Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Good-Bye Rodeo?

I don't know what to do. I really can't stop thinking about trading in my car now. It's all Paula's fault. I've had my eye on the Yaris for a while now, I have hatchback envy, so last weekend when Paula mentioned that she might get a Yaris to commute to work in, seeing as how the price tag was less than $12,000, I was immediately intrigued. Really, $12,000? For a new car? And it gets 30-45 MPG? Interesting.

I did some math and figured that I could continue making payments at the same amount I'm paying now for my Rodeo, just extend the time I have to pay them another three years, and have a brand new car. A brand new car with a 5-year warranty which would also save me $100 a month in gas.

OK, let's recap: I get a brand new car (a cute one) and continue spending the same for the payment as I am currently, so there's no extra cost to me, I wouldn't have to worry about check engine lights or weird noises coming from the engine, AND I would save myself $100 a month in gas. Oh, and the earth, I'd be polluting less of the earth with my small, fuel-efficient economy car. That's nice, too.

So what am I missing? What are the cons? I've tried to make my list and I can't come up with any cons other than: having to listen to Luke complain that I have an ugly car.

I asked Luke to be honest and tell me what he thought about me getting a Yaris and he didn't really have much to say. Of course he thinks they're ugly, I can't really say anything about that, but all of his other gut reactions can be talked through. He thinks I should maybe look for a comparable car that's not a Yaris. That leaves the Honda Fit (too expensive), the Mazda 6 (too expensive), a Scion (too expensive), and some Suzuki model, but he doesn't want to get a Suzuki for some reason. OK... so it doesn't have side air bags. Neither does my Rodeo. Yes, my Rodeo is bigger, but the Yaris is 10 years newer with more safety engineering and I'm sure it must be safer, although smaller.

I've read the reviews and it gets pretty good ones. Edmunds liked it a lot, they called it cute and peppy. The owner reviews were great. The only negative reviews mentioned the lack of side air bags, the lack of an ashtray, and the awkward emergency break location. Big whoop.

So tell me, what am I missing? Anybody own a Yaris or know someone who does who can give me their feedback, and not just tell me that it's funny-looking?

3 comments:

Flann said...

The Yaris is similar to the Aveo, just a better-built car. We had an Aveo when our car was being fixed after the rear-ending debacle and it was SO MUCH FUN to drive. It actually made me contemplate switching from my beloved Civic. If you can swing it, I say go for it! It's totally you. Does it come in pink? :)

Unknown said...

OK, so I'm a genius!! I hope you get one so you can be my crash test dummy. Figure out if its a good car before I get it too :-)

Oh, and there is one other that we are going to check out. The Nissan Versa. Also has 35 MPG, only this one has 4 doors and costs $14,000. You should check that one out too because it does seem much bigger.

Optimistic Diva said...

I don't know how good a little car would be in the snow. There's a con. Then again, I don't think a broken down Isuzu would do you good in the snow either, so I just talked you into it, didn't I??

I posted about you today...I'm back!