NEW CAR!!!!

Squee! I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Blue Chevrolet Cobalt. I can't believe it. Yesterday I didn't wake up thinking "I'm going to buy a car today", it was more of a "Let's go get declined for a loan today" since that's what's happened every time I've told myself that I'm getting a new one. I feel like I should send the lady at the bank a thank you note or something because Lord knows I wanted to hug her when she said the magic words of "Looks like we can do it!" :-)
I had all but given up on finding something yesterday and was fine that I would have to continue my search but one last stop at Neill Sandler (that is sadly going out of business) had exactly what I needed and could afford.
It is worth noting that trying to find a used car in the price I was approved for, in a year that made my payments low, that didn't have considerable amounts of damage, and that I like isn't easy to come by. We went to 5 places yesterday and I had spent the morning searching the web for cars in my budget.
The first thing that everyone I talked to yesterday assumed, was that I had bought it from one of the Alexanders since I should be eligible for their employee pricing. Every last one of them seemed shocked when I told them no. I did look at Alexander first. I test drove a car with them first. I had a car picked out with them first. BUT they wouldn't work with me. Even though I couldn't afford the one that I liked best, I was still going to be willing to look at more there but I was basically written off from the beginning so needless to say... it didn't work out with them.
I don't think that's something that should be looked down on. They didn't have anything that 1.) I liked or 2.) I could afford. This is a big investment for me. I'm not going to settle and be unhappy just because I happen to work for a car dealership.
Anyway, I'm super excited about it! I looked out the window when I got up this morning and saw my new car and it's absolutely beautiful! I'm going to get floor mats for it today and I'm running it through the car wash even though it's raining. I think the most exciting part for me was that I did it on my own. I didn't have a co-signer and I didn't need one either. I now have something to show for how hard I work. I'm so happy! :-)