Of all the troubles in the world to have, trying to decide if I should replace my perfectly good three year-old automobile with a new car should be the least of anyone's problems. But I have been struggling to find a way to justify buying a new car even though my current daily driver is working well and is completely paid for.
My current ride is a 2003 Honda Accord LX four door, which I have owned since new. It delivers reasonable economy (slightly better than 20 mile per gallon in my heavy-footed stop and go driving routine) combined with enough size to haul four or five people and their luggage. The trunk will swallow a $40 dollar load of firewood and the rear seat back folds down to allow the large flea market purchase to come home in our car. But best of all, I paid cash for the car and it costs me nothing other than routine maintenance and fuel. The only replacement that the car will need in the next 55,000 miles is a pair of tires, which are approaching the end of their service life right now (I replaced the other pair about a year ago). So there is really no logical reason to ditch this car.
Ah, logic. The decision to purchase a car is not always based on logic. Emotion is as great an inducement to change your mobility method as any form of logic, maybe more so. My boring four door Accord screams out to the world "Mediocrity!" If this car were an item on a fancy dinner menu, it would be the chicken dish. If it were a suit in a Men's Store it would be grey flannel. Of the 31 Flavors, it would be Vanilla.
The kinfolk told Jed to move away to the hills of Beverly, the Jefferson's moved on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky and maybe it is time for me to shed my dowdy feathers and fly... a little bit. My kids are nearly out of the nest, the fiancee would like to see me sporting a higher profile ride, and I am good enough and smart enough to deserve a car more in keeping with current station in life. By golly I DESERVE a great, stylish car. A car that shouts out, "Here I come! Get out of my way for I am truly a special person who drives a truly special car."
So let's crunch some numbers: My current car is probably worth slightly better than $10K as a trade in, and even a entry level Style-mobile is going to cost something in the range of $35k, so we are talking about a cash hit of $25K or financing costs of about $750 per month. A lease would bring the monthly down considerably, but that is all money down the drain because I could not deduct a lease from my income taxes. With my son rapidly approaching college, my daughter rapidly approaching any shopping mall and my fiancee planning a lavish wedding celebration for us plus shopping for a new house for our blended families to share in the white hot California real estate market is this the best time to be buying a new car?
Rhetorical questions aside, what exactly would I buy? Two doors or four? Some people have a real phobia about being seen in a sedan rather than a coupe. Me, I am secure enough in my masculinity to drive anything. I have owned a Triumph Spitfire and a VW Cabriolet so obviously I am not afraid to be seen in any kind of vehicle.
Is there a manufacturer that I should be concentrating on? Lexus? Boring. Mercedes? Common as dirt out here in LA. BMW? Yawn. Acura? Not much cache. Audi? Too expensive for a upscale VW. VW? Been there, done that, not going back. American made? No way.
I use my car primarily for solo commuting ten miles to work and ten miles back on the mean streets of LA's rush hour crawl. But from time to time I need to haul a bag of planter mix, or a couple of lawn chairs or some other cargo so I need something that can handle a load. If I got a cute little roadster like a Lotus Elise, or a Porsche Boxster I would also need to buy a used pick up truck to hold in reserve when I need to carry something larger than an overnight bag.
Back to my food analogy comparing my boring Accord to a chicken dinner, a grey suit or vanilla ice cream. I like chicken, I own a grey suit and I always order Vanilla ice cream. So in a sense, the Accord is perfect for me. The out of pocket expense is low and it has all the features I need in a car.
There is an old saying, "Happiness in not having what you want. Happiness is wanting what you have."