The end of a legacy...

Outback that is. As I posted last month, on October 1, I was rear ended on my way home from work. The damage didn't seem too extensive but I was concerned that the insurance company was going to total my car after the body shop got into it. Alas, my worst fears were confirmed when 9 days after I had dropped my car off to be fixed, I got the dreaded phone call. After several rounds of negotiations over the value of my car I ended up accepting a value about $300 less than what I wanted and $1000 less than I think I could have gotten on the market if I had sold my car pre-accident.

It was unfortunate that my 1997 Outback was totaled. It was running great and although it had 143,000 miles on it, it had no mechanical issues and was still in pretty good cosmetic shape as well. We were hoping to hold on to it for another 2-3 years, but that obviously changed. Once I was notified of my car being totaled I had my rental car for 6 more days. I didn't want to be rushed into buying a car, but I also wanted to get it over with as Michelle and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of being a one car family. Perhaps if it had been summer we could have gotten by, but I wasn't looking forward to riding my bike to work in the cold and dark.

Michelle and I debated whether we should get a high mileage commuter or if we should get something a little more mid-life crisis-like (Jeep Rubicon here I come!!!). I started looking on the internet and noticed a gentle used 2008 as well as a L.L. Bean Edition 2005 Subaru Outback. I loved my Subaru and decided that replacing with another Subaru would be a prudent thing to do and fall somewhere in between the Honda Civic and the Jeep Rubicon. I stopped by the dealer on my way home from work and looked the '08 and ended up test driving the '05. I really liked it, but I wasn't about to spend that kind of cash without consulting Michelle first.

I got home and we ate dinner and decided that we should both go back and look at it. I sure the salesman though hook, line, and sinker as I walked in the same night now with my wife and two kids in tow. In the end I didn't get quite the deal I wanted, but I still think that I got a good deal on a vehicle that had gotten off a three-year lease. The L.L. Bean package adds some luxury that I didn't really need, but I am quite happy with my new car.

While I am still upset that I was rear-ended and it ended my '97 Legacy Outback's life prematurely, I am thankful that I was in a position to be able to buy another car. For the moment there is no eating in my new car and I have to park way out in the boonies, but if you want a nice ride just ask. Now if I can only get over bracing for impact every time I see a car coming up behind me.