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June 12, 2005
Terminally Ill Toyota
We didn't have much of a spring here in the New York area; it was cool and wet for much of the last couple of months. All of a sudden in the last week, Mother Nature decided to run a fever, and summer kicked in all at once. For most of the last week, it's been in the upper 80s to lower 90s, and with that lovely sticky humidity that has you looking for a towel after being outside for one minute. I mention this because the sudden shift in temperature after a prolonged cool spell... well, that's the reason why I didn't figure out until this week that my air conditioner no longer works. Which wasn't the best timing, all things considered.
Whenever I can help it, I try to take my car -- a 1999 Toyota Camry -- to my parents' mechanic in Delaware for maintenance. For one thing, I trust the guy a lot more than the mechanics at the Toyota dealership up here, who always seem to find more that "absolutely has to be done" to my car than what I brought it in for. Secondly, taking the car to "slower lower Delaware" usually saves me at least half the cost of what I'd pay here in New York. This weekend, since we were at my parents' anyway, I took the car to the shop there to check the A/C. Unfortunately, the compressor is shot -- and even down there, it would cost me about $1000 to fix it (which means they'd probably charge me between $1500 and $2200 up here).
Now, I just spent $2000 on this car in March to fix the blower and the water pump and a few other things. I've liked this car; I've had it for six years, I've taken it all over the place up and down the Atlantic seaboard to the tune of 131,500 miles. And until the last year or so, the only money I really ever had to spend on it was routine maintenance. But no matter how good a car is, if you put that many miles on it in six years, it's going to start breaking down -- and this one has. At some point, there's a law of diminishing returns on repair costs. I think I've reached that point with this car. Sadly, I've decided it's time to retire this Camry -- which was my first "new" car and is easily the nicest car I'd owned to date.
In the next month or six weeks, while I manage without A/C for a summer, I'm going to be looking at buying a new car. At first, I was thinking about splurging and buying myself a BMW... sort of as a "you made it" reward to myself for this new job and for surviving the unpleasantness of last year with my sanity largely intact. I can afford it, so why not... right, Chris?
But the more I thought about it, the less intelligent that idea sounded. I'm just not a car guy; put me in something that gets me smoothly from A to B and won't break down on me every third week, and I'm generally a happy guy. Mostly I prefer spending money on other things. So what I started realizing was that I was really thinking about the BMW for the "looks" factor -- I wanted to buy the car so that people would see me in a BMW. How snobby is that? (And how not like me!)
So after a short flirtation with Beamer-dom, I've come to my senses; I don't need the performance sedan or the luxury status symbol. I'll find a way to reward myself that I'll genuinely get more out of, like Red Sox season tix next year maybe (if I can get them), or a vacation to Europe or something (I know someone will like that idea a lot more than baseball tickets). Which leaves me back at the mid-level sedans... maybe another Camry, or a Honda Accord, or a Hyundai Sonata, or something like that.
I won't buy an SUV... not only do those things guzzle gas and pollute, but it's not like I have the kids to justify having a larger vehicle like that. So SUV's are out. I suppose I could get a sportscar -- I admit, I'd kind of dig having one now that I can get one -- but it would probably scream mid-life crisis, and again I am not enough of a car guy to really appreciate what I had anyway. So does anyone have any recommendations for mid-level cars that they've found both comfortable and easy to maintain?
Comments
Honda S2000
cool but doesn't really scream "mid life crisis" and it's a Honda.
Posted by: jillian at June 13, 2005 01:15 AM
Honda, Honda, Honda. Will last you much more then your 6 year camry!! Had mine for 10 years and only got rid of it because I crashed it. You can't go wrong.
p.s. You are crazy if you go the summer without air conditioning. You don't want to stink up the whole office ; )
Posted by: Jenn at June 13, 2005 07:00 AM
Go for the Beamer! You WILL look good in it! What are you gonna do - pull a U-Haul behind the hearse to carry all your money? (I know; typical BMW-driver's attitude).
Posted by: Your favorite BMW-driving friend at June 13, 2005 08:36 AM
A Chevy half-ton...for all of the obvious reasons.
Posted by: The SpinMD at June 13, 2005 08:51 AM
Jenn... you're married to Doc, so I can totally understand how you're preoccupied with wanting something that lasts longer. But no matter what Doc tells you, remember that it's the quality of the ride as much as how long it lasts that's important.
Beamer friend... remember which one of us lives in the Northeast (where not only are things much more expensive, but we get salt and road gunk in the winter that literally eats into an auto investment), and who's down south where you don't have those problems. Besides -- it's hardly like me to drive something for the look of it -- don't I usually try to puncture people who do things for the look of it? I'd be going against my whole Mudge persona! ;-)
Doc... yeah, yeah. But guess what? I'm losing weight. But you're not ever growing your hair back or getting any taller.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at June 13, 2005 10:12 AM
Hondas break just as often as Toyotas. I drove my last Toyota, a '91 Celica, for 270,000 miles. Then my aunt took it damn near to 300,000 before totalling it in an accident from which she (luckily) emerged unscathed. My current Celica, a '95, has 150,000 on the odo. AND...the AC still works.
If I were you, Mudge, I'd get a Toyota Solara. It's a cool two-door sedan that offers all the "cool" factor of a sports car without the mid-life crisis advertisement bolted to the roof.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 10:14 AM
At least I can safely cruise in a convertible without fear of my hair getting all tussled.
Posted by: The SpinMD at June 13, 2005 10:16 AM
I think Doc would look great in a MINI... they say you are what you drive
Posted by: Erika at June 13, 2005 10:29 AM
If that's the case, then there is no question that Erika drives a Hummer.
Posted by: The SpinMD at June 13, 2005 10:52 AM
And [Mudge] is driving his dates around in a Power Wheels
Posted by: Erika at June 13, 2005 10:56 AM
I love my 1994 Mazda MX6 and when she dies I will replace her with another Mazda. Reliable as hell. I've kept her for so long because nothing has gone wrong beyond routine stuff. I've got 84k miles on it and I bet she'll last another 80k.
Posted by: Mileah at June 13, 2005 02:04 PM
Accord Hybrid?
Posted by: usefulguy at June 13, 2005 02:45 PM
1) Accord EX V-6
2) Another Camry
3) Mazda 6s
And its 'Bimmer'. 'Beamer' is the Official Insider Term for BMW motorcycles. Oddly, pronunciation is the same.
Posted by: Mike at June 13, 2005 03:15 PM
So...you gonna buy a Solara, like I told ya, or what? At least purchase a two-door with decent rims, dude.
Your pathetic little speech about refusing to fall prey to a mid-life crisis is ridiculous, maudlin tripe. For God's sake, man, start driving something sporty and getting some chicks with it before the age TRULY kicks in and relegates you exclusively to vehicles with large openings and orthopedic seats.
Have you bought the big, funny looking sunglasses yet? Hell, I hope not.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 09:41 PM
