After a day, we finally settled on the car we wanted.
We will never own a new car. They just are not worth the money. But we were pretty much sold on the Suburu, for the gas economy and the all wheel drive. Tim had seen a car he was interested in, but he had to look. Today we drove a Buick Enclave (hard no from me. It didn't get any better gas mileage than the truck that Tim was insisting wasn't economical to drive. I put my foot down.) We drove a Toyota Venza, which Tim liked and so did I. We looked at other cars. Pros. Cons. We compared gas mileage. We talked price and blue books and by the end of it, I really was just ready to be done. Tim, bless his heart, could happily go on for days looking at vehicles and reading about vehicles and comparing vehicles. And I fully expected that he would.
We were meeting the seller of the Suburu at 4:30, and Tim and he discussed the vehicle. Much to my surprise he made the decision very quickly. He told the guy we would buy it. He is taking it in to get a fresh inspection. We will have the car next week.
A blue 2014 Suburu Outback. It is pristine on the inside, and has 105k miles,
A great looking car and boy do Subaru owners love their Subarus! I didn't get my drivers license until my late 30s, and I went the new car route, thought I deserved it since I'd waited so long. I never had a problem with it, but would never buy brand new again.
ReplyDeleteI have never met anyone who is unhappy with their Suburu. My sister loves hers, so much that when her husband needed a car, he found himself a Suburu too.
DeleteAll wheel drive doesn't seem to make sense to me for running around a city and on freeways, but it's a different story in your climate.
ReplyDeleteOh, and of course, happy motoring in your new car when you pick it up.
DeleteOh, my car was happy enough motoring for me. But some people...throws a side eye in husband's direction.
DeleteYou're excellent shoppers.
ReplyDeleteTim lives for moments like this. He loves the thrill of the hunt, whether we are talking about four legs or four wheels.
DeleteSubaru is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteEven Suburu🤔
ReplyDeleteLOL. It's all good. I knew exactly what you were talking about.
DeleteWell done on accomplishing your task. That's a very low mileage car, too.
ReplyDeleteIt should run for another 100,000 with no problems.
DeleteWell done. Happy motoring!
ReplyDeleteIt's done. That's good enough for me.
DeleteSeeing that your next car is blue got me to thinking about car colours. Here in UK the majority of cars at the moment are either white, black, grey or silver.......looking round a car park is a dreary sight! I told my grandson of a new game for him when out in a car.....count the number of those non colour cars that pass you , you have to start again if a " colour" passes in the line. I got to 21 on the way to pick him up!!
ReplyDeleteWhat is it like in US? Are cars mainly boring colour wise?
( Our 2 cars are both red ....I insisted when we changed them a couple of years ago!)
I think that you're probably right about the colors. They seem to be the most popular colors. We were passed yesterday by a late model car that was (honestly) drab olive green. What a strange color! The car Tim replaced was gray. Mine is silver. Levi asked us what color car we were going to get. I explained when you buy used, you don't get to pick the color.
DeleteWhen I went car shopping it seemed like there were 95% white cars, a few silver and maybe two black vehicles. I settled with silver but purchased large flower magnets for the doors so I can find it in a parking lot.
DeleteGood for you! Even used cars are so expensive now. And I can't quite get my head around buying a car that already has 100K miles on it. I still have the mindset that you're on borrowed time with anything over 100K. Of course that's no longer true. My 2006 Toyota has 110K, and I'm looking at newer used Subarus and Toyotas now so I'll be prepared to move when the time does come but they all have almost the same mileage as the car I'm looking to replace.
ReplyDeleteSuburus have lifespans of 250,000 or more. They are not exactly sure where to put that upper limit because the cars are still on the road. My sister has a 2013 Legacy that is high mileage but still runs like a dream. Her husband has a 2015 Forester that runs like a champ. We expect no less from ours.
DeleteCongratulations on your new-to-you car. We have a 2017 Subaru Legacy. We would like a Subaru Outback, but years down the road we hope. ~Linda in Warren PA
ReplyDeleteLinda G. I know for a fact you are not in Warren, Pa. You and Bob enjoy your beach time. Not at all jealous.😛
DeleteMy late husband insisted that I buy a new car so he could be sure that I was safe from breakdowns in the city. Whoever gets my car will get a great deal as I only drive to the grocery store now. It is 4 years old and only 6500 km. on it. Covid meant that I couldn’t go anywhere and now I don’t want to go anywhere. My neighbour has always had Subaru and only got a new one because she needed a bigger one, but they also kept the old one. Enjoy your new to you car, it looks really nice. Gigi
ReplyDeleteI have a 2007 Lincoln MKZ. I am happy with it. It has 128K on it, and it really hasn't given us problems other than brakes. I guess that I've owned it for about 5 years now. We tend to run them until they can't run anymore, so this one shows no signs of stopping.
DeleteI lost my last car in an accident, so had friends who took me shopping for a replacement. In August it wasn't always a fun trip, but we finally found one that met my needs. Another Toyota. There are few used Subarus available around here...everyone holds onto them, and there are a lot on the roads. I repaid my male friends (I am quite of the opinion that car sellers relate better to men) with goodie bags of chocolate, nuts, jam, and an orchid plant.
ReplyDeleteWe drove a Toyota Venza that was a strong second option. We both liked that car, but this was a better value and Tim liked the looks of the under carriage better. My son and his wife have a Venza, a hybrid, and they love theirs.
DeleteWhile I agree that buying used is the cheaper route to car ownership, if one considers the time and inconvenience aspects of it, I think it can be a toss up. I used to always buy used. But I had multiple cars to fall back on and no kids with crazy schedules. Now, I don't have any spares so any downtime is incredibly stressful until we can get the vehicle fixed. Maybe once the kids have flown the coop, I can buy another used car.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I used to drive a 1981 Subaru wagon for about a year. It was used when I got it and slightly more used when it was sold a year later. That thing was a beast in the snow even before AWD was a thing.
Www don't always need AWD but it is invaluable when you do need it.
DeleteCongrats on the new-to-you car. That looks like a good-sized vehicle for driving your Amish friends and packing in all the bargains you find for your new home! :)
ReplyDeleteIt actually has no more seating than I have in my car.
DeleteSounds perfect! And I am SO glad to hear you're taking it for an inspection. So many people don't understand the importance of that.
ReplyDeleteWe'll never drive a new car either. Trust me on that.
Tim is a pretty sensible character. He got carried away and had a serious case of 'ooh! Ooh! Looky there.' I managed to keep him reined in.
DeleteDoes anybody look at consumer books before such a big purchase. Happily for you, when I purchased my last two CRVs, the Subaru (Forester) rated even higher. It was less easy to find dealers and also more expensive, so the CRV was a good cho0uce. Hyundai Santa Fe also rated highly in the category that we were looking in.
ReplyDeleteTim does. He read up on every aspect. Since he does a great deal of our car maintenance, he was more interested on potential problems and difficulty of repair. One car we looked at ha the water pump inside the engine. Who in the world thought that was a good idea? Replacing that would be a nightmare
DeleteGood choice on the Subaru! Rented one on a business trip in Canada years ago, lot of snow, it was unstoppable!
ReplyDeleteWell, congratulartions on getting THAT ironed out! Car shopping gives me a headache, too. In fact I hope to never have to own another car!
ReplyDelete