I have located one dealer who is willing to "throw in" floor mats and splash guards (with expected delivery quoted to occur in November-December), another dealer who will sell the vehicle to me for $200 under sticker price (who is located about two hours from my house with expected delivery quoted to occur by mid October) and another dealer who will sell the vehicle to me for $800 under sticker price (who is located a few hundred miles away with expected delivery quoted to occur by mid October).  A dealer close to my house, from whom a friend has purchased an Odyssey and found the salesperson to be straight forward and above board, will sell the car to me for sticker price, however, I would likely get a vehicle from them in September.

At the present time, the vehicle is not worth MSRP to me.  What's worse, none of the alternatives, at the prices at which I believe transactions would occur for each, are worth it to me either.  Ugh.  Pulling the buying trigger finger has never been so difficult -- at least during the course of the Internet Shopping 24/7 Project, which has been going on for nearly eleven months (yikes).  I've extensively searched my mind to understand my problem in making this purchase and to then find a solution (being engaged in the thinking business can have its downsides :-) )  At first I thought my difficulty had to do with paying MSRP because it is quite rare in this day and age that someone pays MSRP or more for a vehicle -- a minivan no less -- as many consumers are reasonably well informed and educated thanks to sources like Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports.  I believe that this is not playing a huge role because in my estimation and for my needs (e.g., excellent reliability, lots of space and decent people hauling ability) the Odyssey at MSRP is at least of similar value to minivans that would sell for about the same price or even significantly less -- after "negotiating."

Another aspect that might be bothering me is the fact that I have personally assisted dozens of people save thousands of dollars each when purchasing either a new or used vehicle by sharing with them my automobile industry knowledge and assisting them in the buying and negotiating process.  Now, here I am, making my own purchase, and -- oh the irony -- it looks like I will pay at or near MSRP.  This is somewhat embarrassing.  The impending result, at the surface, tears at my very confidence in believing that I am an educated and savvy auto buyer -- even one of my sisters whom I have assisted with three auto purchases over the years has laughed (and apologized to me) about this situation.

I try to calm myself by putting this in perspective.  This will be the first time since I became an informed auto consumer that I will not feel like I am getting a fair value (maybe after owning the vehicle, I may find out that I was wrong and that the vehicle is a very good value indeed -- can you say "boy am I going to rationalize and convince myself that this is the case by hunting out any bit of information that bolsters this claim").  According to Mick and the boys, "you can't always get what you want."  Hey, I guess I should get comfortable with the fact that I am not going to earn a perceived win every time (uh oh, is anybody getting the idea that I am a competitive soul -- just on certain things).

I believe the factor with the greatest impact is my general attitude toward minivans.  At the moment, I do not find any of them desirable.  In due time, this attitude may change (and the Red Sox are going to win the World Series this year).  If I was charged with the mission of buying a car for $26,000 in the Boston area,  I would probably come back with something like a 1995-1997 Lexus LS400, 1997-1998 Acura RL or a new 2000 Acura  TL -- all wonderful and pretty much bulletproof cars in terms of quality, comfort and reliability (and yeah, I'd bet you that I could find a very fine 1997 LS400 at or near $26K if you gave me 2-4 months).  Well, guess what?  I am "married with (three) children" and Amy will be a much happier camper in the end if we have something that is reliable and makes for reasonably easy kid hauling (including loading them in and moving them out).  And, as I tell my students, "when Amy is happy, I am happy," and vice versa.  So, I will take a deep breath and buy a 2001 Honda Odyssey EX in Dark Emerald Pearl.  Oh, and you'll have to trust me that I am making an informed decision.  I have done a "fair" amount of -- ok, too much -- research on various makes, models and market conditions (both present and my forecasts for the future, e.g., I see supply and demand leveling out and Odysseys selling for $300-$500 below sticker by December and for $500-$800 below sticker by February 2001) before making this purchase decision -- not all reported over time in my diary entries.  Feel free to try and talk me out of this.  Easy come, easy go.  Maybe I can think of this as Amy's purchase?  Yeah, that's the ticket.
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through July 31, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......123.......................366............................7........................72

Luis went 2-4 and left one man on base (i.e., in total, one man, who was on base when Luis batted, did not score as a result of his at bats).

The following data were obtained from the game log that was listed at  ESPN.com
In the first inning Luis led off with an infield single.  In the third inning, after the leadoff batter (Burnett) struck out, he reached first base on a throwing error (this must have been modified and officially scored as a base hit).  In the fifth inning, Luis batted second and grounded into a double play after the leadoff hitter (Burnett) walked.  In the seventh inning, he came to the plate with no one on base and two outs, and grounded out.