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ALEX LEARYA good deal on a used car: 17-year-old James Sloat traded in his old Kia when he won a new one in a contest.
NEW PORT RICHEY - By high school standards, Tuesday was rough for James Sloat. In the morning he had a quiz in marine science; in the afternoon, a test on the fall of the Roman Empire.
Big stuff for a 17-year-old hoping to earn academic scholarships to college. But his concentration was off, his pace hastened.
The heck with Julius Caesar. Sloat had more important things on his mind. Like a new car. He left school early and raced to Friendly Kia on U.S. 19, where a 2003 Kia Rio was waiting.
He won the white sedan in a contest he entered about a month ago but quickly forgot. "It's the best thing I've ever won," the River Ridge High School senior said. "It's the only thing I've ever won."
The Korean-made car, valued at about $12,200, comes with a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine, automatic transmission and a four-speaker CD stereo system.
For a short time Tuesday, Sloat had two vehicles. About a month ago he came into Friendly Kia with his dad and bought a used Kia with more than 60,000 miles on it.
While he waited for the paperwork to go through, Sloat entered the contest, which was sponsored by Kia and Cox Radio, which owns several local stations including WPIO-FM 101.5 (The Point).
Participants at 10 area dealerships were asked to guess how much money was in the trunk of a Kia Rio. Sloat's guess was the closest of several thousand entries. He guessed $586 - the actual amount was $597.80.
The tall, sheepish teenager strode into the Friendly Kia showroom at 2 p.m. Tuesday. A WPOI staffer gave him a shirt, which he gladly donned for pictures. The awestruck look on his face never faded.
"I don't know what to say," Sloat said. He moved from rural North Carolina to Pasco County about a year ago to live with his father, Dennis Sloat, so he could establish residency to attend a Florida college. He plans to go to Pasco-Hernando Community College next fall, then transfer to Florida State University to study graphic design.
Sloat sold the 2000 vehicle back to Friendly Kia, getting back about what he paid a month ago. The title and taxes on the new wheels were nearly covered by a $597.80 check Cox Radio handed over.
"It's nice to see a young person win," said Friendly Kia salesman Dan Gordon, who went over the Rio's features with Sloat. The teenager nodded politely but seemed interested in one thing - getting behind the wheel. A half-hour later, after the paperwork was signed, he did.
"It feels real smooth," Sloat said. The odometer had 17 miles on it as he drove out of the lot.