Jaci Dawn

I need a new ride.

And I hate car shopping.

I’m trying to go about it right this time: getting pre-approved through the credit union ahead of time, researching cars in my price range and locating the dealers that have them.

The last car I bought was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was helping my good friend, Rosie, car shop. We ended up out at Courtesy Ford in Gresham where she was getting a heck of a bargain. The fleet sales person was an acquaintance (and is no longer there) and while we were standing around, she ran some numbers for me. I wandered around the lot looking at practical cars in that price range, but I really *really* wanted a cute little pick-up.

Don gave me permission to get the pick-up. And I’ve loved it. Nevermind that I didn’t bother to ascertain if there really was a working radio in it (there wasn’t and it wasn’t covered by warranty. But who needs a radio?). Nevermind that it is useless in rain and I have to haul around 250# (plus) in the bed to keep from spinning out on hills. Nevermind that the low-clearance, 2-wheel drive, fiberglass bed all combined to make it useless in snow any deeper than one inch. How often do we get snow in Portland, anyway?

And never mind that not long after I bought it a mechanic looked at it and mentioned that the clutch was “worn”.

I’ve driven it for 8 years with a “worn” clutch, but I can tell our days are coming to an end. As my son predicted, I speed-shift more often than not.

It was cute and I needed cute at that time in my life.

Now I need something else. We’re of two minds in the house: Don wants me to get a hybrid. I want a used 4×4 SUV. Don wants me to get something with good mileage. I want to know in comparison to what? The pick-up gets 21/22 MPG city (which is a lot more than his Explorer gets).

I don’t want a car. I want something I can take up in the woods if I have a mind to follow after Don some weekend. Something that can handle gravel roads.

I want something that is reliable when we get a surprise snow storm that turns to icy streets within an hour and gridlock shuts Portland down for five to nine hours (depended on your individual horror story: it took me five and a half hours to get home and I had the Explorer).

I want something with a heater. My poor truck hasn’t had a heater for the past two winters. Winter before last, I coaxed some heat out of it after Don changed all the hoses but one (the one he can’t get to). This winter, I got heat on warm days. Cold days, I carried a blanket and a heat pad. I look forward to summer.

I’m turning in my application for a loan tomorrow. Nervously. Don and I just spent years paying our way out of bad debts and stupid decisions. Two years ago we were making $860.00/month car payments between my truck and his Explorer. Both rigs are paid off now. I don’t want to pay any more than $400.00/month for a car. But because we are virtually debt-free, committing us to a new loan is scary.

I want to be certain what I buy has a good engine, a good transmission and a warranty. When I bought the pick-up, I bought a warranty. It paid for itself when I replaced the entire power steering.

I want a radio with a CD player. Silence is overrated.

This story is to be continued…