Well, if you paid attention to my Twitter, you’d know that I just bought a new (used) car the other night. This was a long time coming. Here’s some background:
- I drive 53 miles each way to work. This means I spend a lot of time in the car and rely on it heavily.
- Driving this much means I need an oil change about every two weeks, tires once a year, and spend a fortune on gas.
- After getting married, I starting driving my wife’s 2003 VW Jetta because it got better gas mileage than my other vehicle. Unfortunately, it also required premium gas.
- Because I’m cheap and poor, I didn’t put premium gas in the car.
Now the problems start…
- In February, the engine coolant thermostat quit working. Total cost to fix: $236 ($35 for the part, $201 for labor at crazy overpriced VW dealership).
- Early in the spring, the car would barely start when left to sit for the weekend. The engine cranked by wouldn’t start up. I ignored this.
- In August, the vehicle required over $400 of work to pass state inspection. Brakes, headlights, wipers, etc., etc.
- In September, the coolant thermostat started acting up again. I ignored it.
- In October, it was starting to get cold out and the car was starting really hard in the morning. I took it in to a VW dealer and they told me I needed new spark plugs and my fuel system flushed. Total cost to do this: $750.
- I told the VW dealer, “screw you”, and took it to an independent place that did it for $350. Of course, the VW dealer charged me a $100 diagnosis fee.
- Battery died in early November. Replacement cost: $92
- Last week, when driving home I stopped at a 4-way stop sign. When it was my turn to go, I let off the brake, went for the gas, and the whole car shut off. Literally. Everything just shut down. I put the car in park and it started back up, but it was weird.
- Two days later, the exact same thing happened at a different stop sign.
- I said screw it, we’re getting a new car.
The Jetta still had two years left on the loan term, but I figured we could get more for it now than if I drove it another two years (figure 50,000 miles), continued to money into repairs, and tried to trade it in sometime in the future. Thankfully the Jetta netted us about $2,700 bucks towards a downpayment on the new car (trade in value less our loan payoff). It had almost 79,000 miles when we traded it in for a 2006 Accord with 17,000 miles.
Now, if I had kept the car for another two years or more, it’s possible I could’ve netted more than $2,700. But I would have had the constant headache of dealing with the car, the wondering if it was going to start each morning, and the worry of it shutting off at every stop sign I came to. I feel much better about what I’m driving now.
Now, I know it’s an Accord and a totally boring vehicle, but as Colin says, it’s dependable and not too flashy, just like me. If history is any guide, it should be much more reliable than the Jetta, and get about 25% better gas mileage while using cheaper fuel. It’s also going to save me some money on insurance! You can’t argue with that!
