My team will be moving to a new office in the coming weeks to a location that would add another hour or more each way to my commute if I kept taking the bus. I’ve known this for months so I have been thinking about the need to buy a car.
I hate the idea of a car payment and have been lucky in my previous two cars that I have been able to pay for them without a loan. This time I really worried that I would not be able to find a reasonable car for the amount of cash I figured I could afford to pay. Late last week I noticed a little truck at the side of the road along my bus route that was for sale in the right price range. That got me serious about shopping, especially when combined with the news that we would probably be moving a month earlier than I had previously expected.
After driving a couple of other cars (including the truck I had seen along the bus route) I finally found my new car:
It’s amazing that I could get everything I wanted at the right price. It drives well, has low miles, can hold carseats (the little truck couldn’t do that) or haul larger items, and it even has 4 wheel drive in case we ever need that on our hills. I feel very fortunate today.