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Apr. 8th, 2012 10:02 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nirvelli_lynnThis week has been a whirl. I haven't managed to do almost any work this weekend, which is my big "work time" as I rarely have too many distractions during the day... not this week... Why? Well, after 294,000 miles the Hyundai started to (finally) break. Tuesday, on the way to work, Kate called me and stated that the car lurched than suddenly dropped in gas milage. She took it to the Hyundai dealer and they basically stated that while they could fix it (for about $400) they were worried that this might be the beginning of the end and that we could see a lot of other issues. Since the last thing we wanted was an avalanche of expenses on a very old car, and we knew the car needed 3 new tires (thus an additional $300 expense), we decided it was time to start looking.
For the past two days we have been up at 6am (in order to drive to civilization) and been exploring cars. Two days and 12 cars later, we decided on the Honda Element. The main mission was to to find a vehicle that would fit the dog, 2 humans, and ideally 2-3 cat crates for when we move cross-country (to whereever I get a job). We had never planned to take the Hyundai. As good as it has been, I wasn't gonna trust it on another x-country trip... plus fitting humans and all four animals was not gonna happen. So... the Element will help us save about $2000 in a rental since one-way trips are always expensive. And I'm not sure a rental could handle more than just us and the dog, requiring us to find a way to ship the cats home so it's probably more like $3000 savings.
We found the car on craigs list being sold from a personal owner. We put in a bid (and it was accepted) on the car. They came down $1000 from the original price, but it is still about $1200 higher than a comparable Element. The difference between the two cars is that we know the wheel bearing is going out on the other one. The one we chose has a hitch already installed, tinted front windows, a block heater for cold weather, but no roof rack. We also know that the one we chose used synthetic oil vs regular oil which more than anything was a testament to how well the owner took care of the car. The transmission was great, breaking was good and we really liked the handling. Only downside is the gas mileage which is only about 22 city 24 hwy. But, considering our specific needs, this is okay. We know that eventually we will need an new car for me to use so we figure at that point that we'll get a high mileage car for long distance (with no animals).
I also just found out that the other Element sold right after we looked at it... so we made the right decision by acting quickly on the one we wanted. :)
For the past two days we have been up at 6am (in order to drive to civilization) and been exploring cars. Two days and 12 cars later, we decided on the Honda Element. The main mission was to to find a vehicle that would fit the dog, 2 humans, and ideally 2-3 cat crates for when we move cross-country (to whereever I get a job). We had never planned to take the Hyundai. As good as it has been, I wasn't gonna trust it on another x-country trip... plus fitting humans and all four animals was not gonna happen. So... the Element will help us save about $2000 in a rental since one-way trips are always expensive. And I'm not sure a rental could handle more than just us and the dog, requiring us to find a way to ship the cats home so it's probably more like $3000 savings.
We found the car on craigs list being sold from a personal owner. We put in a bid (and it was accepted) on the car. They came down $1000 from the original price, but it is still about $1200 higher than a comparable Element. The difference between the two cars is that we know the wheel bearing is going out on the other one. The one we chose has a hitch already installed, tinted front windows, a block heater for cold weather, but no roof rack. We also know that the one we chose used synthetic oil vs regular oil which more than anything was a testament to how well the owner took care of the car. The transmission was great, breaking was good and we really liked the handling. Only downside is the gas mileage which is only about 22 city 24 hwy. But, considering our specific needs, this is okay. We know that eventually we will need an new car for me to use so we figure at that point that we'll get a high mileage car for long distance (with no animals).
I also just found out that the other Element sold right after we looked at it... so we made the right decision by acting quickly on the one we wanted. :)
