A problem I have during the idle times being cooped up at home during this coronavirus business is that I’m finding myself on Autotrader looking for cars to buy. Indeed it’s not the wisest of decisions to be spending relatively big sums of money on anything right now, what with so much uncertainty about the future. Now is the time to be enacting hard austerity measures and shore up that rainy day fund in case the economy turn worst than it already has.
Of course, those of us fortunate enough to still be able to draw a paycheck should donate and help out those in need whenever and wherever we can. In the past month I’ve ordered more food to go from local restaurants than I ever have combined. I hope these neighborhood food staples can pull through this pandemic.
Nevertheless, it’s a huge dopamine rush for a car enthusiasts to go car shopping, even if it’s merely the window shopping variety. The mind starts imagining the what-if possibilites, all the potential fun to had in a new-to-me car. Naturally, the mind also starts to perform permutations and rationalizations, trying to self-convince that I should totally buy a particular car - it’s never been cheaper!
With most of the country on lockdown, there’s obviously not a lot of car buying happening at dealerships. With over 20 million Americans newly filing for unemployment, the demand for automobiles will likely go down significantly. The general consensus amongst the petrol-head crowd is that this glut of supply, combined with decrease in demand, means there should plenty of deals to be had, should you be in the lucky position to have a job and the cash on hand.
I’m extremely privileged to be in that position, which is why I’m constantly on Autotrader these days. I’m not going to actually buy another car though, because I’ve already got one to play with (not so much these days, sadly), and that one is quite expensive to handle as is. That said, prices for a 2016 model-year Mazda Miata - my old car - have dropped down into the teens of thousands, and that’s highly tempting…
Wouldn’t it be nice.