Yep got the side airbags.. It was really a great deal, but I KNEW that going in on the last day of the year, the quarter, the month, that they would bend over backwards to close one more car. I arrived at 5 PM, and the sales man told me that one more car pushed him over the quota. And truly except for the roll up windows, it is a great car. I test drove a lot of cars with him from Civics to Altimas and everything in between, and even though gas is below $2.00 in NJ, small cars are fetching a dear premium. I even did the Edmunds TCV model and I not only got a) a great price b) still under GM warranty for 18 more months bumper to bumper plus another 3 1/2 on the power train, and (because they advertised it and tried to weasel out saying that it only came if I bought it at the advertized price), he also went home with a Magella Maestro GPS. All for (drum roll please) $10K including tax, doc fees, DMV fees, da woiks !

A buddy of mine told me about a "you pick it" boneyard not to far away from home so if I can't find someone to do it for a price, I'll see if I cant find the entire door cards, switches and window regulators. When I get the parts home, I'll figure out what goes where, and for any parts that look particularly nasty, I'll buy them from either a Chevy dealer or "Autoloc" a company that provides aftermarket power windows and power door looks.

But I think we did good.. safe, reliable (ranks high on Consumer Reports - right behind the Mazda 3), it rides great, came with no dings scratches or otherwise..He saved $5K from working over the summer, and I matched it. I was not expecting the insurance (anyone who knows NJ insurance can appreciate this part) to TRIPLE from $1,000 for my X5 and the wife's 325 Ci (remember we are both over 50 and accident free) to $3,000 by adding the Cobalt and the "occasional driver" to the Bimmers (which you have to do in NJ)..It may be time to move to MD !!

In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for me..
Thanks !

edco