i’ve recently learned that the transmission in my car is on its way out. failing. wearing out. dying. going kaput. which means either replacing it with a used one for approximately $1500 (a mere $1100 less than i paid for the whole car) or, as Rod from the Spa mentioned, get another used VW Golf for the same amount. well, i don’t have $1500 for a new-used transmission or a new-used car. and, really, in the 24 months i’ve had this car, i’ve spent many thousands of dollars on it. many more thousands of dollars than i either had or wanted to spend.
so, now i’m back to where i was in August 2007 after my beloved Geo lost the fight with the Range Rover: facing carlessness and transit commuting.
i don’t know how long the tranny will last. it could blow up at any second. for the time being, i just have to make sure i really warm up the car up before i get into any driving situations which require immediate shifting ability as it seems to only misbehave when it’s cold and when i need to back up. my main concern right now is keeping it going until i’ve fully recovered from the upcoming knee surgery.
oh, and before anyone gets smart and suggests i go buy a new car (look at al those deals! interest rates are so low!), there’s no money for car payments anywhere in my budget. every available penny is going to paying back the bank for my fiscal stupidity. there is no room for anything extra for another two years. August 2011 is my projected debt-free date. until then, consider me cash poor and unable to acquire new wheels.
that, of course, doesn’t mean i haven’t been looking at new cars. i think that, of the new batch of sub-compacts out there, the Honda Fit might be my next auto. my dream car is the Mazda3 Sport, but there’s no way i could afford that (without winning a couple-dozen grand from somewhere). then again, there’s no telling what’ll be on the market for the 2012 vehicle year. they’re still working on flying cars, right?
all that being said, my irony for the day is that i’m debating spending ~$85 on either a Tivo or Wii Sports Resort. both have pros (fun! convenience!), cons (drain of bank account) and added expenses (monthly fees, cables, extra motion controller thingies) all of which are manageable to an extent.
i just feel like a douche even considering them when the whole car thing is all up in my face.
i’m not a douche, am i?
You’re certainly not a douche. All work and no play makes Heather Something something…
But for the money, I’d go for the Wii Sports Resort. Only because of the TiVo Monthly Fees for ever and ever amen. That, and you could rent the game, or at least get 1/2 back in credit at EB or whatever it is they do there once you’re sick of it.
In any case, for the car thing, (if it does blow up) have you considered moving closer to work for the time it would take to get debt-free? Moving is not cheap, but it’s not the cost of a car or transmission. I have no idea about rent comparisons either, but it is an option to consider – just thought I’d put it out there.
Whatever happens, I feel your pain. The transmission was the death knell of my Geo. Because of it, I make Neil deal with current car repairs, citing my PTSD (post-transmission stress disorder) as a reason why I can’t handle them.
i can work the tivo fees into my “yearly” savings plan with little impact, so that’s not a huge con to the tivo. the biggest con is that i can use my computer to acquire everything i’d use the tivo for, so it’s a bit of a redundant purchase. it just eliminates my burning downloaded shows to discs to watch on the tv instead of the pc.
i’ve seriously considered moving, not for the money savings (as there aren’t many because my rent is under-priced), but for commute reduction. it currently takes me 1:20 door-to-door to get to work via transit and 1:45 to get home (go figure). moving closer would, hopefully, cut that time down. the biggest barrier to moving is that i LOVE living in north van and, if i were to leave, there’s no way i’d be able to afford to come back considering the current rents in the areas i want to live in. i don’t want to price myself out of my hometown just for a very short-term gain.
meh. it’s all just so… exhausting.
Hessie, do you have Brandon’s email address? What year’s your golf? Drop me a line, we might be able to help a cricket out.
You’ve answered the question yourself – everything that you’d need the TiVo for can be grabbed off the internet (and at better quality). If you wanted to spend some money on something, you could get one of those Western Digital devices that connect to a USB hard drive that would let you play the downloaded media you have on your TV. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572
I picked up Wii Sports Resort recently and it’s pretty decent. The difference in how responsive the Wii Motion+ thing is is worth it. The game comes with 1 Motion+, so you’d only need to purchase one more.
I think you still have a choice between 2 purchases, the TiVo should not be one of them.
your car sucks!! but you don’t. it’s just not right.
my gawd, i do hope this story ends well.
Sick car stuff sucks, yuck.