Thankfully My Head Hasn't Exploded... Yet!

We're trying to buy Sara a car! That's right, we've thrown in the towel! Her lemon of a VW Golf is limping along on its last legs, or balding tires, and blown shocks,with its crumbling exhaust coughing along on its way towards a death rattle. Good Riddance!

The VW was our first attempt at buying a used car from someone other than my parents and it wasn't a shining success. A few months after buying the car the alternator went - Adam and I replaced the starter - and then ever since then the car has been a nightmare. It burns oil, leaks oil, shorts, shakes, stutters, and drives Sara crazy. It has lasted several years with us nursing it along, and spending more money on it than we purchased it for originally. It is no longer reliable and with winter approaching we don't want to take a chance of Sara getting stranded on the side of the road or blowing up one morning as she tries the ignition.

So we headed off to Carmax. We checked out several models and makes of affordable cars, test drove two and even looked into financing. Without boring you to death, we liked a car, were approved for financing, and walked away with plans to return later in the week and finalize the transaction. We walked out of the dealership feeling great. Then negative thoughts start to take over! Interest looms over your head! Financial stress compounds! Doubt! Remorse! ARGGGHH!

Keep in mind we're first time car buyers, so what may not seem like a big deal to you has taken over the last day and a half of my life and the repercussions threaten to resound for years to come. (So I'm being melodramatic. Indulge me!) Everyone we talk to has a different opinion, some are supportive to up to a point, and others choose to play devil's advocate meanwhile they're all just creating more questions. We've already gone back and forth several times and it seems like the waffling might continue until the deal is signed.

Whatever we choose will be our decision and I guess we'll have to live with that decision whether it be good or bad. This is what grown ups do, right? They experience new things, learn as they go, overcome obstacles, and eventually understand the world of finances, right? Hopefully, I won't stroke out before we drive the car off the lot!