[Dadhawk]

Had I not been a 1st86, I would not own the car now. That's just a straight fact.

Why? Primarily my dislike for Scion/Toyota dealership practices in my area.

Had I walked in off the street to purchase the car and been faced with the "normal" dealer-addons, the well intentioned but not well executed Scion "Pure Price", and the unreasonable "doc fees" charged by Atlanta dealers, I would have walked away from the car.

As it was, I tried to switch dealers because of their non-interest in the whole process, but couldn't without dropping out of the 1st86 program. It's a good thing I plan to own this one for a long time because I'll probably never buy a new Scion unless they change their practices.

In the end, the "benefits" of being in the 1st86 program outweighed the negatives of dealing with the dealer network so I stayed for the car. I don't regret it, but I wouldn't do it again. I'd buy through a buying service or some such thing, or I'd wait and buy used.