bought a new car

[Thorin]

I bought a new car last weekend, it's a 2004 Mazda 6 GT Sport Wagon (yes, a station wagon).  This is to replace the 1988 Volvo 240DL station wagon I had that I was hoping to use to teach my kids to drive.  The Volvo went for an inspection and the inspectors found rust holes through the crash bars - the crash bars are the pieces of metal that fold like a accordion to create a crumple zone that absorbs energy in a crash before it reaches the passengers.  Crash bars are unfixable, and this was more than just surface rust, this was holes all the way through.

So, the Mazda.  Burgundy exterior, black leather interior.  Heated seats (just on/off, not multiple levels of heat like the Suburban had), automatic air conditioning (set the temperature and it figures out what to do), 3.0L V6 with 5-speed ActiveMatic (can select specific gears in a manual-like mode).  Decent space inside, with a power driver's seat that goes forward/back and up/down and tilts forward and back (I can get that gangsta lean!).  Telescoping steering along with tilt, this is awesome as we can sit further back from the pedals and still reach the steering wheel.  I'm starting to figure out the controls, like AC and the radio and the buttons on the stereo.  Power windows, power mirrors, power sunroof (actually the glass ones are officially moonroofs, but no one calls them that), driving lights (people call these fog lights, but again that's wrong), traction control, and a neat little retractable divider between the seats and the cargo area (you know, to keep the dogs in the back of the station wagon).  There's also a remote starter, but it's not working correctly presently.  Probably a loose wire to the ignition override (normally the car doesn't start unless the right key is in the ignition because these keys have RFID chips).

The car had 240,375km on it when I bought it from the previous owner.  He was the second owner, and drove about 79,000km in five years.  The first owner was a salesman and drove about 161,000km in four years.  I've got receipts for every service done by the first owner, but nothing from the second owner.  That first owner, though, he made sure all the services got done at the right time and any shimmy and shake he felt was addressed right away.  Anyway, this is pretty high mileage for a 9 year old car, but the car accelerates effortlessly, stops hard without a shudder or shake or pull to the side, and tracks straight and true on the road.  Still, it's the highest-mileage car I've ever owned.

There are ten bulbs on the front of the car; three were burnt out.  I checked the manual and it said to take it to a dealership to get them changed.  So I did some googling.  Apparently it's about $200 to change a lightbulb at the dealership.  WHAT?!  So I did some more googling and found out how to change them; the suggestions were to take your time and work slow and get someone with small hands to help you, or to take the whole front bumper off (well, the bumper cover).  I decided to leave the bumper on, and it took me 75 minutes and some scraped knuckles but now the front end shines bright.  I did remove parts of the engine to get at the back of the lights, specifically the air cleaner box and the engine coolant overflow tank.  It was still a pain.

The car has several small dings and scratches, as well as a bunch of small rust spots that were covered with touch-up paint.  No different than if I'd bought it myself brand-new.  My family doesn't do a good job taking care of things

So, what did I pay for this car?  $3,800.  When we first saw it listed on Kijiji, it was listed for $4,500.  Then we saw it drop to $4,000.  When we looked at it I noticed the tires are getting low and appear to have an aggressive all-season/summer tread, not something that will work all that well in the winter.  So I told the guy I'll have to get tires before the winter and that they'll cost around $400, and then asked him to drop his price by half of that, $200.  In the end he talked it over with his wife and agreed $3,800 is fair.  He was probably happy because the trade-in value with such high kilometers is in the $1,600-$1,700 range.

Anyway, I figure it'll last another five or more years given that there aren't any weird noises coming from the engine or transmission when I accelerate and brake, and there aren't any weird electric glitches other than the remote starter which was an aftermarket add-on.  So that's long enough for two more kids to learn to drive in it.  If it lasts longer, then my youngest will be able to learn on it, as well.

Since May I've gone from a 2005 Suburban and a 1988 Volvo on the road with a 1995 Colt in the garage to a 2013 Silverado and a 2004 Mazda 6 and a 1995 Colt on the road.  My insurance company is having trouble keeping up to the changes on my policy.  No, seriously, it took them over a month to issue the right pink slips (proof of insurance).

[Melbosa]

Gratz... overall how do you like it for your needs?

[Thorin]

Well I have a family of six.  I have a nice new Chev Silverado crew cab pickup truck with a bench in the front and back, so that seats six.  The Mazda 6 here is meant as the second car, the one we use when we're not all travelling together.  The kids find it easy to get in and out, the cargo area is big enough to put some hockey or ringette gear in, and it's got the factory Bose stereo with subwoofer (not as good as aftermarket, but still a pretty damn good stereo).  I was gonna go with two cars (Silverado and Colt), but I couldn't get a hockey bag into the trunk of the Colt.  So I ended up buying a third, and now my oldest son can take a car without inconveniencing my wife or me.

The highly-adjustable driving position (up/down, tip seatbottom forward/backward, slide front/back, tilt seatback forward/backward, tilt steering wheel up/down, move steering wheel in/out) is wonderful given the foot of difference between the shortest and tallest drivers and allows for different arm/leg ratios.  All three of the drivers have found the armrests seem to be in just the right spots for us, even though we're way different heights.  When you sit down low the sightlines aren't that good, but just move the seat up and they're fine.

We've had four in there so far, I think five on a long drive might get a little uncomfortable with three in the back seat.  Or maybe my kids are just spoiled, people my age used to just get crammed in the back and told to shut up.

My needs were a vehicle with an automatic transmission so kids can learn on it without worrying about a clutch, that could pass an inspection, and fit at least one big hockey bag, preferably with a hatch as that's easier to get stuff in and out.  My wants were heated seats, decent stereo, TV system, power windows/mirrors/locks, air conditioning, tilt, cruise, traction control.  My nice-to-haves were automatic air conditioning, power seats, memory seats, leather, remote starter, all wheel drive or four wheel drive, driving lights, moonroof, steering wheel mounted controls, bigger motor for better passing, low profile tires for looks, tinted windows, overall sporty appearance, newer than twelve years (so it wouldn't need an inspection), no rust or dings.  My budget was $3,000.

I broke my budget, but got almost everything on all three lists - no TV system (from the wants list), no memory seats, only a driver's power seat, no AWD/4WD, and some rust and dings (from the nice-to-have list).  Not a bad deal.

As for driving pleasure, this car is pretty quick for being a wagon and pretty nimble for being a front-heavy front-wheel-drive wagon.  I don't know how it'll do in the winter, but I'm going from a front-heavy rear-wheel-drive wagon to this, so at least there'll be less fishtailing at intersections.  And if the roads are bad enough, I do have a truck with 4LO that I can take out.  I think it'll also be a good learner's car, what with already having a couple of minor dings and scratches and also what with having decent sight lines.

You know, this is the first car that I paid cash with my own money for.  Back when I was sixteen I bought a $900 car, but I had to borrow the money from my mom.  All the other cars since then have had car loans.  This is the first time that I went to the bank, got $3,800 out of my account, and handed it over in exchange for keys.

$3,800 is not a very big stack of money when you get it in hundreds.

[Tom]

$3,800 is not a very big stack of money when you get it in hundreds.

Shoulda got it in singles.

[Lazybones]

$3,800 is not a very big stack of money when you get it in hundreds.

Shoulda got it in singles.

That would be a heavy bag of coins.