With $1000 of auto repair bills looming, STK and finally faced the inevitable: it's probably time to replace one of our automobiles. My car, a ten year old Honda Civic coupe, still runs like a dream; with over 150,000 miles on the tires, I'm still getting 48 miles per gallon. The fact my trusty car keeps on cruising really isn't all that surprising. The vast majority of the miles put on the car have been highway miles. So, while my car keep on plugging along at a good pace ::knocks on wood::, it's also worth about $1.25 when it comes to trade-in value.
STK's car, a 1998 Nissan Altima, is also in great shape.* That said, her car is reaching the point-of-no-return in terms of trade-in value. If we don't use her car on a trade-in soon, we'll never get anything for it and we'll be faced with the proposition of driving our cars until their very last breath.
Keeping all that in mind, I spent the last couple days looking at potential new cars.
UPDATE: Okay, I saved a draft of this post about 8 AM Saturday morning. Since then, much has occured. This evening, STK and I ventured to a local Honda dealership looking for a particular model and color of a vehicle we've been eyeing. Believe it or not, the dealership had EXACTLY the vehicle for which we were looking (a quick internet search suggests this was the only dealership in the state to have this particular model and color--why on earth are 5 speeds so difficult to find? Sheesh). After sitting down and pushing the pencil for a while, we convinced the dealership to give us exactly what we wanted. Having haggled on price, we were still reluctant. The clincher was 1.9% financing (thank goodness for perfect credit). Folks, that's like borrowing money for nothing. We can't get that rate at our credit union.
At 9 PM tonight, we said goodbye to the Altima and drove home in our new, Galapagos Green Honda Element. The vehicle provides everything we need: five speed manual transmission, 4WD, room to transport TLO, the dogs, and additional cargo, urethane-coated floor (no carpet means no dog hair sticking everywhere--wet mop the floor and the interior is clean!), cruise control, AC, and much, much more. If the vehicle lives up to the reviews by both professionals and owners, we'll be very pleased with the purchase.
*It's in great shape but boy does it suck in the snow. I've never driven a front-wheel drive car that's any worse.
2 comments:
Michael and I congratulate you on your purchase of the Green Lantern Mobile! Have you considered a nickname yet?
Please also extend a Happy Mother's Day wish from us to STK.
Derek, I'm shocked — shocked and appalled. First you got married. Then you got TLO. Now you've bought an SUV. It's like you've gone all mainstream and conformist. You're freakin' me out.
In your defense, though, it appears that you managed to purchase the most aesthetically unpleasant SUV on the market, so you'll definitely get some unconventionality points there. Incidentally, isn't that the same color as the old station wagon you drove in high school?
Seriously, though, congrats on the new wheels!
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