Yup. Another new car.

So I ended up buying another car. This is actually kinda painful for my bank account. Two cars, a new computer, and a new expensive city apartment all within one year. Yeesh.


On the other hand, I feel like I got a pretty good deal. Car is a 2008 Focus, sold for $9,200 after a good old-fashioned haggling. To get some perspective, this car (optioned, with the SE trim) was typically sold new between 17 and 18 thousand. It is now two years old and has 22,000 miles. KBB prices it (dealer price) in the mid $12 thousands, and Consumer Reports gives it an applaudable 8.8/10 rating.

The only concession I made on the car was the color: it is the worst of the Focus's color choices, which I believe in the 2008 version there were 8 exterior colors. But while Kiwi Metallic Green (Ford's official name for this particular shade) may make me slightly queasy, the effect it had on lowering the price was strangely attractive. What's more, taking a quick census, less than half of the people I talked to thought that the color was bad. Still doesn't mean that I'm considering how much a pro paint job would be... but maybe it'll grow on me. A lot of odd car things do.

So what've I gotten for my cool 9? (More like 10, counting taxes, registration, liscencing, plates, etc.) Well, as specs go for cars, this one isn't going to impress anyone, but it's more than enough to qualify for my daily driver. 140hp out of a 2.0 I4 engine. The engine bay itself is packed much tighter than in my last car, allowing for extra room inside. 5 speed manual has been fun on test drives, and although I know it's not soft like a sophisticated euro clutch strives to be, but I vastly prefer the firmness. It's got 15" alloys that help get it to that once-lauded 24/35mpg EPA rating, and in-dash computers show gas level, average mileage per trip, and remaining range (so cool, right!?). It's been tested at 0-60 in 8s, 0-100 24s, and is limited to 112mph. I don't really know if it has a working SYNC system (which would be flat-out awesome), but it does have satellite radio, MP3 controls, and.. umm what else... a traction-control-disabling option.

Well, not much more to say about it now. I got it insured yesterday, and the plates should be on it tomorrow. So hopefully I'll have much to say about it after that!

Edit- Oh yeah, and it came with a 'free' Blue-ray disk player... And a 20" TV. I plan on attaching the tv to the hood and playing a blue ray of Fast& Furious on it whenever I drive anywhere XD