Friday, January 16, 2009

but will it make me happy?

I've got a problem; I've got an addiction. Seriously. I get on a "kick" researching something, and I can NOT let it go. When I bought my house, I was obsessed with the various sites that provide MLS listings. For years, I was addicted to Petfinder. (Actually, I still am.) I didn't even mind shopping for new appliances because it involved research. Hours and hours and hours of research. I like sites that have list pages and search results. Bonus points for drill downs and comparison engines.

Research skills are an asset. Addictions are a liability.

So, it is with this in mind that I admit that I'm addicted to researching a new car. My reasons for wanting a new car range far and wide, and I'm not sure any of them are honestly good reasons to buy a new car right now. The truth is that almost all my dog agility crap fits in the Golf now that I've rearranged it a bit. I don't NEED a new car. The Golf doesn't even have 37K on it. It runs perfect. It gets average-to-above-average mpg. It was once my dream car. Why isn't it still good enough? The only thing that the Golf lacks that I'm still tempted by is AWD, but perhaps new tires and maybe shifting my commute times to daylight hours are the simplest answer. Really... The only thing the Golf lacks is a confident night time city driver.

But now... There's a really good deal in play, and suddenly I am forced to ask myself if a new car will make me happy? Will getting this really good deal mitigate buyer's remorse? Will it make me love my commute more and hate my job less? Will it make it make my relationship with Jason easier? Will driving suddenly become fun? Will I have the confidence to drive in the middle lane on the Aurora bridge on a dark and stormy night? Will it give me ninja night vision? Probably not.

I'm tired. I've been researching the perfect cargo liner for a car that I may never buy. Time for bed.

1 comment:

fkane said...

Your Petfinder addiction resulted in Grete - that was a good thing!

Will it give you night vision? No, but there's something to be said for being higher up on the road and being able to see over the cars in front of you. I feel a LOT safer in my wife's SUV than my little car, and there's certainly the peace of mind that comes with knowing that snow can't trap me thanks to 4WD.

If you pay outright the only thing you have to lose is the depreciation, and it's used so it's already experienced its biggest drop there. Take a test drive and see if it makes you more confident on the road - and adjust your hours to come and go in the daylight either way...

I think the only downside is that you won't have an excuse to research cars anymore once you buy one :)