To buy or not to buy

I've been living car-less since 2013 when I returned from serving in the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan. It's been easy access to bus lines along Hennepin and Lake streets, HourCar, and Car2Go in my Uptown neighborhood. I manage to shop downtown, walk to the schools where I tutor, and I can choose Cub, Lunds, or Kowalski's for groceries depending upon which 4 blocks I want to walk. I've rented cars for weekend trips and I rely on my hiking friends for rides to trails outside the metro area. And . . . I never have to worry about finding parking in crowded Uptown.

But lately I've been feeling restless and wanting a bit more flexibility and convenience. However, I've also become a tightwad - especially now that I know how great it is to be car-less. I have to sit down and ask myself what do I really want a car for? So I can visit friends who don't live on bus lines; so I can go to late night gatherings - when bus service is reduced; so I can drive to Costco - yeah, that place is an indulgence. Then there were the trips to Wisconsin to visit relatives. I've gone there via Megabus and rental cars. Would I consider driving to ABQ instead of spending $400+ round trip airfare? I think so.

Last weekend I caved in and test drove a used VW Golf. It felt good and I had to laugh that VW still has teaspoon-sized clutch and brake pedals. The 2012 model was a bit price-y IMO and then I spotted a red automatic Golf on the lot with 60,000 miles. I caught used car fever, but didn't have time to test drive it. (Another reminder about the downside of HourCar which meant hurrying to get it back to the parking spot where I picked it up - or be penalized if I returned the HourCar late.)

Next comes car insurance shopping. Sometimes I think I've been out of the country so long that even car insurance has changed - or so the car sales rep. told me. Cars and car insurance prices both have become quite competitive since the internet, so not much negotiating.

Living Forward: owning a car again.
Looking Back: My first car was a red VW Type III.