My New Car

My first car was a 1991 Nissan Maxima, and until two weeks ago, I never enjoyed driving any car more than I enjoyed driving that car.  The Maxima was black with a black leather interior, had a Bose audio system, a power moonroof, and a powerful engine.   It was fun driving that car, which manifested itself in certain ways - first and foremost being, I wanted to drive it all the time.  Part of this was because I was very young and very shiftless and liked the idea of "freedom," as temporary as it might be while still living at home, but I'd sometimes drive that car just for the sake of getting away and driving it.  I'd drive it recklessly fast sometimes, and to this day I think it's a miracle that I never busted it (or myself) up pretty seriously as a teenager, but the steering wheel felt like an extension of my fingertips and the steering was tight enough that I couldn't find a hairpin curve the old car couldn't handle.

The Maxima died in 2005 - it died like a bit player in a Quentin Tarantino movie.  It wasn't pretty.  After the Maxima, I drove a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe for four years (its two best qualities were that it was reliable and it was free) followed by a 2009 Honda Civic coupe for another three-plus (which was reliable and, while not free, certainly cheap).  I drove both of these cars parsecs of miles - a Boston to New Jersey near-weekly commute will do that for you, as well as 240 miles a week commuting for work even after Boston hit my rear-view mirror for good.  They were reliable cars, as I mentioned, and I've never in my life been stranded alongside a road.  But they weren't fun, and I guess I'm a person who needs driving to be fun.  Oftentimes, I'd drive both cars too fast, but just because I wanted to get to my destination and stop driving them.  The Civic, in particular, had such a harsh ride that even modest potholes would lead to me freaking out a little bit (loud, unexpected noises will never be my friends).

The evening before Thanksgiving, after six months of deliberation, internal hemming and hawing, and approximately six notepad pages' worth of Pros, Cons, and What-Have-Yous, I purchased a new, silver 2012 Acura TSX.  I had for months previous been frustrated with car dealerships' hard-line negotiations with regard to Certified Pre-Owned cars, and was surprised when the local Acura dealership lopped roughly 10% off the MSRP for the new TSX (vs. the CPO car, which had a very firm price).  What follows is highly quantitative in nature: The final price of the car I purchased (between $28,000 and $29,000, for those who care about such things) was a few thousand more than I initially planned to spend, but the near-0% financing made up the difference - and, with my heavy driving, having a car with zero miles on it, at that price, and with the exact features and driving experience I craved, made a ton of sense.  My monthly payment will be a grand total of eight dollars a month more than the Civic payment I took on as a graduate student, and for twelve fewer months in term.

But that's all math.  Let's talk feelings.  Buying this car was extraordinarily difficult for me, as it flew in the face of nearly every rational thought I could have.  After all, my Civic drove fine with no obvious problems, and would have driven well into the year 2020 for "free" (or some shit).  But the Acura was a gut feeling (backed by spreadsheets' worth of budgeting), and when I drove the car off the lot, I knew I'd made a perfectly reasonable (and fun) choice.

The TSX, for less than $30,000, has many features that cannot be found on competitors' sports sedans without spending about $40,000.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Heated leather seats: They're black leather seats so they'll get plenty warm on their own once the thermometer hits 90 in the summertime.  But up here in the hills of New Jersey, it can be very cold on winter mornings, and it's very nice to have my ass sit on warm leather when I'm driving to work.  The driver and passenger have separate settings, which is nice because the Spouse-O-Matic calibrates at a temperature roughly 10F colder than I do.
• XM Satellite radio/Premium Sound System: I've completely changed my mind on satellite radio.  It's worth $10-$15/month to not have to listen to every radio station have a commercial break at the same time.  It's also worth that cost to have plenty of diverse options - Lithium, Alt Nation, 1st Wave, Coffee House, O&A Radio, ESPN Radio, etc. - it's really an incredible array of radio stations to have at one's fingertips.  With the Acura's sound system, I'm able to blare whatever music I feel like playing at decibel levels that will surely render me deaf by middle age.  Which I'm cool with.
• Smooth, supple ride: After the Civic, which ping-ponged around the road like an arcade game, it feels assuring to have a substantial, responsive car to drive again.  The TSX absorbs many bumps easily, which is nice because many nearby roads are of poor quality.
• The "perfect" engine: To be fair, I would rank the TSX's engine in the bottom half of cars in its segment.  It has a turbocharged, 201-hp four-cylinder engine, which is peppy but by no means a trail blazer.  In exchange for accepting a four-cylinder engine, I also obtain an average 31 mpg highway with a car that does not require premium fuel (plus is fine).  This is actually "enough" of an engine for me, as I typically play nice on the road though I like to speed 10-15 mph over the limit on most highways.  The automatic transmission is very intelligent (it never hesitates in providing enough power going up hills), and has manual paddle shifters on the wheel and a "Sport" mode in case I ever feel truly frisky.
• Memory power seats: Basically, if the Spouse-O-Matic (who is about six inches shorter than me) unlocks the car with her key, the mirrors and seat adjust to her size, and then can revert back to my settings once I unlock the car.  Super cool feature.
• Instant fuel economy, specific tire pressure readouts, range left in fuel tank, etc.: The TSX doesn't mind paralyzing you by analysis if you like it, and if you're reading this, you know I like it.

Finally, there's reliability.  Acura is one of the most reliable brands in existence.  At the last moment before I bought this car, a local BMW dealership came out of the woodwork with an objectively fair deal on a 2008 328i with roughly 45k miles on it.  It would have cost much less than the TSX, but I realized that you never see old BMWs on the road - BMWs age like strippers - while you always see old Acuras on the road.  That ended up sealing the deal for me.

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In short, I'm happy with my decision and I certainly would recommend this car to anyone who's interested in a sporty yet practical sedan.  Further, I'm quite glad that I did something counter-intuitive, something that was outside of my comfort zone, and something that allowed me to reward myself (a little bit) while still being a fine value.  I'm back to looking forward to getting behind the wheel and anticipating the open road again, which is nice.