Sorry, I have no answer to the question of "Wen Lambo?!" and I never know "Wen Moon"! No, sorry, I do know the answer to second one for most people: NEVER! Why? Because you ain't an astronaut! Well, with that taken care of, lets get down to business. Yesterday, I bought a 2022 Ford Bronco Sport with by crypto riches! No, sorry. Yes, to the Bronco, but No to the crypto riches! Sorry to dissapoint you again and again! Such is crypto!
Ok, so things are far less dramatic than my catchy intro to this post. I used to drive a 2014 Ford Taurus. I bought it used in 2015, with 12,500 miles on it. I don't drive much. Just commuting and drive around town. Recently it started giving me some mechanical trouble that is beyond regular wear & tear. Also I was getting tired of the "boat like" driving experience (if you have driven a post-2010 Taurus, you know what I mean). This week, it started giving me some drivetrain related problem, and a close friend said some nice things about the new restored Bronco line (which is re-imagined in 2021). Ford stopped manufacturing the Bronco in 1996. After a 25 years of hiatus, as a general fan of Ford car and trucks, I found a lot of things to be excited about driving a Bronco. I have never driven one prior to this purchase.
Trouble is now in the United States, it is a terrible time to buy a vehicle. I am sure you have read about this in many places. People are paying $5000 over MSRP for a $40,000 car!! This is unheard of 2 years back! People in the US typically pay between invoice and MSRP, often even below the invoice. So current car buying market is hard to mentally understand for most people in the US. Good summaries can by found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021%E2%80%932022_global_supply_chain_crisis
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/12/business/global-supply-chain-nightmare/index.html
In 2021, automakers were obliged to cancel plans to build ten million cars. We forecast that they will cancel a further seven or eight million in 2022 and four million in 2023, as demand for semiconductors outstrips supply by 10 per cent.
All new cars were hit by this issue but the Bronco, being new on 2021, was hit particularly hard. It was not just the semiconductor chip, there were some other body material problems too, especially with the hard top.
I don't want to bore you with too much background info (I think I already have). To make long story short and get to the main point, even if you have the money it is not easy to buy a Bronco right now. Now, this may not mean much overseas, but in the US this statement is a BIG DEAL. Why? Because in the US, traditionally, it is incredibly easy to buy a car. You don't need money, you don't need credit, you don't need to know how to drive! (just kidding). But really folks, it is very easy to buy a car in the US for the last 30 years or more (I am going to go out on a limb and say, post Nixon era).
I am going to argue perhaps it still is (in spite of the supply chain crisis)
So I have no time, and I thought after having dinner and putting kids to bed, and I should buy a Bronco. I looked up online, and saw the Houston inventory of Bronco (used or new) are very low. I have heard about Carvana before. It is a fun way to buy cars online. Now, buying car online is nothing new. I think people are doing it for the last 20 years. However, recently it is more and more common and user friendly.
Basically, you choose your car, give some simple personal info, set-up your trade-in and in a couple of days they can deliver the car to your home and take out your trade-in.
OR
You can go the car vending machine in-town (if you have one, we do) and get the car from the vending machine. That's the first picture by the way! I decided I will do the same. The whole process online took me about 30 min (and I was doing other things at the same time, like playing Splinterlands!). Anyways, I got in done on Thursday night before going to bed. I set up a delivery on Saturday noon, when I will go the vending machine and pick up the car.
So, I did on Saturday. I went there, and it is less dramatic in the mid-way light, but nice nonetheless!
It is just a random place right next to the I-10 freeway in Houston. There were cars everywhere just like other dealerships but it did have the vending machine like you see above.
When I went inside. They checked my ID and took my old car keys. Had me sign some paperwork and then the dude gave me this token above. This 'Carvana Coin' LOL, I am supposed to insert in this slot below...
It does some funny cassino type sounds, and then the elevator is activated and out came the Bronco!
That's about it. Maybe I will do a review of the SUV later, It is a nice truck, definitely a trade-up for me.
Oh if you are curious, that is a Mustang behind my car...
