Waving goodbye to my once-trusty Ford Focus.
Despite all evidential blurriness and my desire for overall blog improvement, I have placed an indefinite hold on my search for a nicer camera. It is not that I don't aim to someday develop new skills in the realm of photography. But at the present moment, I just don't have the time or (frankly) the spare mad money. Last month (when faced with even more car troubles and repair bills) I traded in my beloved 11-year-old vehicle for something new.
If you consider only the numbers (and factor in average depreciating value upon leaving a dealership), a new car is hardly a wise investment. I toiled all summer long about when and whether to buy new or used. Currently, used car prices are inflated and in high demand (for many reasons, such as public anxiety over economic recovery/growth as well as the longer-term constraint on potential supply via last year's Cash for Clunkers program). I weighed my options: considering the potential risk of unknown when buying used, factoring my own priorities and desires for a safer vehicle to facilitate weekly commutes, valuing potential financing promotions available (to those who have qualifying credit ratings) with the purchase of new vehicles, and thinking about the time/research involved in hunting for the right used car. Ultimately, I was able to negotiate the price of a 2011 Honda Civic that had all of my desired bells and whistles. This is my first legit new car purchase ever. And so far I have no regrets.
When it comes to my closet I am a big believer in lowering cost per wear, maximizing versatility and longevity, and retaining value. While the evidence of price depreciation was convincing, I wanted the security of a warranty and I knew that I valued the price per use as well as my own peace of mind. New-ish used cars were so costly that I found myself considering new instead. My mom is a master car shopper and negotiator so I have to thank her for accompanying me and advising me along the way. Although this consumption is entirely unrelated to outfits/my closet it seemed too monumental and large a purchase to leave out of the conversation. Tomorrow I'll share my other new "toy"* (which is probably the last thing I'll buy for a while) and hope to hone my skills at creative repeats/remixes til the holiday sale season.
*for the record, I'm not down with trivializing something so costly by calling it a toy and hoped my long-winded, serious diatribe conveyed the irony of my title.
10 comments:
My husband insists on new--because we get a lower interest rate on the loan, a savings overall. Our last new vehicle was a hybrid--a bit more expensive, but the savings in gas by the time we pay for the loan actually makes it cheaper. I'll bet you have good mileage on this.
I'm with you on every criteria you used to rationalize your new purchase. It's really only the Bells and Whistles that are toys. Because a reliable, economic and safe means of transportation for the working class is a necessity we can't do without.
Now we have seen you waving goodbye to your Ford Focus. When will we see the new Honda Civic? Is it Red too? I'm a firm believer in making sure the other guy can see me coming. So Red has been the color of my last two cars.
Oh wow! This brings me great comfort. Everyone has told me that we will have this car for a long time. Glad to hear it rings true for you!
The lower interest rate was really what convinced Chris who was very pro-used car until we researched the available finance options for new vs used.
We do get very good gas mileage, especially on the highway. Our Focus did well for its age but this is great!
Thank you, Laura! I really had to think it through because it is a big purchase. And with my commute (even if it is only two days a week) safety and reliability were paramount. I wish there were public transit options available for me because I would use the commute as working time. But there just aren't. So a car has become a necessity of my adult to a degree it never has been before.
My new car isn't red although I did enjoy the visibility of my red Focus. I got it in Urban Titanium. My mom did take a photo of me in the new car but I felt funny posting it. I need to edit the plate from visibility before sharing.
That sounds like a great colour! Ours is the "candy blue", I love it. Yeah, the things my husband wanted were included with the gps etc, but he had some rebates etc that made it the standard price (or so he told me). I really like the fiesta, if we had a second car, we would consider that one, in the bright green colour hehe. My mom had an accord for years, she really likes the Hondas, I think it will be great for you.
Congrats on the new car, Jess!
You didn't tell us the most important part! What colour? :) We recently got a new car as well, went from a 2000 focus (it was red too, but not the hatchback) for a 2012 hatchback focus, love it. It is blue. I understand the whole car depreciation, but I think you did a fine thing :)
All three cars I've bought as an adult have been new. The $6300 base model Hyundai Excel I bought in grad school lasted me 9 years and about 90,000 miles. The $22,000 VW New Beetle I got in my first year at Virginia Tech lasted almost 10 years and over 120,000 miles of hard, rural road driving -- and raised a few thousand dollars for the public radio station when I donated it at the end of its life. The Prius that I bought two years ago actually has a blue book value some $7000 greater than what I still owe on it -- because of the Japanese earthquake/disaster, it's been hard to get new Toyotas. I've never regretted a new car purchase or the many years of service under warranty that ensues.
You will love it. Our civic is a 2002 and has traveled overseas 4 times, has 90K miles on it and is still going strong. Just keep up the maint. and it will last for a long time!
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