So I've been actually needing a new car for a while now, and had planned to buy one later this year. I recently got a new job with full benefits and union membership and was going to save up for a nice down payment, but it was not to be.
I've been driving a 2003 PT Cruiser for the last 13 years or so. It certainly isn't a great car in terms of looks, overall quality, gas mileage, interior space, nor is it exactly a "smooth drive". It did its job however, of getting me from point A to point B. I was starting to put alot of money into it in the last couple years though, as the car was aging and it isn't a great car to begin with.
Long story short, last Thursday I'm driving on the highway on my way to work, and suddenly the engine light comes. Almost immediately, the car begins to decelerate. I'm doing roughly 65 but my speed is dropping quickly even as I continue to push the gas to no avail. So I pull off to the side of the road, turn the engine off/flashers on, and wait a few moments. I try to restart the car, but no such luck. Wife comes to pick me up and and take me to work, while we have the car towed to a repair shop and see what the damage is.
My wife texts me a few hours later, and informs me the timing belt is busted and its $700 to repair, which is worth as much or more than the car itself. Not happening.
So this weekend we went auto shopping. I've had small cars most of my life and wanted an SUV. The last couple years I've done quite a bit of research to narrow my choices down to which one I was going to get. It came down to either a Toyota Rav4, a Kia Sportage, or Nissan Rogue.
I chose the Sportage - it's the least expensive of the bunch at equal trim levels, has the highest safety ratings, the most stylish interior (and exterior too, actually), drives the smoothest, and Kia's 10 year/100k mile warranty is next to unbeatable. The gas mileage is only so so for a compact SUV, but its still MUCH better than the ol' PT Cruiser. So after much negotiating and getting some strings pulled, I managed to get a pretty nice deal on a BRAND NEW one! It was hard, because even though I have good credit, I was only able to put $3000 down (on a $22,000 vehicle) and I've only been at my current place of employment a month, so many lenders figured me to be a risk. I didn't quite get the interest rate I wanted, but I did manage to get about 6k knocked off the MSRP (originally 27K, but it was on sale for 24, then down to 22 after rebates, and then I managed to talk them down to 21) and to keep my payment at $358 a month (I was hoping to not have to go too much higher than 350, so it worked out).
It came a little earlier than I wanted, but needless to say I am absolutely stoked. This thing is a beauty, and it drives absolutely wonderful. It feels nice to be in a bigger more spacious vehicle - and a brand new 2018 one at that.
![[Image: 4pyHNFv.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/4pyHNFv.jpg)
![[Image: GALLjpB.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/GALLjpB.jpg)
![[Image: Lvy4HX3.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Lvy4HX3.jpg)
![[Image: i9NTmZe.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/i9NTmZe.jpg)
![[Image: yawVdTl.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/yawVdTl.jpg)
I've been driving a 2003 PT Cruiser for the last 13 years or so. It certainly isn't a great car in terms of looks, overall quality, gas mileage, interior space, nor is it exactly a "smooth drive". It did its job however, of getting me from point A to point B. I was starting to put alot of money into it in the last couple years though, as the car was aging and it isn't a great car to begin with.
Long story short, last Thursday I'm driving on the highway on my way to work, and suddenly the engine light comes. Almost immediately, the car begins to decelerate. I'm doing roughly 65 but my speed is dropping quickly even as I continue to push the gas to no avail. So I pull off to the side of the road, turn the engine off/flashers on, and wait a few moments. I try to restart the car, but no such luck. Wife comes to pick me up and and take me to work, while we have the car towed to a repair shop and see what the damage is.
My wife texts me a few hours later, and informs me the timing belt is busted and its $700 to repair, which is worth as much or more than the car itself. Not happening.
So this weekend we went auto shopping. I've had small cars most of my life and wanted an SUV. The last couple years I've done quite a bit of research to narrow my choices down to which one I was going to get. It came down to either a Toyota Rav4, a Kia Sportage, or Nissan Rogue.
I chose the Sportage - it's the least expensive of the bunch at equal trim levels, has the highest safety ratings, the most stylish interior (and exterior too, actually), drives the smoothest, and Kia's 10 year/100k mile warranty is next to unbeatable. The gas mileage is only so so for a compact SUV, but its still MUCH better than the ol' PT Cruiser. So after much negotiating and getting some strings pulled, I managed to get a pretty nice deal on a BRAND NEW one! It was hard, because even though I have good credit, I was only able to put $3000 down (on a $22,000 vehicle) and I've only been at my current place of employment a month, so many lenders figured me to be a risk. I didn't quite get the interest rate I wanted, but I did manage to get about 6k knocked off the MSRP (originally 27K, but it was on sale for 24, then down to 22 after rebates, and then I managed to talk them down to 21) and to keep my payment at $358 a month (I was hoping to not have to go too much higher than 350, so it worked out).
It came a little earlier than I wanted, but needless to say I am absolutely stoked. This thing is a beauty, and it drives absolutely wonderful. It feels nice to be in a bigger more spacious vehicle - and a brand new 2018 one at that.
https://www.youtube.com/user/FireIceTalon
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)