Moderate owie

[cjsmith]

As expected, I feel kinda crappy. Neck to hip -- all the sideways stuff went directly to the spine. Glad I'm not flying an airplane. Not too awful though; I've certainly had far worse, and I'm firmly aware that I am very fortunate. I'll be surprised if it's not noticeably improved by tomorrow.

Heading out in a few minutes to drop my car off for an estimate (needed to determine whether it'll be totaled), pick up a rental, and start SHOPPIN'.

Comments

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

it's well under $50k How long do you keep a car, about 10 years, right? So, really, it's not that bad at all!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I kept this last one seventeen years and it cost me just a tad under $10K. I guess I'm frugal :-)

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Even better.. in 17 years, I spend more money on venti skim hot cocoas in Starbucks than I would on a Lotus ;-)

Actually, in cars, I tend to be practical as well. Sure, I *could* spend the money and get a BMW M5, but the idea of spending 80K on an automobile is insane. The best kind of car is the one that's paid for (and has good MPG).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Mmm. The venti skim hot cocoas taste much better. ;-)

I hear ya on the practicality. It'd be nice to have, say, a BMW 3-series convertible, but it wouldn't be forty thousand dollars' worth of nice.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

That's why you get one that's come off a 3 or 4 year lease. It'll be in perfect condition and cost only about $28k!

I am a vile tempter, sometimes.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

And it'll have 60k miles on it, warranties all expired, and it'll require premium gas. :)

Still...

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

no, that's just it, it won't... With a lease, the miles are super-constrained, as it costs $$ if you go past the yearly milage limit, and they usually have extended warranties (the original warranty is 5 years anyway). also, according to the lease contract, they have had all their suggested tune-ups *at the dealership* so they're all covered as well.

This is markedly different from a used non-lease car.... avoid those ;-)

Of course, I am not trying to get you to buy a convertible BMW, but as someone who drives one on occasion (Bill owns one), it's not too bad ;-) Yes, you have to buy premium petrol, but that's *maybe* an extra $2.00 at each fill-up, at least around here.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Aren't lease limits something like 15kmi / yr? I know very little about leases, never having looked into it.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

No, they're much less than that, often between 7-10k/yr. In the industry, it's considered "normal" to drive about 10k miles/year. With leases, I'd rather have the asset. It's like renting a house. Don't bother, if you can afford to buy. After 3 years of leasing, you've given the car company most of the cost of the car, and you don't have anything to show for it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. That is surprising to me. I drive 8K/yr at most, and most friends who look at their own odometers and do a little quick math consider me pretty odd for that.

I'd rather have the asset.

Ayep - that's why I never looked into leasing. If I leased in 1989 I'd have been driving my fifth car instead of my first!