive (which was a pain going to work, and really scary when you're driving on the freeway).  So, we thought of ways to work out the situation, whether it being to let the repossess the car, or just getting the transmission fixed.  The amount my mom was paying for the car was somewhere between $10k and $12k, and I discovered a neon in good shape is around $5.  So, she sent the dealership a scathing e-mail, and they quickly responded.  While I was in New Mexico for vacation, they asked her to take the car in so they could look at it.  After running tests, they determined the worth of the car was around $2k.  That is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what she was paying for the lemon.  So, they worked it out, and now she is buying a 2003 Ford Explorer from them instead :).  They rolled over the difference between what she paid and the worth of the car, and applied it to the Explorer, and we are paying $10,300 for it.  A 2003 Explorer in excellent condition on Kelly Blue Book (with the features ours has) is worth about $12.5k.  I am so excited!!!  Anyway, here is a picture!

It's a nice dark green, it has 56k miles, a 6-CD changer, 3 power outlets, a DVD player, running boards for us short ladies, and a sun roof that opens all the way up :).  It doesn't have third row seats, which is a bummer, but I think it does have the capabilites.  Oh, and mom's major factor for buying it rather than a more economic car?  It has 4x4 so I can drive up to Snowbird in the winter when it snows :).  Yay mom!