We had the old Mazda at the mechanic on Wedneday and he gave us the long list of repairs it needed, and some pretty urgently. It didn't take much talking to realize we both felt there was no point putting money into a car with 290,000+kms on it. It's been virtually problem free for 10 years but it was time to move on. We figured we might as well start our shopping in Penticton the next day. We've been doing research for a while already so we had an idea what to look at to begin with. The vehicle we really wanted (a Mazda 5) was/is out of range so we were bracing to settle for something we really didn't like but would do the job.
After the first car lot we were totally disillusioned with the options, (newer domestic boat car, expensive older import sedan, or mini-van), hot and grouchy. So we did what anyone else would do - grab a snack, head to the beach and ignore the real issues. For hours. I got to stay with the kids while Jer went back into town to check out a few more places. He came back with an interesting idea...he found a 2001 Honda CR-V in the same price range as the used import sedans and the fuel economy was significantly better than any of the mini-vans. We hadn't even looked at those because A) it's considered an SUV of sorts, which I swore I'd never drive, and B) thought they were waaaaaay out of the price range. In any case, we drove it, loved it and bought it.
Considering how much trouble we have deciding what to eat for supper sometimes it amazes me how quickly we make the bigger financial decisions. A few hours of stress and it was over. I love it that Jeremy and I generally agree on these kinds of issues and there was no tension between us of wanting totally different things. It's too bad that we both equally detest any kind of wheeling & dealing but we've accepted our lot - we will never get the best deal around but won't either stress ourselves out playing mindgames and dragging out the process.
5 comments:
Sounds like a fairly pain-free event, and I don't think you guys will go wrong with the Honda.
Hard to imagine that some people actually enjoy buying and selling cars. It's about the worst thing I can imagine doing. There's always this voice telling me that I'm going to get screwed, it's just a matter of by how much.
We're banking on the Honda reputation although it's no guarantee of course. I've had a few cold sweats post-purchase, thinking of all the things that could go wrong with a used vehicle but then realize that I'd have had some of those moments with anything we would have bought.
It was really as pain-free as used vehicle shopping can be I think.
That Mazda served you guys well. It's lasted almost as long as Ryan's Honda. I'll miss it and I don't know if I was even ever in it!
I think the CR-V was a good choice, but maybe that's because I love my Civic.
I don't think we'll match up to your fuel economy but the third car seat wouldn't have jammed into a civic. That was possibly the funniest part of car shopping. I schlepped the infant seat base along and refused to drive anything unless we could prove that all the seats fit in first!
Oh totally! Even with the need for only two infant seats the Civic's space is stretched thin. I've said for 2 years now (we've had it for 3) that the only reason I'm going to give it up after the lease is up is because we're going to have to upgrade to the Accord.
Although, if I get my way we'll end up with the Element. We'll have to wait until next July to find out.
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