A Car Dilemma, That is Not Quite a Dilemma at All

Many of you have followed my many posts through the past years regarding the condition of my 1991 Honda Civic sedan, pavement gray.

Those of you who have not, I apologize to you and request that you go back through the archives and try to find some of these posts which I would link you to right now but can't because I'm technically working right now, and this is a circ desk computer with Internet Explorer from 3 upgrades back. Internet Explorer 5...?

My Honda leaks when it rains from an as-yet-undiscovered hole in an as-yet-undiscovered place. Right over the driver's seat. It was once smashed by a deer, and looks like an elephant sat on it.

I knew the lifetime of my car was growing short when my "My other transport is the Millenium Falcon" bumper sticker peeled off.

I mean, that is completely symbolic. That was like the car telling me that it was the Millenium Falcon, and that other transport was some other Corellian Light Freighter or something. My car was the thing at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back that makes that starting up sound with the dying sound right after it. That's bad junk, yo.

At the moment, the car needs a distributor something. That is $350.00 plus labor. Plus the new muffler, plus it needs new tires as the ones I have right now are bald and need replaced.

I don't know the math on that. But I am guessing it would be maybe around $1000.00 to fix my car and make it live on for another 20,000 miles, at which point it would have 200,000 miles. Which would be cool.

But the coolness of that becomes less cool when I consider the fact that I could end up with one of two cars with far less mileage and working motors and perhaps air conditioning for about $2,000.00 which is a lot but still less than college-loan range.

Now, from a math standpoint, if you consider the life expectancy of my Honda, and the fact that if you purchase a version of my Honda in pristine condition at KBB Value, it would be around $2,000.00, and mine is worth much much less, and that my "car might not even make it 6 weeks with the repairs mentioned above" according to Repair Shop Guy, there really isn't much of a choice.

Meaning, I have two options.

1. Buick Skylark of unknown age and color and well...anything...price: $1,800.

2. Ford Taurus just like my mom's but two years newer, and brighter and prettier according to my dad who apparently has been scoping cars without my knowledge or presence: $2,000.

I think I know where Jen stands on this issue, I think, as she is a big fan of her Buick. Also, I can see the appeal of having a car that is not identical to my mother's in every way, as we live in the same house and there might be some confusing moments, albeit hilarious ones.

I don't know what it will be like for me to have my primary source of comedy (excluding myself and my freakish deformities) removed from my life, perhaps forever.

Not that I don't think the new car might be nice. It would be, although there would be payments and insurance and probably more money to spend on gas than before.

It just might not have the same kind of character as the Honda has right now.

Blast.

Okay, I am opening this thing up for opinions: what should I do, gentle readers? Go down to the comment section and decide once and for all:

Should Laura (a) get a new car, hang the expense or (b) fix the old one and revel in cheap gas and no car payment?