Am I an adult now?

After 5 years with my Malibu … I traded it in today for a 2007 Saturn Ion (in golden cashmere, if you’re curious) and am now proudly driving, yes, My First New Car.  Some observations about the car buying purchase.

1. It was nice to have a reference point (via Edmunds.com) of what my trade-in was worth so I felt like I was getting a decent offer there.
2. Always call for a payoff amount for a car loan.  Although I thought I had paid it off, I actually owed $1.67 on my Malibu.   (One dollar, sixty seven cents.  Seriously.)  The Saturn guys thought that was priceless and gave me an extra $2.00 for my Malibu so we could pay it off.  Ha, ha, ha.
3. Fabric protection from dealer: $499.  A can of Scotchgard from Target and a headache from the fumes: $5.67 and 2 Advil.
4. How much crap could I possibly have accumulated in my car?  Two shopping bags worth.  Good god.
5. Finding a tater tot under the front seat was a little embarrassing.  I told the Saturn guys they could keep it as part of my trade-in.
6. Saturn really was as nice and pressure-free as their rep says they are.
7. The personal demonstration of dent-resistant door panels involves a Saturn guy kicking the $%^@%$ out of the door and me cringing.  Door 1, Foot 0.

Anyway, I’m traded-in and upgraded and whatnot, and I am considering camping out to give evil looks to anyone who gets too close to my baby.