My first new car...hurray...I'm middle class
Three weeks ago, we decided enough is enough, and that it is time to get a new car. Coincidentally this coincided with the anniversary date of our receipt of a "free" car from my Mom and Stepdad. That car is a 1994 Hyundai Elantra, within a few months the brakes went completely out, it failed inspection, and we found out it needed a new engine. As some say, nothing is free and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A few months later, doing fine without a car, yet tired of burning our hope and prayers on surviving the fearful trips to and from NYC on the Chinatown Express (Fung Wah or Travel Pack bus in our case), we decided perhaps we should: a) get the hyundai fixed, b) go with zipcar (which wouldn't help us on our long trips to the nether regions of the Northeast and hopefully South and West Coast USA) or c) brave 4 years of debt and buy a new car.
After much hemming on hawwing on both sides, we chose the more debt route. Before I prattle on too much. Here is the winner of our contest (mind you this photo sucks so I'm providing a link to the manaufacterer's site so that you can see the coolness of our choice). We picked a 2003 Mazda Protégé5.
Here is my bad photo, I'll replace this with a better one when I get a chance.
How did we decided on this car? Did the fact that I used to be a proud owner of a Mazda Protégé have anything to do with our decision? How did our competitors fare? What was the buying process like? How did we survive? Are there any car salesman or dealers out there that don't deserve to die?
All these questions and more will be answered soon. Stay tuned.