Car Shopping

Joe sold his Honda S2000 convertible.  He really loved that car and we both have fond memories of driving up the coast in it and going on date nights.  I didn’t want him to sell it if he didn’t want to but it only seats two and that won’t work with a family.  I made him a deal that when our kids are grown he can get any car he wants.  For now we just need to get a four door car that seats at least four.  He was able to sell his car immediately.  Literally the day after he put it up.  It needed some work but someone offered more in order to get it so we got the full Kelley Blue Book value of it.  The money we got will be the downpayment on another car.

We went out looking today.  I kind of always wanted a Honda Fit because I felt like there is just no space or parking anywhere in LA.  The smaller the car you have, the easier time you’ll have getting places you need to go.  Even my current Honda Civic has trouble fitting in regular compact parking spaces and I feel like I have the most basic common economy car out there.  The spaces are always so close together there is no way to avoid getting doored and having some jerk fling open his driver’s side door denting up and scratching your passenger side door.  My car has three and one is a pretty hard dent.  Joe’s S2000 had two.  Anyway, I always wanted a Honda Fit but I also have really been wanting a hybrid because of my stances on the environment and air pollution in Los Angeles.  They only make a Honda Fit Hybrid in Japan and Europe.  We can’t get a hybrid here.  However, the Prius C looks like a hybrid but has the design of a Fit so I was thinking of going for that.  I like the hatchback design.

We started out looking at Prius models.  Upon looking at the Prius C we realized there is no way it’s ever going to work at all.  The trunk space is so small I’d never be able to fit a stroller and groceries/shopping bags in there.  We looked at the regular Prius model but neither of us like the odd shape and weird design of it.  The back window is just odd.  Then we looked at the Prius V but Joe didn’t like the look of it and I really don’t want a big car.  Joe’s convinced we need an SUV for the kids because we’re going to need a lot of trunk space.  He saw a woman struggling to get a stroller and bags inside her trunk that was too small and ever since then he’s been adamant that we’ll need an SUV.

We love Hondas.  We feel like they’re the most reliable cars.  They are easy to maintain and last a long time so we went looking at Hondas next.  We looked at the CRV but I think it’s too big.  The last thing I want in LA is an SUV.  I will never go anywhere because I won’t be able to park anywhere.  Then we looked at the HRV.  It’s a sub-compact SUV.  I was okay with the size of it.  I really wouldn’t want an SUV any bigger than that.  It looked good but when we saw the trunk it didn’t really seem to provide much more space than my Civic.  There was height and cabin room but my Civic actually had a deeper trunk.  We talked it over and decided that it makes more sense just to get another car like mine with the same trunk space rather than spend that much more money on a compact SUV that doesn’t really provide more space.  We ended up looking at the 2016 Honda Civic Touring, simply because we saw it sitting there and it looked really nice.  It looked like a flashy luxury car.  I really felt like I could see Joe driving it and being happy in that, especially after giving up an S2000, and it had more trunk space than my Civic.  However, the price on it was way too high and they weren’t willing to come down at all.

Once we got home we decided to reassess our plan for getting a car.  We figured with the baby coming and me being a stay at home mom, the best option is to stay out of debt and not take on a loan for a car.  We decided just to buy another used Honda Civic like the car we have now for me with our savings and treat it like a loan, only we can pay ourselves back at our own pace and avoid interest.  Once the savings are paid back, then we can sell my old Civic and Joe can get a car for himself.  Any car he wants that we can afford that works for our family.  I have a 2004 Honda Civic that I bought in 2009.  I’ve been driving it for 7 years with basic maintenance and minimal problems.  I’m comfortable in it and I think another Civic will work for me.  We will save a lot of money by buying a used car (I actually read that it’s not really worth it to ever buy new because so much of the value depreciates the second you drive it off the lot and you can actually find a barely used/like new car but save thousands even if it’s only a couple years old).  It seems like the most practical approach.  I really wanted to get a hybrid to help the environment and the smog city I live in called LA but Honda doesn’t have any real options.  The Prius is really the leader of hybrids and we decided we didn’t want a Prius.  At least we’ve narrowed down our decision and know what we want now.