Buying New Car

[Juniper]

That thread about our first cars got me thinking. As I mentioned, I have a 2008 Honda CR-V. I like it all right, but I'm not in love with it. Yeah, yeah . . . I know. Some people are happy to have a car that runs with no major problems. I'm spoiled rotten. Oh well, that's not news.

I bought it in Jan 08, traded in our Kia Sedona minivan (which we liked very much). At the time I was thinking - whoa - four bucks a gallon! And getting ready to start college, which is a 40-minute drive. Plus I was going to be a cool college kid again, had to get something kinda sporty-ish for my mid-life crisis. (Yeah, that's as crazy as I get, I guess.) I really like the car; it's comfy and does everything I need it to do, handles very well in snow, holds lots of family clutter, a nice basic crossover car. I never had a bit of trouble with it, knock on wood. I'd recommend it. I think even the 2011 is exactly the same, so they got it right.

But now I'm thinking . . . a new car might be a really cool graduation gift for myself! I'd like a new SUV. Not something huge, but one that sits up a bit higher than the CR-V, something comfy with the modern bells & whistles like XM/Sirius, a GPS, etc. A 3rd row would be nice, unless it makes the whole thing way too big.

So I'm warring with myself. On one hand, OMG, what kind of idiot only keeps a new car 2 1/2 years? On the other hand, the car IS paid for, trade-in value is still pretty good, it's up to about 35K miles and things might start going wrong . . . . hm.

I mentioned it to the hubby, and it takes VERY little for him to get whipped up into car-shopping mode. I don't know why I expected him to say . . . yeah, maybe we'll shop in another year or so . . . but I did expect it. And of course he didn't. He said "Yay! Let's go test-drive! You deserve it baby!" LOL!

Well, we'll see. What would you do in my place? Reward yourself for all of that "A-grubbing" and use that car payment as an incentive to get your ass in gear and make some money with that shiny new degree, or just be a good girl and drive the Honda for a while?