Update: looking for a car was depressing so now I’m shopping for art.
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My dog wants dinner and is being pushy.
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I fully endorse your art shopping. We want to redo our patio but that’s not happening until all this waves at everything is over but I discovered this week that shopping online for outdoor patio furniture is great for my mental health.
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My very last phone charger is starting to only intermittently work. Oh no
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THIS IS A VERY BAD THING IN A PANDEMIC WHERE AMAZON TAKES WEEKS TO SHIP A THING
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Ask on social media - I guarantee someone has an extra!
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I did the math and I have averaged $3500 per year for just vehicle purchase costs. Jesus. I thought driving cheap, crappy cars was cheap. Should I buy a fancypants car? By fancypants I mean less than 10 years old. What is a reasonable way to determine car buying parameters?
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My cat pooped on the carpet and I made the discovery with my bare foot.
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It is probably not financially optimal, but I bought a brand new, base model car for this exact reason. I cannot afford ridiculous repair and replacement costs, and I can afford even less a car that doesn’t reliably turn on and go every time I get into it.
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Will a fancy new car come with a few years guaranteed? Be easier to adapt? Affect your insurance? Be comfy to get in and out of?
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Omfg. I’m in a breed group for B’s breed for my region of the country. Someone posted a video this morning and from the title I thought it was going to be heartwarming. Instead it was idiots protesting in Michigan. Why it was posted on a dog group I have no clue but now I’m mad that idiots are once again ignoring science and facts.
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I’m increasingly convinced that 10+ year old used cars fall into “Vimes theory of boots” economics territory based on my own experience.
In my own case, we have replaced both of our vehicles with brand-new. Rationales:
-with the models we were looking at, depreciation was linear enough that <5 year old versions weren’t all that much of a discount, maybe $500-1,000 a year savings tops.
-did not want to inherit a lot of deferred maintenance
-some of the more expensive routine maintenance repairs to a car happen in years 5-10.
-we would have had to finance either and way and new car loans are usually on more favorable terms (lower interest, sometimes factory subsidized, and longer terms)
-easier to shop for unless the sheer number of options overwhelms you.
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This is exactly what happened with us, with the added factor that there have been some major fuel economy improvements because of engine design, and SirB drives long distances for work.
We’ve been very happy with our purchase. 40mpg, runs wonderfully, we do our own oil changes. It’s already at “only” $6k/year, since it was $18k and we’ve had it 3 years. Insurance for us wasn’t any different between this and some of the 5-7 year old cars we had looked at and checked on.
@Smacky I’d say your wild card feature is a car that won’t get stolen/smashed up, based on past experiences? I don’t know how best to approach that.
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It’s snowing. Hard. It’s mid-april. I’m not in Hoth.
The weather gods are going to get a talking to.
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A couple of my suggestions:
- Check recall stats on vehicles. I was shocked at the number a car I wanted had versus what I bought. 1500 vs 150. For real.
- Check tire prices as you will need winter tires - bigger tires= more $
- Chat with your mechanic. They see what vehicles need massive amounts of repairs.
- Check out car specific forums - there is a lot of information out there, and not just for the peeps wanting to go faster.
I feel your pain. When I got my current car 10 years ago I had SO do the shopping (I was lucky that way), and I went and test drove based on his selection. Because the colour was not desirable (aka not black, white or silver) it was discounted more. I spent more up front but my repairs for the amount of driving I have done with it have been mostly regular maintenance.
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I carried a 50kg bag of compost back from the supermarket last night (along with the week’s food) and today my arms are on fire 
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We are forecast for 3 inches overnight. Fuck this shit.
But you’re a badass.
There is also white stuff falling from the sky here. This is perfectly acceptable when I can fling myself down a mountain at a high rate of speed on it, but the slopes would have closed last weekend even if they didn’t close over a month ago so it needs to officially knock it off and let it be spring at this point.
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Well, thank you 
In fairness I only live about half a kilometre from the big supermarket, but that felt like far enough!
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