May 18, 2006 :: I'm flossy

Or maybe I'm not...

Since over a month has passed, I have decided that the beloved Prelude is beyond all hope, and needs to be retired. It's like when a horse breaks her leg - you don't patch her up with a cast and have all the other horses sign it wishing her well. You take her out back and have her shot, even if she won more races and birthed more champions than anybody else. As a society, we're quite comfortable with euthanasia for animals, it's people we haven't come to terms with. Not to get off-track, I am euthanizing my car.

So then the question becomes, what to replace it with? Although the 'lude was a whole lot of fun to drive, there were a few things about it that nagged at me - the incredibly small trunk paired with an even smaller trunk opening, such that some of the few things that could actually fit in the trunk couldn't get in through the opening; the incredibly facetious backseats that were designed only to lower insurance rates; the compromise that is front wheel drive. So I figure my next car needs to preserve as much of the "fun to drive" factor (I believe that's what "fahrvergnugen" was supposed to indicate, but one only wonders why they thought that word could ever apply to a VW) while giving me legit backseats (maybe even four doors) and a trunk. Front wheel drive is a plus in the snow and ice and rain, but that car sucked so much on poor traction surfaces (even after I got my Pirelli P-Zero Neros, which rocked) that a rear wheel drive car couldn't be much worse.

There is also the complicating factor of my own vanity. As I get older, as I move on to my new job at the end of the month (with it's slight raise but tantalizing potential for bonus pay), part of me wants a car that reflects my own perceived newfound status. Now, I'm no fool, I won't be buying anything new. But a few bucks extra on a used car might be worth the trouble. The problem is, the cost of the car is only part of the cost of owning a car - the insurance and maintenance can really eat up that extra monthly money that could otherwise have been spent on top-shelf liquor and attractive, supple women.

So I'm considering a few alternatives, but they can probably be summarized by two of the choices:

»    2003 Nissan Maxima GLE
This is the sober, functional yet still somewhat fun choice. It's cheaper than the other choice by a good margin. The car is still somewhat stylish, yet it won't stand out in anybody's crowd, even if I try to spruce it up with custom wheels and tint or something. But with the likely payments and insurance costs, I won't be breaking my pockets on it.

»    2001 BMW 530i
I know what the "TMV Dealer Retail" number says on the page; it's wrong because I've priced them. They run a couple grand more than the Maxima, but then I must consider what everyone's said to me about BMWs: The maintenance costs will kill you. So then I check out certified used prices, and those cost about six grand more than non-certified. And with the warranty they carry and the amount of miles I drive, that would cover no more than three years' worth of driving. So is it possible to have six grand worth of service on a car in three years? If so, that would make the certified plan worthwhile. But then that doesn't factor in insurance, and it's busting out of my self-imposed budget. But it sure would be nicer than a Maxima.

Complicating the transaction, I think I can get a markedly better interest rate on a loan on the certified car: 3.9% vs a likely 6.2%. So maybe that balances out more than I think, I have to go do the math.

Meanwhile, I have to consider that my current car's trade-in value would be mostly apologetic - as in "I'm sorry sir, but your car is only worth $300. And that's a gift considering we'll have to pay the junkman to haul it away." So I have to gin up a downpayment that I wasn't planning for until a couple years from now. I could use emergency funds for it, but that would be wrong, and I won't tempt fate in that way. Luckily, I have a freelance project waiting in the wings that could more than take care of that, plus the laptop I'm going to need very soon.

So I figure I have about a month or two to decide which way to go.

posted by Rainmayun at 5:26 PM -