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Tuesday night I had a meeting in San Francisco with a respected consultant in the magazine industry. He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of a well known high tech publication and has since run a successful consulting business. He asked if I could meet him at Ritual Coffee Roasters on Valencia. I arrived early and waited outside for him. Right at 5pm, he pulled up in front of the coffee shop and parked his car. I was so pleasantly surprised to see him driving a car that had to have been at least 15 years old. Although it was clean and well cared for, it was much different from what I was expecting such a successful person to drive.
Later, during our meeting the subject of the dangers of keeping up with the Jones' came up. I talked about my own occasional bouts of car envy when I was driving the Cadillac, (a car that was 12 years old) and how the minute I would think that I wanted a new car, I would remind myself of everything that not having a car payment allowed me to do. He brought up his own car and how it was 20 years old and that it may be time to finally replace it. Here is a guy that could buy just about any car that he desires and he is perfectly content driving the same car he has driven for the last 20 years. I was thoroughly impressed.
I still love driving my 1995 Nissan Maxima. I hope that it lasts at least another 2 - 3 years if not longer. When it does finally kick it, I have identified the next used car I am going to purchase. My friend Dreah just got a great deal on a 2008 Rav 4 and it is a beautiful car. It also has everything the Tosetti family could possibly want in a vehicle. It has plenty of space, good horsepower, 4WD and good gas mileage for the size of the vehicle. By the time I am ready for a new car, the 2008 will be 4 - 5 years old qualifying it for my, "I only buy used cars" rule. At that point, I also hope to have enough cash to pay for it outright. I really, really hate having a car payment.
By the way, if you want a delicious decaf mocha, I highly recommend Ritual Coffee Roasters. Also, if you have a few extra minutes, head next store to Lost Weekend Video and peruse the titles. They have EVERYTHING!
