Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Grand Car Parade Part 1

Have you ever seen that Ikea commercial for lamps? You see the whole thing from the perspective of a lamp. It gets set out on the corner and then watches through the window as the people get and enjoy a new lamp from Ikea. Suddenly the sad music stops, and the manager of Ikea comes in to say "It's yust a lamp. Go ahead and get a new one." It's a very funny commercial, and they could have made it about me and my current car. I really need to make myself realize that it's "yust" a car.

I've been reluctantly, sorrowfully hunting for a new car for the past few months. I do NOT want to get ride of my beautiful, sporty little car. However, reality is knocking in a way that can no longer be ignored. The car is nearing twenty years old, it is no longer reliable, it is not at all well-suited to ice and snow, and it can only carry two people. In short, I need a new car, I must get a new car, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

My car hunting took me to a huge dealership with thousands of cars to choose from. M came along as I test drove a Toyota Matrix with only 23k and All Wheel Drive. It was a nice car, but they wanted far more than I was willing to spend. We also had a quick look at the Subaru dealership, but there was nothing much to tempt me there. In the end I decided that I liked the Matrix, but I wanted one with a few more miles so it would be cheaper. Thus mostly decided (although still fantasizing about something with more pizzazz) I went off to the bank to request an auto loan. I thought this would be no big deal which certainly shows what I know. More soon.

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