***Is this the deal of a lifetime or should I wait until the next one?***

Whatever
As long-time readers of my blog know, I’ve been near-fanatical about cars since my 1998 Dodge Neon nearly stalled on me last year. Well, after checking out cars and SUVs and, more importantly, enduring car sales folks (who, in my opinion, are far worse than the stereotypical politician as one of the despicable creatures on the planet), I did an abrupt turnaround, took my surprised spouse’s 1998 Mazda 626 while donating the Neon to charity. (Update: She was purchased for $500. Grrr. She’s worth more than that.) R., bereft of a vehicle, was forced to purchase a 2005 Honda Accord hybrid upon my recommendation. 35 miles per gallon (real world, none of that inflated EPA stuff) for six-cylinders didn’t hurt, either.

So here I am, (mostly) content with my current vehicle, knowing that, within a couple of years, it’ll be my turn to purchase a new one.

Then GM had to do this.

To illustrate the impact this discount has on a GM vehicle’s purchase price, take a look at this 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe as an example. As you can see, we’re talking about nearly $10,000 off the MSRP.

I’m in a mental and emotional dilemma. The former’s reminding me that we already have car payments while remodeling our home. That’s a lot of debt. The latter side’s, though, luring me with the promise of a new car scent.

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And R.’s no help in this matter, wanting to make me happy. (I’m suppose to be happy in my life? What’s up with that?) And the too-cooperative spouse worsened it last night by reminding me about my Mazda’s current condition: 178k+ is a lot for a seven year old car*. Yeah, it’s still running strong but so had (mostly) my Neon before its electrical and A/C systems stopped working. And it had (barely) less miles.

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Back and forth, logic versus emotions, with facts muddling the decision-making process. Argh! Why does life do this to me?

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*When I took it into a nearby dealership to flush its engines, the technicians were reluctant to do so, stating the process could blow out the engine that old. They recommended the much cheaper drip(?) method.

**All images are found on the Internet and all rights belong to their owners.