New Wheels

After months agonising over what car I would buy when the time came, the decision and purchase were completed in a couple of hours, and it wasn't a car I'd considered before today.



This 2007 Mazda3i Sedan fit closely with my needs, big enough to seat four adults when necessary, a room trunk, reasonable mpg (by US standards) and around 60,000 miles on the clock. It's quite sporty, bright red exterior (easy to spot in crowded car parks) and black interior (hides the dirt), and was within my current affordable price range. It is also automatic transmission, so either Beth or I can drive it as necessary.

Beth drove us to the dealership and we took a test drive. Everything was fine, and we'd checked the Kelly's Blue Book price before we set out and it was right on the money. We also checked the Carfax report for possible accidents or problems and it came out clean. We looked at a few other possibles at the same dealer and elsewhere, but this Mazda stood out to me as the car I would enjoy owning and driving.

I wrote a check, signed some papers, and in minutes the deal was done. Beth drove home her Mercury Sable station wagon, and immediately transferred my half of the payment on that car so it's now fully hers, while I stopped off at the bank to warn them of the big check coming, then at Les Schwab Tires to get a new set of tires fitted and a couple of other things checked over. I'll be back at Les Schwab Monday for new disc brakes, and then I'll know the car is as safe as I can make it.

The current muffler/exhaust is designed to be as noisy and roarty as is just legal, so tomorrow I'll be seeing if I can get a quieter one fitted, as I prefer a well behaved car. There are a few small nicks in the paintwork as must be expected in a second hand car, which I'll be looking to get fixed in time.

Overall I'm very happy, and now we have two sets of wheels we can each schedule our own activities without needing to juggle the car.