FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

The Old Girl wants a new car - a red one.

We have talked for a while of getting a hybrid car when we replace our current one. The current one is a 2016 Toyota Corolla (silver) which I was surprised to learn is now seven years old! I was thinking that it's still relatively new. There you go. It's only done 85,000 kms and is running really well but we agreed to trade it in earlier while it has value rather than later.*

I've been checking out EVs and Hybrid vehicles and have decided that a Toyota Corolla Cross is the car that most suits our needs.

A red one

These are new to the market but already are getting good reviews. They are also better value than a lot of other fancy schmancy hybrids but I was disturbed to realise that the government subsidy for EVs and Hybrids ran out on 1 July this year. This, for the Corolla Cross would have been about $3800. Bummer - which is what I said to the car salesman I was talking to. He sympathised but told me that even if we had decided a month or more ago to buy one it would have made no difference as there is a long waiting list for them. If we ordered one now it might not be available until early 2024. The government rebate then would have been moot.

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The bad weather is back here with heavy rainstorms and while I was looking outside to make sure that the rain wasn't ruining our new gravel driveway I thought about what the rain and wind and coastal conditions might do to a brand new car. We don't have a garage.

I looked on-line at the cost of garages and saw that it would cost between $30k and $40k. Installation would require a concrete pad, drainage and excavation as well which, after spending on other drainage recently, we can't afford.

Also, we really don't have the room for a proper garage and would have to try and squeeze it in here which would be tight:

I then looked at simpler and cheaper car shelters and found this:

It would cost about $3k and would be a better fit but they give it a maximum wind rating of 90KPH. This, for where we live is inadequate and I have visions of it flying away in the next storm.

I'm happy to keep the current Corolla running for a while and deferring placing an order for a hybrid version. It'll be interesting to see what The Old Girl thinks of this unless she's already made her mind up (it's her Kiwi Saver money after all).

Maybe we could just buy a car cover.

* While the car is in perfect running condition (we have it properly serviced by Toyota each year) and has low 'mileage' (why isn't there a word 'kilometerage'?) there are some panel issues. Some nameless bastard dented the rear panel in Pak 'n' Save a couple of years ago without leaving a note and The Old Girl munted the front left bumper a while ago. Maybe I should suck it up and get these repaired and hope that insurance will cover some of the cost. The problem is though, that living a half hour away from town with no public transport we cannot be without a vehicle while repairs are made.