Garage Wars

This is my house.  It's very cute, in a nice neighbourhood, and every once in a while I have to pinch my arm to remind myself that I'm not dreaming and I actually live there.

Yesterday I finally bought a car, (if you want to read about car shopping woes, you can click here).  Its a cute little Ford Focus hatchback. What occurred to me when I brought the tiny compact car home, is that it would actually fit in the garage!  My dinosaur Ford Escape most certainly does NOT fit in the garage (note garage on side of house, see how tiny it is?  The SUV technically fits... you just can't open the door to get out of the car).  So for the last 6 months I've been parked outside whilst hubby enjoys the warmth and convenience of our attached garage.  

When I mentioned to hubby that my new car would now fit in our teeny tiny garage, he said, "stay out of my garage!".  

Now I didn't think that was very fair.  Why do I have to shovel snow (which is established as hubby territory, I clean the INSIDE of the house, and he cleans the OUTSIDE.. with exception to the gardens, which we mutilate together), while he gets to zoom in and out of the garage without scraping a centimeter of ice off his window?  

Being the fair diplomatic person that I am, I suggested to hubby that we SHARE the garage.  Even though I really don't want to share.  I want it all to myself.

Hubby said NO!  Can you believe it?  He won't even SHARE!  Chivalry is dead in my house.

However, I get home from work first, so we will see.  I pick the car up on Tuesday.  We will do a test garage run and see what happens.  The only downside that I can see is that he knows how to re-program the garage remotes so technically he could "lock" me out and I would have to go inside to hit the button... but I would, because I'm spiteful like that.

I can't believe he won't share.

Car Shopping Woes

My faithful steed - the lovely Ford Escape - is nearing the end of its vehicle life. Not only is it costing me a fortune in gas... it's falling apart and in need of extensive TLC. Rather than bring her back to life, I've decided she would look much better recycled into some new and interesting form of life - a second career so to speak. Which means we are now car shopping.

I though it would be fun. It's been a while since I've had to do it, and for the first time I have an income that can support new car shopping... or so I thought. Day 1 had me so depressed I was beginning to think about learning how to jog and running the 25kms to work every day. However, I would be sweaty and icky and would probably have to leave at 2am, so that's out.

Cars are so expensive, and dealerships are pushing financing for up to 84 months. EIGHTY-FOUR MONTHS! That's like.... SEVEN YEARS. Have you ever owned the same vehicle for SEVEN YEARS?

Trying to be environmentally responsible I was originally was looking for a hybrid or some other fuel-conscious car (one large enough to fit the dog of course, because lets face it, she is my most frequent passenger... the girls at Tim Hortons keep cookies behind the counter for her), only to find out to my shock, that I can't AFFORD to be environmentally conscious. Being environmentally smart means an additional $10, 000. Currently I am balancing that with the rumor that fuel is supposed to reach $1.50 / Litre this summer. Either way its a financial gamble.

Very few of the vehicles I would consider actually ended up in my price range. I loooooove the new focus hatchback, but am coming to the realization that if I buy the fuel-efficiant-spaceship-looking-wonder-car, I can't afford to eat. Sooooo.

The Verdict:

We are now USED car shopping. Not nearly as fun, and definitely not as fuel efficient. I have resigned myself to buying a temporary car while I squirrel away more nuts for a larger down payment.

Chop it up to bad planning and unrealistic expectations. You would think I would have learned by now,