Thing 1 - Das Auto

There's a new car in my parking spot (and a lovely new car loan on my credit report.)  The title of this post might be a bit misleading because in fact I did not buy a Volkswagen.  I briefly considered the restyled Beetle because it looks pretty good now, but then I put that out of mind.  No more German engineering for me.

I sold my car because it was a time bomb that has already gone off a few times.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my BMW and it was a great car to drive when it worked.  But the problem was that when something went wrong with it, I usually ended up spending my entire bonus, or several months worth of savings, to get it running again.  The car fell out of warranty shortly after I purchased it so I've been on my own for the repair costs.  Yes, it was no ones fault but my own for buying the car.  But then again, no car should have as many problems as this one did with the amount of miles that were on it.  Long story short, it was a huge headache.  The final straw was when it broke down on the side of 495 in rush hour during Christmas break and required a tow across three counties.  Luckily I was rolling downhill when the engine cut out so I could drift across a lane of traffic onto the left shoulder rather than stall out in the middle of the road.  Fuel pump.  Who knew.

Here's a little taste of why it was time to sell this car:

Front brake replacement - $844 <--- this is ok, but why so expensive?
Mysterious dealer "Inspection" - $818 <--- thanks for filling my wiper fluid though.
Rear brake replacement - $783 <--- ditto #1
Engine pulley (2) replacement - $930 <--- why did this break?!
Air intake boot replacement - $191 <--- not to bad I guess
Front bushing replacement - $601 <--- car felt like it was falling apart
Front strut replacement - $953 <--- car REALLY felt like it was falling apart
Front brake replacement - $549 <--- found a cheaper place! no longer care about quality!

Fuel pump/filter replacement - $973 <--- 3 days after the previous brake service. ugh.

This was all in two years.  And doesn't include other expenses such as new tires and oil changes ($150 each, luckily just once a year) because those are expected.  The car also had another rear brake replacement and battery replacement coming up this year, plus whatever else decided to pop up.  It was paid off so I tried to keep it as long as I could since paying for the maintenance was less expensive than buying a new car.  Lately the car hadn't been driving right again and I know there was something else related to the fuel issue that needed to be looked at.  The braking and acceleration were causing problems and I didn't trust driving it.

Solution: sell sell sell!  

                                                                         bye bye

Well, it was actually a trade in but nevertheless, it is now in car land awaiting its unfortunate third owner.  The car is essentially in the same condition it was when I bought it (appearance wise) so someone is going to think they got a great deal.  Sucker!  

I purchased a 2012 Nissan Altima Coupe with 101 miles on it.  It has everything I wanted plus some extra features that were a bonus.  I also purchased the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty so I don't have to pay any absurd maintenance costs for 6 years.  That is the best thing about this car.  Or it might be the bluetooth integration for my phone.  

Having a reliable car with low expenses has definitely taken a load off my shoulders.  It also gets much better gas mileage and takes REGULAR gas!  This change definitely qualifies for my list.