UA-5095748-1

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Why car makers hate me.

I don't actually know if they hate me, but I'm not the typical driver or buyer. I think the car industry would collapse if more people have my experience.

I brought only one car in my life so far. I have been driving my 94 Honda Accord for almost 14 years. I was out of college, working my very first full-time job at Microsoft. The Honda was my first big purchase. I got it brand new and I paid for it all up front. With more than 170,000 miles, the Honda is going great. I still get around 28 mpg. Not bad for a 14 year old year, compares well with some the real world mpg of the Prius.

Thinking back about my purchase decision. Here is the list of my intended consequences.
1) no debt.
2) drive it for at least 10 years.
3) great mileage.
4) family friendly.
5) environment friendly

I'm very happy that my intended consequences were right on the money. However, the best part is that I would be doing the exact the thing for the next car. My budget would be bigger, the meaning of family friendly is not vague notion anymore, and there is a new technology that redefined the meaning of environment friendly. The details would change, but the goals would be the exact the same. With a bit of luck, maybe I can drive my second car another 14 plus years.

The only remaining question is when should I buy a new car? I have came up a simple financial formula to answer that.... in the next blog entry.

No comments: