Austin is a 2000 VW Jetta TDI. I purposely bought a diesel car because I wanted to use biodiesel. My main reason was because I want to reduce dependence on foreign oil, but the mad science aspect of the chemistry of home-produced biodiesel appealed to me, too. (I never did get around to making my own, though.) The environmental benefits of reduced emissions were icing on the cake.
The car spent three weeks in the shop right off the bat and then was in and out of the shop for the first few months of ownership. The previous owner had severely mismaintained the car (including jamming spark plugs in the radiator hoses and reinstalling the engine backward). I had to replace the transmission right after I bought it. I had a few months of good use and then it was back to in and out of the shop. My mechanic, only half jokingly, offered to blow the car up for me. Back in February, the front bumper fell off and has been held on by duct tape ever since. I decided I didn't want to pay to fix it.
Every time I took the car to the shop, I contemplated just throwing in the towel, but I owned the car outright, and I knew I would have to take out a loan if I wanted to purchase a different car. I had to reboot the car's computer every week or two because the gremlins would trick it into locking the transmission into first gear. So, if you ever need someone to fix your car's computer, I know what I'm doing now. (That's how you know I'm from Silicon Valley. My automotive repair specialty is hacking.)
A few weeks ago, I realized I was spending as much on repairs as I would be spending on a car payment, so I decided it was time to replace the car. I knew I didn't want another Volkswagen because the repair bills are so high. I had a great experience with my Toyota, so I decided I would look there.
Unfortunately, the only diesel passenger cars availabe in the US are VW or Mercedes. (Chevy just released one, but it's still new, and I can only afford used cars.) So I started looking at other alternative fuels. I channeled my inner economist and dusted off the spreadsheet from the last time I went car shopping.
I decided on compressed natural gas. It's domestically produced, which was my main concern. Plus, it's cheap and efficient. It burns cleanly and qualifies for a carpool lane sticker. When I ran the numbers through the spreadsheet, I realized that the car payment plus the cost of fuel is equal to the cost of fuel in a diesel car.
So there was no reason not to do it. I decided on a 2005 Honda Civic. Earlier this week, I was starting to wonder if I made the right choice, and then Austin threw a new engine code at me. The transmission was going again. So I made the right choice. I called up a junkyard and made arrangements to sell the car.
The tow truck driver arrived last night, we completed the paperwork, I gave him my car, and he gave me the cash. He said that they usually fix up and resell cars in as good condition as mine. (Most cars they get are totaled from accidents. Mine still runs.) So Austin is going to get fixed up and have a new life. I'm picking up the Honda tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment