diff --git a/src/cd.js b/src/cd.js
index e70e37d..51bc057 100644
--- a/src/cd.js
+++ b/src/cd.js
@@ -16,19 +16,20 @@ function _cd(options, dir) {
       dir = common.state.previousDir;
   }
 
-  // This complexity is so that we only stat once.
-  var error = null;
   try {
-    var stat = fs.statSync(dir);
-    if(stat.isDirectory()) {
-      common.state.previousDir = process.cwd();
-      process.chdir(dir);
-    } else {
-      error = 'not a directory: ' + dir;
-    }
+    var curDir = process.cwd();
+    process.chdir(dir);
+    common.state.previousDir = curDir;
   } catch (e) {
-    error = 'no such file or directory: ' + dir;
+    // something went wrong, let's figure out the error
+    var err;
+    try {
+      fs.statSync(dir); // if this succeeds, it must be some sort of file
+      err = 'not a directory: ' + dir;
+    } catch (e) {
+      err = 'no such file or directory: ' + dir;
+    }
+    if (err) common.error(err);
   }
-  if (error) common.error(error);
 }
 module.exports = _cd;