<mendel> deviant -- And hey, you never commented on the finance side 
           of my car post :P
<deviant-> mendel: oh, what was there to comment about?
  <mendel> Whether or not getting out early made financial sense or not,
           basically
<deviant-> Oh.
<deviant-> Yes, of course it does.
<deviant-> A car is not an investment.  All you can do is lose money.
  <mendel> deviant -- Hrm, of course. So it's just a matter of whether 
           or not I can afford to do it, but that's really just another way 
           of saying whether or not I could afford to get the next car.
<deviant-> right.
<deviant-> So even if you're past the flip point, it's still a question 
           of losing what you've put into it so far, or losing more.

I’m really still stuck trying to figure out the finance side of this car independent of what comes next. My suspicion is that if I can afford to get out earlier, staying in longer than necessary is throwing good money after bad (in maintenance, not in loan payments, which end up the same no matter how quickly I pay) but I’m not sure that I’m not missing something.

I think I’ll probably end up holding on but not putting in more money than I need to keep it in good condition, and if I find myself up against an expensive repair, sit down with a calculator and figure out cost/benefit as best I can with real numbers. The problem with that is that once I’m up against an expensive repair, I’ve missed my chance to get out early, because at that point I have to pay for the repair, either directly or by lowering my asking price for the car an equivalent amount.

I always write things down, and try to be as objective as I can. And then I try to remember that I really like to buy new things, and look at the list with a grain of salt, too. ;)

To start with I *love* my 2001 Jetta. It’s reasonably speedy, and it achieves reasonable fuel economy for my driving style. My Jetta is a Wolfsburg, which is the every-couple-of-years special sport version of the Jetta. So it handles pretty well, it’s got sport seats, leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter, is a 5-speed, sunroof, etc.

Now for all the caveats :)

I recently had to take it in for service, and the mechanic fucked something up. No worries; he bused a hose that they didn’t have on hand, so they ordered a replacement and they gave me a loaner.

I absolutely hated the loaner. It was a GL (the bottom end Jetta), and an automatic. The 2.0 engine feels sluggish compared to the 1.8t. It didn’t turn for shit, climbing hills right after a turn was about like doing so on a bicycle, etc. The hills thing really bugged me, since I live halfway up a really, really steep hill. I guess you don’t really have that problem in Ottawa.

So if you decide you like Jettas, test drive several of them and be sure you’re comfy with it. But you knew that ;)

I do find myself regularly thinking “I should have gotten the A4…”, but the pricetag usually convinces me that I shouldn’t have. Quattro sure is fun, though. I am very glad I bought new. My last car was used, and even though it was in good condition for the price (read: cheap old volvo), I think I’d have been happier without the minor wear problems that tend to come with older vehicles.

Okay, I swear this comment made more sense in my head before typing it.