well that's that…. bought a truck
all in all, today has been a fairly good day. Around noon I got the email from the bank telling me that my car loan was approved. I already knew what i wanted to buy, so i gave them a call. it's a no haggle deal from enterprise, a 2002 GMC Sonoma SLS 4×4 with 35k miles. Like my current car, it is fully loaded and unlike my current car has all the modern safety features in that 'Loaded'. Since I've owned my last car for 10 years and put a total of 14000 miles on it and those during probably the most mechanically abusive period of a person's life, the 20's, I expect this one will last for a bit longer and besides in 10 years at the same pace it won't even be at 50k, though i admit I'll probably put 40 k on this one in the next 10 years, unless i take a job in europe, then I'll make the payments and loan this one to my parents for the duration.
In any case, now I have to get rid of my old car, found a place that will take it, but i still have to clean it out and get it ready to go, for a 20 year old car now averaging less than 6k miles a year, it has remarkably few problems and will make someone a good runner with a minimum investment. My new truck though, it will take a few long hauls I think, mainly because I think that is advisable for a 31 year old in america. I also have to do two winter trips this year, as my nephew thomas is new unto the world and the new uncle has certain determinable responsibilities, so the 4×4 on demand function could be handy for those trips.
all in all, i'm pretty happy that i have a newer vehicle. the last long trip in my older car wasn't well received by it, though the problem it caused has been repaired, but it doesn't like the winter so much as it needs new rings and has low compression, though the summer it loves, not that any vehicle does really like it. anyway, the nature of the beast is that the old car will be replaced by the new, and already has been replaced by the insurance agency and tomorrow will be replaced on the plates, so that as they say will be that.
overall, i do realize that cars are a ripoff for most people, but since i intend to own my new one for 10-15 years(barring incident), mine will not be a ripoff like most cars. payments to be mobile in this our unitied states are immensely prohibitive and i think somewhat immoral, but i could resist the system at end and then be stuck in blacksburg on many days when i need not be, the convenience tax, as such, weighs on me. I want to be able to go places and do things without being impeded unnecessarily, so i bought a vehicle that would suffice and i paid about about 2/3 of its new price but still under its blue book price, so all in all, i'm satiated.
