"SirRaoulDuke" (sirraoulduke)
07/17/2016 at 00:25 • Filed to: None
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"SirRaoulDuke" (sirraoulduke)
07/17/2016 at 00:25 • Filed to: None | 9
| 17 |
I went ahead and bit the car payment bullet, and did not buy anything even remotely cool. Or with a stick. Hell has frozen over.
After checking every damn affordable car in the local inventory I found a deal I really could not pass up. With financing pre-approval in hand I purchased a lightly used 2013 Hyundai Elantra. Off lease, CarFax perfect with shown dealer maintenance, 26k miles, every option I wanted (heated seats oh thank you Jesus), $11,500 out the door.
What a boring car. A perfectly boring car. It drives well. It rides smooth. Holy shit, economy cars are now kind of big inside. I managed to find one with the previously mentioned heated seats, honest to goodness alloy wheels (Gawd I hate wheel covers), fog lights, all the stuff I don’t need but want without stepping up to the Limited. It is in my favorite boring silver, because a boring car in boring silver is stealth mode from the authorities. It is a late build 2013 so I have a shitload of Hyundai’s second owner 60 month-60k warranty left.
Oh, and I didn’t trade in my paid-for Mazda3S hatch. I am giving that to my daughter, so she can have a decent first car, learn to drive stick, and come to appreciate the joys of a power sunroof...an option I am going to dearly miss come the cool fall nights. That was the kicker on the cheap price, I killed two birds with one stone. And although I haven’t always had a car payment, this is the lowest payment I have had since 1993.
It’s alright to grow up. It’s good to have a smoother riding car, to get awesome MPG, to have room for actual adults in the backseat, to have a warranty. And if I get the itch, there are always cheap cars for hooning on the List of Craig.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 00:52 |
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My old work car was a 2004 Accord and it was actually fun, just no AC. So I got a CRV, which is awd and sits higher but not bad on gas. It’s kind of boring, it’s a 2006 so it’s the older one more like a small truck. I like that it’s easy to drive, see out of, has arm rests, has AC and basically makes it easy for me to get my gear for work around. I actually love being higher up because the Accord was on the floor like my Z, and in traffic, where I spend time in the CRV, is better when I can see up ahead. So yeah a boring car is nice sometimes. I see cops change lanes to inspect me I the Z. My old Mercedes is another category though! It’s not boring, it isn’t fast, but cops expect old people to be in that so I think it’s under the radar.
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SirRaoulDuke
> 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
07/17/2016 at 01:03 |
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It’s funny how crap cars are fun. I swear, my most fun car was a 1986 Ford Escort Pony. No Ac, crank windows, no power steering or brakes, 4 speed. I beat the dog shit out of that car and it took every bit of it while giving me 40 mpg. And getting every last bit of its meager handling out it taught me a lot about driving on the edge. This Hyundai would cream it on a track, and although I am not going to drive my new-to-me car that way I am glad I learned those lessons, they have served me well over the years.
I won’t lie, though...there was an on-ramp today I hit and I knew instantly I am going to miss the Mazda. I am going to have to pass on some of that knowledge to my kid.
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415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:07 |
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The Honda was fast and with new tires it was planted actually, back when Honda made them wide and low. The most fun I used to have was a 1983 manual Subaru, bare bones, it was a damn rally car.
Svend
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:15 |
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Being grown up isn’t all that bad. Bad would be taking out finance you couldn’t keep up with for the sake of having a cool car. Over-reaching has a tendency to bite people in the arse.
Just enjoy giving people smug looks as they worry how they’ll eat or pay for their BMW.
dogisbadob
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:24 |
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Too bad your GT doesn’t have the huge and awesome panoramic sunroof that’s available on it :p
thatsmr
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:26 |
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I used to sell these. Popular equipment pkg. Bluetooth, heated seats. These are solid and dependable. Good choice and great price. I went from sport cars to manual sedans to beigemobiles when kids came on. We can both go back later!
Chasaboo
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:29 |
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The Korean cars have come a long way. I really like the Kia Forte Koup. You get a lot for your money.
RangerSmith
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 01:43 |
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Many fun stories summarized for your reading pleasure: I once owned a Mazda B4000 lovingly nicknamed the “Mazdarati”. Sucker was the fastest mother on (sometimes)four wheels.
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SirRaoulDuke
> thatsmr
07/17/2016 at 02:11 |
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Yeah, I really felt the price was right on, I had it pegged at $1400 below below local market value.
I did not know there was a popular equipment package. I saw quite a few lacking the heated seats, Bluetooth, wheel controls for the stereo, etc. I was surprised to find that in a non-Limited. I am really happy with the options on this one.
f86sabre
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 08:21 |
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They all can’t be brown Miata based diesel wagons as idealized by the Oppo community. If it does what it needs to do you are doing fine!
fhrblig
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 10:32 |
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Welcome to responsible adulthood. Try the scotch, it’s excellent.
My partner bought a 2016 Elantra GT with the 6-speed auto back in February. It has the heated seats (which he loves) but does have the plastic wheel covers, of which he’s already broken one. I don’t think it’s too boring, but the drop off in power and response when it’s in Active Eco mode is noticeable (and annoying). It’s comfortable, though, and lots of usable space.
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SirRaoulDuke
> fhrblig
07/17/2016 at 14:03 |
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I’m a bourbon man.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 14:40 |
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The Elantra is a pretty good car. I rented one and liked it. Not quite as polished as a Corolla, Civic or Mazda 3, but still very good.
Though I’m mildly surprised you couldn’t find an Elantra with stick as there are plenty of those out there.
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fhrblig
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 14:56 |
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Fair enough. You can have all the bourbon and I’ll take all the scotch.
There is one annoying thing about the Elantra. The fan settings are nuts. The difference from 3 to 4 is colossal. 3 is moderate airflow, 4 is gale-force wind/noise.
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SirRaoulDuke
> fhrblig
07/17/2016 at 16:25 |
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I just noticed that today. And that’s fine, when it is this hot and humid I run it full blast anyway.
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SirRaoulDuke
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/17/2016 at 16:39 |
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The few local used ones with a stick were all strippers. Which is still a lot of stuff with Hyundai, but I must have actual alloy wheels and heated seats.
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> SirRaoulDuke
07/17/2016 at 17:26 |
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Getting the alloy wheels would have been easy/cheap with a quick car-part.com search.
The heated seats... not so sure if that would be an easy swap. I know there are aftermarket heated seat kits though for like $50...
Oh well... the car purchase is done. Hope it works out well for you.