Day 56: Act Accordingly

A friend of mine with a 1991 Accord with more miles that she's comfortable with and more to-do items on the car's repairs list that she wants to spend is looking for newer Accord. I shouldn't be shocked but late model Accords and Civics are really expensive. I knew when I bought the Fit that we were spending less than Accords, and depending on trim level and options, less than Civics. What I wasn't prepared for today was the retained value of those Accords and Civics. The frustrating thing for her is that the only 'affordable' Accord for her is a 2003--considerably newer with better safety options than her '91, but in terms of maintenance costs, it will probably get spendy pretty quickly. I was thinking she'd be able to afford an '09 Accord or Camry, but there's no way. They is just too high a premium on these cars if they've been reasonably taken care of and have minimal mileage. This really contrasts with the complete lack of love for the recent model off lease Nissan Leafs I've been seeing on the market (and been tempted by). 2012 Leafs with low mileage off lease are going for well under $9,000, and then your fuel costs are a fraction of an ICE, and maintenance costs are similarly low, as long as you don't need a new battery. The gorilla in the room is the 75 or so mile range on these cars--a problem somewhat mitigated if one has the quick charge port. But they will never be able to take intercity trips. We definitely are spoiled being able to fill a tank of gas in minutes, practically anywhere, anytime. If I needed a 2nd car, I wouldn't hesitate in getting one of these Leafs, but as a primary car, I just couldn't do it. I do have an idealist friend whose primary (only) car is a Leaf. He rents a car if he needs to go out of town, and ultimately is many dollars ahead.

More and more Fits are getting fixed. I'm expecting mine to be done any day now. My 30 day rental window is coming up again. I don't think I have to swap the car--last time it was just a verbal renewal over the phone. Here's hoping the rental will be over before May 4 when the agreement comes up.