Cornerstone Mitsubishi

When my daughter's car went in for service over the Dec. '09 college break, Ernie called me with the news: despite the extensive service, the car needed some major repairs. We'd bought the car second hand 3 years before. Now with almost 120k on the odometer - including 50k miles my kid put on it - the little white Galant had served us well. The repairs would cost close to $4000, nearly 2/3 what we had paid for it when we bought it. Ernie knew from experience that safety was the most important issue for me when it came to my daughter. After talking pros and cons, I asked him his opinion and he put it out there: lease a brand new one. They had great deals going on and I could put her in a brand new vehicle for $179/mo. with just my signature. Having never leased a car before I dismissed this option out of hand, but didn't tell that to Ernie. I thanked him for his help, we talked a bit about used cars, and I told him I would get back to him. I went online, tracked down a couple of possible leads at other places. Surprisingly, the dealerships I contacted were very slow to respond. With no solid leads by the next afternoon, we went to Cornerstone Mitsubishi, ostensibly to pick up the Galant and take it home while I figured out what to do next. When we started talking to Ernie, he said again, "Why don't you talk to my brother, Gerry, and see what he can do for you? It can't hurt to ask." Still dubious, I met with Gerry and he started crunching numbers. Using the Galant as a trade in we were well under the anticipated $179/mo; this deal started sounding interesting. In the mean time, my daughter is closing in on the most expensive Lancer in the showroom. The Lancer had a great safety rating, handled well in the snow - a must for someone going to college in NH - and came with warranties that no used car could beat. I called my daughter over and asked her what she thought. We had been pricing a basic model in the showroom, but of course, her highness had to ask: "What about the blue one?" At a couple thousand dollars more than the one we were discussing, I doubted this would fly. Gerry said, "Sure. We can do that." I just looked at him. As he crunched, we walked over for a closer look at the 2010 Blue Lancer. It had everything she wanted and, "Oh, MOM! It even has Bluetooth!" When I learned that that meant she could answer her phone without taking her hands off the wheel or her eyes off the road, I was ready to deal. We talked about the incentive reward for bring a repeat owner, the trade in on the Galant, and other allowances that I am sure Gerry pulled out of the air. We were well into the $160s/month arena when he said: "Now, if you would consider putting something down up front we could get this even lower." Considering I had been ready to shell out a huge chunk for a used car, a little bit toward this was no problem. By the time we were done, we were looking at $139/ month (and I did not put down very much at all!) for a 3 year lease with 12,000 miles a year. The only thing that worried me was the 12,000 miles per year limit. By this time brother Billy had come into the picture, and told me: "You don't have to do this, but let me tell you what I did with my lease..." If I paid $5 more a month, I could get 15,000 miles a year. Comparing that to what a mileage overage could turn into, this was a gift. The next day we returned to the dealership to take possession of the "best car on earth." The kid even had to call me from her car to show me how bluetooth worked. She was in heaven. I have taken both my cars to this dealership time and time again and have never been mislead or disappointed. They show me every consideration and courtesy I could imagine, even honoring discount coupons I leave home on the table. A typical case in point: My daughter needed to take her older car in for a problem repair, I was working and she had no m