In my previous post, I went on a bit about my impending wedding and following marriage.
Since that point, the fiancee and I have started looking at some of the more important beginning decisions that face us as we start our life together. The first being buying a house. We've looked at one house so far, but we just started looking (seriously looking, anyway) this past Friday. Sure, we fooled around with realty websites, hitting searches that fit our parameters. We've already been pre-approved and have a solid lock on what our target price range is. We've narrowed the ideal location to within so many miles - a perk of only working about 10 minutes apart!
On Friday, we went to see the first house on our list. A nice house, even if the location is near one of the lower-income areas of Pittsburgh. We got a chance to see the neighborhood, spot several other property sales along the way, had our first experience with a realtor agent, and came away with a good impression of the place. Today, however, we shared the sentiment that it probably wouldn't work out, long-term, if we bought it. It has no yard, really. Maybe 8' on all sides, max.
In the meantime, we're planning on seeing another house, in quite a different neighborhood (think rural-ish!). The property is cheaper but in more need of repairs and renovations, just from looking at the property disclosure that the agent emailed me. But it has yard! After this one, we're hoping to visit another house or two before Valentine's Day (Saturday, methinks).
All of this is keeping us busy. Especially when...
I wrecked my car! Yeah, really. Neither the fiancee nor I were seriously hurt, although she is still sore. Got looked at, but the doc says 'tis just a muscle strain that needs time to work itself out. The car, on the other hand, is another matter. What happened is, we hit an slippy spot on a downgrade in the middle of a bend. Instead of going to the right with the road, the Cobalt decided it would just go straight to give that big ol' telephone pole a nice kiss.
It got towed (from my house - it was declared to be "drivable", but that's really not a story to be shared online) to a bodyshop that's attached to a dealership and will hopefully be assessed no later than Thursday, if not Wednesday. My father put forth the thought that maybe the car will be declared totalled, given that the front grill, hood, right fender, and at least the radiator (couldn't get an accurate body count of all the engine parts, since the hood was jammed shut) are in need of replacement. It's possible the front passenger door needs replaced due to the way the right fender got pushed back, as well as the left fender, but I can't tell if that's just the way the front grill got messed up. The engine was starting to overheat on the way back home from the accident, so that's why I know the radiator is busted. It goes without saying that the engine didn't sound all that pleased about being rammed into a solid piece of roadside decorum, either. For all that, it didnt' have problems steering, stopping, or going. I was concerned the battery was going to run itself dead when the fan kept going after turning off the car in an attempt to cool off the overheated engine.
When the fiancee's father saw the photos of the destruction, he wasn't so sure it would be declared totalled from the pictures and our description of the way it drove immediately after the accident. Hence, the assessment is eagerly anticipated! And this is why:
If totalled - hopefully that gap insurance I bought upon obtaining the Cobalt is still in effect - that would absolve me of paying off the final $2k, and then the amount I receive from insurance for the value can become down payment for a newer and, logically, better quality all-wheel drive vehicle, which would be better suited to the local weather patterns and my 'active' lifestyle (read: a more convenient way to transport my stinky goalie equipment without wedging hockey sticks between opposing doors). This would also be convenient in assisting the fiancee and I to start meshing our financial records and responsibilities jointly in terms of ownership and any relevant insurance coverages from such ownerships.
If fixable (according to the insurer, of course) - that means new body panels and a free fix (once past the deductable, of course, and it is that), fresh paint on front end of the car, new tires (with balancing and realignment), hopefully a fixing of that annoying shimmy at highway speeds: it now becomes a possible decent sell to some teenager looking for his first ride before he gets a serious job. Or maybe the working man who just needs a car to get from point A to B without breaking the bank. In either case, according to Kelly Blue Book, the retail value of the Cobalt would be around $5k. Remember the amount that I owe? Yeah, that would be a $3k profit if I was able to sell it around that $5k mark. Hell, even if it sold at $3.5k, it would still give me a higher downpayment than most car ads state for their advertised financing deals. Once again, enter a new vehicle. It just comes a little later down the road.
The longer I think about this decision, the more and more I think that having it fixable and then waiting until after the fiancee and I find a new home would be ideal. This is due to our wanting to get an SUV as the next vehicle. This would give us a good option during the winter, not to say her Neon is bad in this weather. At least it has snow tires. But the cheaper used SUVs that are newer than 4 years tend to be on the guzzling side of the gas tank. If we end up living quite close to our jobs, then it would be a viable solution, especially if we were to adopt a schedule of carpooling 2 or 3 days of the week yearlong. But if we were to live a bit further away from work (say 20 minutes or so), then finding an SUV with a better gas efficiency would pay off in the long-run, despite their average higher asking price to buy.
And then, of course, the fiancee (this was before the accident, so we'll see if this gets put on the back-burner or not) started sending me emails of pets looking for their forever homes, so I guess there's always more than just houses and cars, right?
In any event, I will probably post photos of the car after I hear what the assessment is. It should be fun times!
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