From my colleague: "When are you gonna get a new car? It's so old! And, really, manual door locks??! You might as well be living in the 80s!"
Me: "You know what else my car has? No monthly payments, and low gas bills. I'll get rid of it when it falls apart on the highway."
*Silence*
Colleage: "HOW did you manage no car payments??!?! Did your parents buy you a car?"
Excuse me, I'm gonna go hit my head against the wall now.
For the record: I drive a 2011 Honda Fit that my husband and I bought new in 2011. It has no AC, manual locks, and is VERY reliable. We share the car, so we only HAVE one car to afford and maintain. And how we managed car payments: well, we bought a car after 5 years of working professional-level jobs in a city with excellent public transit, and we saved money instead of going out every night. That's how we afforded the car.
Parents, indeed *harumph* Honestly, I'm kind of insulted.
You bought a 2011 model that didn't have AC or auto locks...didn't know that was possible, my '99 toyota has both plus heated seats haha. Don't tell me you have to manually roll down the windows too?
Nope, those are about the only thing that's automatic!! We bought the floor model at a VERY good price in late 2011, hence the weird features.
And the new model Honda Fits also have the no-AC option: 3K cheaper than the AC option (16K vs 19K).
The no-AC is a bit of a drag in summer, but I discussed it with my husband last week (because we're looking at needing a second car in about 18 months, and will likely buy another fit, since it's perfect for our needs and we have no complaints and it's a good car for a good price): we're in Quebec. Assuming we keep a car 6 years (we're rural and drive a lot), that 3K extra is 500$/summer for AC on the car. Which, realistically, we'd actually use... 25 days? Maybe 30?
Like, at that price, open the windows.
Actually, he was super pro-AC for our next car. And I was like "the cost breaks down like this. Would you pay 500$ to have AC on our current car for this summer only?" "NO!!!" Well, why do you want to pay that every year on our next car?" "Huh..." Conclusion: unless we can get it included, or at a SUPER good price, it is NOT worth 3K on a 15K car for AC in Quebec. In Atlanta? Texas? Miami? Sure. What I need is heating. :)