I’ve mentioned before that I drive a Nissan Rogue and I leased it because I wasn’t 100% sure I loved it but my poor beloved prior truck (my baby, my Jeep Liberty) had been totaled when I was rear-ended by semi on the highway (that was fun) so I needed a new car.  I thought it looked similar to my Liberty and hoped it would work out well.

But it’s not that similar.  And it’s a bit smaller on the inside than I was hoping for and would like.  So, I’m kind of happy I leased it because I can get out of it a little easier and I don’t feel stuck with it.

And this is not meant to be a post on the merits of leasing vs. buying.  I know some people have very strong opinions on the subject but I am a “whatever works for you” kind of person.

I, officially, just made my last lease payment so I now have until March 4th to turn it in and find a new car.

:enter panic mode:

But I am having issues deciding what to get next.

For the better part of a year I’ve been saying “when the Rogue lease is up, I’m getting a Nissan Pathfinder” but I don’t know why I want it (other than the fact that it’s bigger than the Rogue).  It looks nice.  But that’s about as far I’ve gotten with reasons to buy it.

I still miss my Jeep.  It probably sounds really pathetic.  But I LOVED that car.  It was the perfect size, it was good on gas.  Sure it was 11 years old and had 120,000 miles on it when it was totaled, but they were well-earned miles and when you drove it, you’d never know it was the old or had that many miles on it.  It looked beautiful, rode and handled easily, was everything I needed in a car.  She was my baby.

And, of course, Jeep stopped making the Liberty a few years ago.  And they had actually shrunk them down a little in their last few years of production so for me to get a replica of what I had, it would already be at least 10 years old now and while I’m not against shopping used, I don’t want something super old because I want to keep this car for a good long while.

And then I also had the new vs. used debate in my head.  Which isn’t really a debate.  I’m not against shopping used cars (especially with this whole wedding and honeymoon in England and buying a house thing in the next few years) because I don’t need to go into debt over a car.  But, like I said, I want a car that will last for as many years as I can get out of it and that will be able to hold car seats (because while children aren’t happening yet, once we’re married we’ve agreed to “not prevent” and see what happens and given my family history kids could happen pretty damn quick) and whatever other crap I accumulate in there.

So, I’m stuck.

I was talking to my co-worker yesterday morning and she pointed out, “you know you aren’t actually going to be happy until you drive a Jeep again, right?”

And she might be right.  I think I need to at least test drive one again.  I was looking this morning at Jeep Cherokee’s and Grand Cherokee’s.  I feel like the Grand might be a little too big, but I think I need to test drive both and see what I’m comfortable with.

The fun part is the price breakdown puts me more in favor of Jeeps over Nissans.  Again, I really have nothing particularly against Nissan.  The Rogue has been great, my dealership has been great, it’s just not the size I wanted.  But the Jeep’s I’m looking at, brand new, are much cheaper than Nissan’s.  Used are also more affordable than Nissan’s are.  So, the price is probably going to play a pretty big factor in this decision as well.

 

I don’t know.  I need to go test drive a Jeep.  I’ve driven a Pathfinder before and I think I need to drive a Jeep to really see if I want it back or not.  I’m not going to be happy until I find out.

And yes, I’m fully aware all of this is #firstworldproblems.  But I’m indecisive so I need a sounding board for decisions….and I have a blog…so the two go hand in hand a lot.

How about someone just give me a car?  Is that a thing?  We can do that, right?  It’d make my life easier.

Any takers?

Anyone?…..