Ugh... car shopping... finally over!

I'm IN LOVE!!! With a car. Not the car I was looking for at all. For MONTHS I've been scouring the internet and craigslist, looking for the diamond in the rough, the one worth more than it's priced, or the low miles granny car. No one replies back, you get there and they lied, just on and on. I'm not a car dummy... my dad has 30 years in the industry. I can tell through the feel of it for front end issues and such. I know what they should sound like. Come on, people!

Anything fuel efficient at a cash sale price point is gone within an hour. Knowing that, every moment I was available I refreshed the adds and started calling. No luck!

After this last week with schedualing around husband's school and what not.... yesterday I snapped. As soon as he pulled in the driveway, I said "Get back in, we're going to Sweeny".

Left out of there in no time with a 2005 Mazda 3 hatch back. Boring but not. Reliable as heck. Low miles. 1 owner. 5 speed. FUN!!!!!!! zoom zoom! Went there to look at an older but low miles single owner Honda Accord. Too old to finance, just out of reach on the budget.

Glad I got this one. Saw a review that said "Not just an A to B car, makes you think about C and D". Yup! It does! Course I did all my research after I got home with it. Such a HUGE relief. I want to go to work this morning so I can drive. I don't care that it's 5am.

I should be at 200k in no time with nothing but oil changes and routine maintenance. I have many years before the miles get that high. They lowered the price and threw in a top shelf warranty! The peace of mind is worth the stupid payment. I didn't want to pay on another car... but... I will on this one. Won't be paying on it long though.

500 pounds of stress melted away on the drive home with it. Husband said I could have the dodge. Didn't expect a fight over the "new" car... thought for sure we'd be bickering about the dodge and I'd win because he has magic car hands and I don't, so any car with issues he drives.

And he wanted this 1982 Datson z-something er other we saw last week for $2,000. Is he crazy!? Yesterday he planned on seeing this 1989 New Yorker for $700 that needed everything. Not buying a 2nd car we NEED that has to sit in repair for a while! Every spare piece of money going to some belt or hose or something.

He wanted to put blood equity into a car. I get that. With a 2nd reliable car, now he can if he wants a project. I just want to go to work and not stress over who needs a ride when. I don't want a collection of beaters in various stages of repair. We've done that. I'm over the beaters. Flash backs to the '94 blazer! Had to plug it in every night because we didn't have the funds for the work it needed. I called it my electric powered gas guzzler.

Might take the long way to work this morning.

 

Yeah he's wanting to get into the bio fuel as well. Told him first we need transportation, reliable, cheap to keep for awhile. I HATE car shopping. All I want is a middle console as an arm rest, comfy seats, tight turning, decent sound, and some pep for fun.

Drove all over on short little trips, tank still on F for Full!!! Haven't seen that in a long time. The dodge would have sucked up an 1/8th of a tank already. And that's with me over doing it in 1st and 2nd as I get used to it. Totally different from the touchy stall-on-a-dime beater BMWs we've had. Need to break some habits I have from them.

Now with two decent vehicles, we can set aside some funds for any emergency, then he can shop for a project. Can't believe some of the cars he was looking at, and I've had some real "winners" myself.

The best part about it was my seat and mirrors being in the same place as the last time I was in it. It's the small things.