Jan 19, 2008 -
Decisions, decisions
Now the question is, is this my next car? Currently, I have a generation 8 Corolla, now ten years old and showing its age. It has a cassette player, for God's sake, and I want an iPod player so that I'm not carrying around CD to melt in the hot Oklahoma sun. (Of course all CDs meant for use in the car should always be copies of the originals.) It has developed a leak, and the red puddles are annoying and messy. I could invest in fixing it, but I could also invest in new safety equipment in a car for the next ten years of my life. I would like a new car, because I anticipate moving soon. The Corolla is a sedan. A hatchback or a wagon would be just the ticket, as I am single, live by myself in an apartment, and don't have the facilities for more than one car.
Never being one for making snap decisions, I've been looking since last summer, when the transmission leak made itself manifest. My car's generation was the last good looking generation. I always found generation 9, while undeniably reliable, was just kind of an odd shape. Generation X, especially the one I saw on Thursday, has got me drooling for a car again. This is the car that should have replaced the 8th generation, I believe, and Motor Trend's interior shots of the Corolla show a beautiful, understated interior. I don't need steering wheel controls, in fact they're more trouble than they're worth. If you change your stereo, they are rendered useless! I would have another CE, but make sure it has power windows. That's all I insist on, really. Compared to my old-timer, the new one is very well equipped standard. It's a car, a tool, something to get me from Point A to Point B in safety and relative comfort. I won't be living in it as if it were an RV. I never, ever buy new, but a program car will be available before the spring, perhaps! Maybe I will find one for under $15K like my current car was.
But what about in the meantime? Before I saw the new Corolla, I was just about set on the Nissan Versa. Pontiac Vibe and Matrix lost because neither comes in a light-colored interior, and I still find the Matrix ugly after all these years. Hyundai's Elantra is stylish, but limited by the lack of a hatch. Plus, forum trips revealed speedometer problems, and above all there was this nagging feeling that I was somehow betraying Toyota by risking money and time on another brand of car. I've had nothing buy Toyota product, one disguised as a Chevrolet, since 1987 - the last 20 years. I feel safe with Toyota - as a woman, this is important to me. I've been scouring Carmax's lot since summer waiting for just the right one to show up (I'm not fooling with transfer fees, thank you). I even contemplated driving to Kenosha, Wisconsin for new Toyota or flying to Maryland for the new Nissans and driving my new car back home. It's just not fair that I can't get good deals close to home. And I hate car dealers with a purple passion. At any rate, for three months Carmax had a 2007 Kia Optima that was gorgeous and surprisingly well equipped - but a sedan. I made a couple of e-mail inquiries about it, and it was gone within the week after I had done so. That's the way to move cars, I suppose!
I suppose I can keep topping up the transmission until the next thing goes wrong while I wait for an affordable 09 to show up at CarMax or, heaven forbid, a traditional dealer or private owner. I could go ahead and get a "meantime car", like the Versa. As a single woman in a city with no bus service, I can't stress the importance of a car I don't have to worry about. If they won't sell the Corolla Fielder wagon here and insist on the Matrix being our only option...I suppose another sedan won't kill me.
