judecorp | Adios, Versa

So we've given up the hunt for the elusive Versa. It was just too crazy to think that there was not a single dealer in this area that expected to have one any time in the near future (read: when we need a car) that wasn't bright white or fire engine red. We got tired of calling dealers and getting the "we expect a truck in the next 10 days maybe" runaround. And, admittedly, I started to just get really stressed out about Jen not having a car for her new job. She also is taking next week off between jobs and we were going to use some of that time to get some stuff fixed on the Focus (breaks check, oil change, finally fix the trunk damage from the vodka bottle, general maintenance check) since I'd actually have a car to use for work. So the idea of cutting it to the wire was not going to work.

We went to Plan B, which is the Scion xA. It was one of the first cars we test drove (the same day as the Matrix) and we liked it quite a bit. It was a little higher on emissions than I liked but it has decent gas mileage and handled pretty well (more like an economy car than the Versa but good). And it is certainly well within our price range - actually on the lower end. It's cute, it has a hatch back, and reviews all list it as quite dependable with little maintenance required. I think Edmunds said it had the Lowest True Cost To Own in its class, so that's nice, too. Jen found a dealer locally that is supposed to get one, yes one, on Saturday or Monday and she put a little deposit on it so we get first dibs. It's a nice maroon color (Scion calls it "salsa red" which does not look like a fire engine) and it is a little pricier because it happens to have the optional extra airbag package (side and curtain air bags), which is cool because I kind of wanted that anyway.

The sucky parts are that it doesn't have as much haul space as the Versa or the Matrix or the other cars we looked at, and that it doesn't have much pick-up. But I guess that's what happens when you get into Car Desparation Crunch Time. Besides, it's cheap and cute, and heck, I don't require much more than that.