In case you didn’t hear by now, the poor Cougar is on it’s last legs. I can’t really complain; It has lasted us about 4 years with very minimal investment. And it’s by no means dead… it’s just become a liability that we can no longer ignore (i.e. while fixing part A, part B might break in the process, only to find out that it was really part C all along). The smarter thing to do at this point is to have a reliable car, and work on getting the Cougar back to new slowly when we have time and money.

So where does that leave us? Shopping for a new car on a tight budget and short timeline. Not a good combination.

See, the trick in buying a car is in finding a model that you can not only afford, but afford to live with for 5+ years. And I’m not just talking money… I’m talking convenience, comfort, and “joy of driving”. Let’s face it; we all spend far too much time in our cars, so we need to make the time worthwhile.

And therein lies the rub. With the auto industry struggling a little bit, it makes buying a new car easier and cheaper than ever, but at the expense of the used market. What happens when you can’t afford new? The used car market is flooded with WAY overpriced cars because people paid considerably more for their cars last year, or the year before. In order for people to not lose a ton of money, they are selling 2 year old cars for almost the same price as a you can negotiate for a new car now.

But the issue is complicated even further when you have a tight budget. We started out aiming for a $200-$250/month payment. Unfortunately, we soon found out that with used car interest rates at 8%, that meant getting an economy car that is over 4 or 5 years old (to be in the $10000 range). However, with new cars being sold with 0.9% to 3% financing, getting a $15000 new car would equal the exact same payments! Then the question becomes “what kind of car sells for $15000″? A very plain one. What happens when you want a few little perks to make your daily drive more pleasant? Like… say… a USB connection for your iPod? Or a Sunroof for those nice breezy summer days on long winding roads? Or heated seats for those frigid Canadian winters? Or leather seating so we can easily wipe off the dog’s fur after a road trip? At what point do you draw the line between convenience and greed?

What may seem like a silly perk for some can be quite meaningful for others. Purchasing our current Cougar without a moonroof has haunted me since the day I bought it. It is my single biggest regret with the ’99 Cougar. You might be thinking “it’s just a moonroof”; But for me, it takes me back to those early moments with my wife, driving the country roads to Bourget while I look up at the stars from the passenger seat, full of love and joy. For me, the moonroof feels like a symbol of love, freedom and happiness. So I’m trying everything in my power to not make the same mistake I made with the last car. I don’t want any regrets. I want to make my time in the car enjoyable and fun.

So what is the art of buying a car? I guess it’s a bit like finding a true love.

Don’t be afraid to push your boundaries for what you truly want. Don’t be afraid to take a few risks in order to have no regrets. And make sure you’re going to enjoy every minute you spend with it.

Just choose something you can live with. Or more importantly, choose something you can’t see yourself living without.

A7

Tags: a7, car, life, love

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 10:59 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.