Things I like

It occurred to me last night, after I wrote about purchasing the Lincoln, that I really had not explained why I bought it and maybe that needed a little explanation. So, I’m doing it know.

 

I bought the Lincoln because we really needed a 2^nd car in our household and I didn’t want to spend more than a couple thousand dollars to remedy the extra car situation. When I looked around, there are many 2000 dollar cars on used car lots but most of them look pretty well used- mostly used up, and most of them are ratty, smaller cars that might be fine if one was desperate for a cheap car. But I had figured out that if I bought too cheap a car that the BSU wouldn’t want to ride in it during our dinner, movie or appointment forays and that she likewise wouldn’t drive a car she didn’t feel safe in. So I wasn’t desperate to buy a car but I have been looking for a few weeks and I decided that I would use the end of our tax refund cash to purchase a car- if I found one that would meet the spousal unit’s approval.

 

The Lincoln was sitting on a corner used car lot that I pass every day on my way to work. From the street it looked really clean, much cleaner than the $2495 sticker in the windshield might lead a person to expect. It is a luxury car after all, even if it’s a 15 year old luxury car, so for that kind of asking price, you might expect to find a car that was pretty worn out. But from the street it looked mighty good and after a couple weeks of looking at it and after deciding how much money I could spend, I decided to check it out.

 

It really is a clean car. It has just 140,000 miles on it- 35,000 less than my 6 year newer truck. It has been in the same ownership since 1996 when the last owner bought it used and kept it until very recently. He kept very good maintenance records and every oil change, spark plug and brake pad change has been recorded. The driver’s seat leather is torn and worn and one headlight wobbles on its mount a little bit and one window switch- the driver’s side for the passenger’s window doesn’t work. But otherwise, everything works. The interior is very presentable with clean carpet and floormats and the outside has some very minor door dings on one flank and one small missing piece of chrome. It is packed full of 1994 vintage electronic goodness; self regulating temperature controls and electric seats with memory settings and a LCD status display on the dash and everything works. Outside, the pearl white paint is shiny, the alloy wheels look good and it has 4 nearly new Michelin radial tires that should last thousands of miles.

 

The air suspension gives a very comfortable ride with much less bucking and bumping compared to the truck and the V-8 engine has lots of power and a throaty growl when I put my foot down hard. It’s easy to drive smoothly and quietly using just the first inch of throttle pedal travel but pushing the pedal down further really wakes up the 290 horsepower engine and produces extra-legal speeds very quickly.

 

In short, the Lincoln is fun to drive and it looks good. It is averaging nearly 20 miles per gallon- 8 mpg better than the truck. The spousal unit won’t be afraid to be seen in it going around town. It looks like much more than a 2000 dollar car. I think it looks like a grown up’s car without looking like an old fogey’s car. And it doesn’t look like a pimpmobile in spite of my friend Carol’s threat to buy me a purple, feathered fedora to wear while I’m driving it!

 

I also mentioned a few weeks ago that we were replacing our failing washing machine and aged dryer with new, modern, front loading laundry equipment. I like these new LG machines too. They have been in place for a couple weeks now and I am pleased that we stepped up to new technology. These things are silent! Except for the sound of the water filling in the washer when it first begins, and the sound of the chimes alerting you that the machines have finished their assigned tasks, these things make no noise. Their quietness really is remarkable. It is too soon to see any improvements in the utility costs for operating them, so that remains to be proven. I do like how little water the washer seems to use compared to our aged, extra capacity top loader. But the clothes come out smelling good and almost unwrinkled and their capacity seems just perfect for just the 2 of us. The machines feel modern and high-tech and I think they were a good purchase.

 

Regarding the purchase- the new laundry equipment was paid for with the first part of our tax refund, so they are paid for, just like the car. No monthly notes on either of the purchases and that feels pretty good. So that’s another thing I like!