Car shopping

No, not me, a friend is buying a car. Although I am kinda tempted...

Anywho, went with a friend to test drive cars. Went through the usual Toyota, Honda gauntlets, but he narrowed it down to a Mazda 3 Sport or a Volkswagen Golf. More features or better quality? Low interest and high cost or high interest and lower cost? Will it be Zoom Zoom Zoom or Farfegnugen?




I have also been enlightened to the finer points of leasing a vehicle and newer diesel cars.

Leasing: An increasingly popular alternative. Hard to pass up the significantly lower monthly payments. Sure you don't get to own it afterwards. But lots of people sell their car after the first few years anyway. You get the most trouble free low maintenace years. Very tempting.

Diesel: Gone are the days of stinky loud diesel engines. Sure they're still stinkier and louder, it's not that much more than gasoline engines. May be worth the difference in fuel and maintenance costs! Also very tempting, especially when my car just gulps gas...