Bought a Car

Well I've bought a car through Carvana. My old vehicle was having too many troubles over the last few months, but especially the last few weeks. We started a new rotation at my job where I'll be in the field for the next three months at least, but likely more in the next rotation also. So I have to do a lot more driving going to different job sites which are usually around 15-20 minutes from the office. My vehicle continued to overheat and I was adding coolant about everyday. When it overheats it shifts into a different gear and drives much slower and grinds a little bit. When I come to a stop after driving for a bit in that mode it will usually cut off. Thankfully it'll start up right away (unlike before when it was cutting off randomly and took 15-20 seconds to restart), but it could shut right back off. I had to time the lights right by quickly restarting the car and shifting to drive as traffic starts moving since it'll cut right back off if I don't start moving right away. So I had to put up with that for a few weeks as I began this rotation having to drive across town. It wasn't so bad when I only drove to the office and back. I took a day off work soon after starting the rotation to take it into an auto shop and they gave a fairly quick diagnosis that I had a blown head gasket, but I didn't have a coolant leak, which I thought initially. They didn't even charge me which was nice. The guy said it could be a few thousand to repair but that I'd be better off getting a new vehicle. I looked it up and it seems he was right that it could cost a bunch to repair. As I was looking stuff up I saw that there are head gasket repair products that you put in the coolant reservoir. Over the next few weeks I had tried just about all of them and none worked very well. They got good reviews but I figure my case was too far gone, so I won't say they're bad products.

So, as I'm dealing with this I look into Carvana after hearing good things about it and place an order for a 2015 Volvo SUV. Mumina suggested we get a Volvo since she had one before and was a pretty reliable car. I was only going to get a foreign vehicle so I was okay with that. I shoulda listened to Hasan's general advice he gave me years ago to go with a foreign car over American. My Chevy Equinox (2006) pretty much a problems since I got it only almost 2 years ago. It was supposed to get me through at least 5 years before I was planning on getting a more modern family vehicle. But like I said, it pretty much had problems since I got it, so that idea changed.

So the whole Carvana process was pretty smooth. I got prequalified for financing, reserved the car, it took a few days for them to complete the inspection and send actual pics of the car and noted any imperfections. I completed purchasing it and it came in last Sunday to the Carvana lot here in Vegas. I chose to have it come there instead of home delivery since it was going to be quicker that way. They called me the day of pick up and told me the vending machine was having technical difficulties, so they asked if I wanted to wait a few days to get the full "Carvana experience" or just pick it up curbside. I was too desperate so I chose to pick it up curbside. The whole thing took just over a week from choosing the car to picking it up.

So I got the car and it's been just over a week and it is great. Of course its blue, and it's a really nice perfect dark blue, darker than my old Honda. It rides real smooth and has some neat features. I'm really happy with it. Now the problem is that I still owe on the Equinox, but I should be getting my Biden stimulus check this week and that should pay it off, so the timing on that is perfect. Now I won't have to deal with two car payments. I'll likely just sell the Equinox for super cheap just to get it out the way. I still have my Mazda which I plan on keeping. It's issues are minor compared to the stupid Equinox and it also has sentimental value. Many people see it sitting in the driveway and ask if I'm selling it. Nope, not gonna. Plus, they probably wouldn't want it once they find out what the issues are (which is a completely busted driver seat which I think is covered in a recall, and it needs a new TCM, which is the computer system that is causing it to malfunction, which I'm pretty sure is the issue after reading about people having the exact problems I was having with it). Anyways, that's the deal. I make terrible financial decisions. The Equinox shoulda never happened. Hopefully this new vehicle lasts a while and I can have a nice reliable vehicle that can erase the trauma I've had with the Equinox.