For this San Antonio woman, winning a new car was the best birthday present ever, she says

Some people find creative and interesting ways to mark “milestone” birthdays, but for Crystal Erwin of San Antonio, winning a new car took the cake.

After she woke up on her 55th birthday Dec. 15, Erwin said she was trying to decide what she might like to do to celebrate.

As she was pondering the day ahead, her phone rang with a message from Tracy Smith, General Manager of Automotive Advertising for the San Antonio Express-News, telling her she had just won a $25,000 voucher toward a new car from World Car Kia. It was the prize in the dealership’s holiday giveaway sweepstakes in partnership with the Express-News, with 69,831 total entries.

She did remember entering the contest by filling out a form online, but she said she had actually forgotten about it – “until I got that call at 10:49 a.m. on my birthday, telling me I had won.”

“First, I was in disbelief, but when I realized it was legitimate, I was in total shock,” she said. “I told Tracy that it was my 55th birthday, and I didn’t have anything planned for it. But after that, the whole day was crazy.

“I ran screaming through the house and told my fiancé Eric Schoch, and he was really excited.”

Erwin went to World Car Kia to pick out a vehicle to use the voucher on, and she decided on a 2024 Kia Forte sedan, “the sporty one,” she said.

“We did pay a little bit over the $25,000, but not much,” she said. “The people at World Car were fantastic. We went down and picked up the car on Thursday, Dec. 28.

“It’s a sporty blue sedan with a sunroof and red trim,” Erwin said. “It even has leather seats, and safety features such as a backup camera and blind spot cameras, which are great. There are not a lot of places you can get a car that looks so sporty with so many features for this price.”

For Erwin and her fiancé, winning a new car couldn’t have come at a better time, she said. “I have to say we really needed a car,” Erwin said. “We had a 2006 car with over 160,000 miles on it, and it was rusting and covered with hail dents. We have another car that the alternator and battery had gone out on.

“We’ve had a lot of expenses lately, including a cat that had to have one of her rear legs amputated, which cost us thousands of dollars. They probably couldn’t have found anyone who needed a car more than we do.”

“The holiday giveaway was a real a treat for us at World Car Kia,” said Art Kiolbassa, the dealership’s chief of operations. “We were excited to see the number of people who registered in hopes of starting their new year out with a new Kia from World Car Kia.

“We were equally excited to meet the winner and fulfill her dreams of getting a new vehicle,” he said. “It’s always a pleasure to be able to give back, and especially at this time of the season.”

Erwin had high praise for the staff at World Car Kia. “We were really impressed,” she said. “They treated us very well, even though we had this voucher. “I can’t thank the people at World Car enough. It’s the best birthday present I’ve ever received.”