When I was a wee lad, obsessed with cars and Initial D, I wanted little else than a really fast Japanese car. One to become a drifter with, or just plain go fast.
Although Initial D shit on them, I really was fond of turbo-charged cars that were all-wheel drive. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, Subaru Imprezas, Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, etc. Obviously the latter would never be available in America but I really would have liked to have gotten my hands on an Evo or an Impreza at some point in my life.
Well it’s been like 21 years since those days, but I’ve finally got my turbo-charged, AWD Japanese car. A Mazda CX-9.
Not quite the same thing, huh? But yet it does fall possess those variables I wanted when I was a kid.
Regardless, this is the culmination of my recent car search where I decided to capitalize on the fucked up car market, and upgrade to the larger car that my famiry will ultimately command, while the opportunity was hot.
Sure, most people are innately aware that car values are bloated like an HP computer out of the box, but at the same time trade-in values are also insane as well. My new car’s MSRP is well north of $40,000 and more so due to current market bloat, but when I had my previous ride appraised, it was insanely high and that’s what got the wheels in motion.
Yes, all numbers were pretty all over the place, but I like to look at it from the perspective of the facts that I don’t think I would’ve been in a position of having nearly $9,000 in positive equity to put towards a new car in three years when my previous one would’ve been paid off. Yes, the sticker price of my new car was a little bit bloated, but my total out-the-door cost was substantially lower than the MSRP of it, so I take solace in that above all else.
But most importantly, I’ve filled the anticipated need of having a large famiry vehicle for my famiry to grow into, as opposed to feeling progressively more and more cramped from my prior car as my kids grow and their needs evolve and they start amassing tons of shit.
And now I can make the dad-like jokes about how I have the AWD turbo car that I’ve been pining for, for over two decades. Nobody has to know that it’s also 4,400 lbs and can seat seven. Might as well be the Evo that beat Tiff Needell, even though he was cheating.