As my friend Brian Patterson said to me, in LA "you are your car, and your car is you." I'm currently driving a 2003 Hyundai Accent (see image on the left). It's fun, sporty, and has a hatchback which is great for throwing in my gear when I go surfing or out on an audition. The problem is: it has no air conditioning. It gets HOT in LA (105+ in the summer) and showing up to an audition sweating profusely doesn't seem like a good move to me.
When I said I wanted to get an after market A/C for my car. A week later my Dad said "I talked to my mechanic and he says that after market A/Cs don't work that well". When my sister caught wind of my parents solution (My Car=>My Dad, My Dad's Van=>My Grandmother, My Grandmother's car=>Me) she felt it was patently absurd and then raised safety concerns "LA drivers are a little crazy - you need side-impact airbags." In response my dad said "I got T-Boned twice in Glendale, you should get a new car."
It all seemed a little overwhelming, but I do like shiny new things, so I started researching. I narrowed it down to three cars: 2007 Hyundai Accent, 2007 VW Rabbit, 2007 Honda Fit. Once I spec'd them all out with the features I would want they all cost about $15,000-$17,000. A fair chunk of change. When I explained what my family had come up with to my girlfriend, she said "What?! Maybe this is just because I was raised differently, but when I get a car I drive it into the ground." Which in actuality is not a bad idea. Thus it seems I have some options:
Upgrade my current car by adding A/C and getting a tune-up: ~$2500
Upgrade my current car by adding A/C and getting a tune-up: ~$2500
- Pros:
- I get to keep my car.
- I know what’s wrong with my car (nothing).
- I don’t have to deal w/ the DMV or my insurance company.
- Don’t have to sell car.
- Don’t have to take off surf racks.
- No ongoing monthly payments.
- Cons:
- A/C won’t be very effective.
- No anti-lock brakes.
- No side-impact airbags.
- Rush hour will suck w/ the manual transmission.
- I won’t look super cool.
- Sell my car and buy a new car w/ AC, automatic transmission, & Side-Impact Airbags: ~$12000 + $300 (Yakima Rack)
- Pros:
- I get a brand new car.
- I can get an MP3 Dock.
- I’ll look a *little* cooler in LA (how cool can you look driving a low-end car?).
- Rush hour traffic will be a breeze.
- Air-conditioner will kick butt.
- I’ll have all the safety features.
- Cons:
- $300 monthly payment when my primary income is freelance tech and acting work.
- 4 fewer acting classes a month.
- Less money going into savings.
- Have to sell my current car.
- Have to transfer plates.
- Insurance will go up.
- I won’t be buying the hybrid or plug-in electric that I hoped to buy for my next car.
- Sell my car and buy a certified used car w/ AC, automatic transmission, & no side-impact airbags: ~$6000 + $300 (Yakima Rack)
- Pros:
- I get working A/C.
- Rush hour traffic will be doable.
- I might be able to get a cooler/nicer car.
- Cons:
- $150 monthly payment when my primary income is freelance tech and acting work.
- 2 fewer acting classes a month.
- Less money going into savings.
- Have to sell my current car.
- Have to transfer plates.
- Insurance might go up.
Conclusion: If I can find an aftermarket A/C that will work well I'll keep my current car. If I can't, I'll probably buy a dealer-certified used car with less than 60k miles on it. If the family wants to make up the $6,000 difference between a used car and a new car so that I can have side-impact airbags, I'll get that - but there are lots of folks w/o side-impact airbags and most used cars don't offer them.
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