Mark My Words

Apparently, I have a “type.” Not when it comes to women, but cars.

(OK, probably women, too. But that’s neither here nor there.)

Why yes, that is a brand-new-to-me car in my driveway. Just five days after learning that my trusty Hyundai Kona wasn’t quite so trusty anymore, she was history. If that seems fast, yeah–it is. But keep in mind we’re the couple who quit our jobs, sold our house, and moved to Wisconsin in just a little over two weeks. Team MarTar’s only speed is turbo, baby. Fittingly, I bought a Mazda. Tagline: zoom-zoom.

What can I say? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…but if it is broke, replace it. We deliberated over this whole Hyundai oil consumption issue–and in the end, Tara (surprisingly) was the one who suggested we cut our losses and take the mechanic’s advice by trading in the Kona rather than try to file a claim with Hyundai. The oil consumption test process has very strict thresholds (“they make you jump through hoops” our mechanic said), and there was no guarantee we’d qualify. Besides, once we started that process, it would show up on the vehicle history report. Good luck trading it in at that point. Even the better-case scenario would have meant replacing the spark plugs and other pricey components every few thousand miles. Better to be proactive and get ‘er done now, before that Check Engine light spilled our secret.

So, I immediately started researching replacement vehicles..but really, this was a no-brainer. Of all the cars I’ve owned in my life, the Mazda 3 was hands-down my favorite. I’d probably still be driving it today if we hadn’t moved to South Dakota and bought a house atop a steep hill that was a bitch to navigate in the snow. The heart wants what the heart wants, and this heart wanted another Mazda. And while the Mazda 3 does have optional AWD these days (figures!), the CX30 is a highly rated and more budget-friendly alternative. Similar in many ways to my Kona, but with a helluva lot more pep.

I shocked Tara by agreeing to buy a used car for the first time in my life. Every single vehicle I’ve ever purchased has been brand new. What can I say? I like the peace of mind a new car provides. Not to mention the smell! Tara, on the other hand, has never bought a car that wasn’t preowned. If I had a nickel every time I heard her say, “A new car depreciates the second you drive it off the lot,” I could…well, afford to drive a new car off a lot. But her cars have always been reliable and lasted many years without issue, so I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and go the used route myself. It only seemed fair, since we had just paid off the Kona and weren’t planning on buying another car for several years at least.

I found a couple of worthy contenders through Autotrader.com and narrowed my choices down to two: a 2023 model with 11,000 miles and a 2025 model with 23,000 miles. They had both been fleet vehicles–one a rental car, the other a corporate vehicle–and were priced similarly. I was torn; each had their pros and cons, but even though I preferred the dark blue metallic paint and power moonroof on the 2025 model, people are notoriously rough on rental cars–and judging by the cigarette hole in the passenger seat, this one had been no exception. In the end, the low-mileage CX30 driven by an insurance agent in Rochester, New York (we truly do live in the Information Age) seemed like the smarter choice. And she’s no slouch in the looks department either, even if she’s the spitting image of the car she’s replacing.

So, we gave her a good, long test drive. She’s nimble and quick, shaming my Kona in the 0-60 department. By the time we got back to the dealership I was sold, provided they gave me the full Kelley Blue Book value for my Hyundai.

(They did.)

Buying a car is never fun, but I like to make the process a little more, shall we say, entertaining. While filling out a mountain of paperwork with the finance guy, I:

• Asked Tara if she’d scrubbed the blood stains from the trunk.
• Said my exceptional credit score meant all those bounced checks hadn’t hit Experian’s database yet.
• Mentioned the sales guy had slipped my non-existent cash deposit into his pocket.
• Hinted strongly that we were on the run from The Mob.

To his credit, the finance guy never blinked. He actually played along, saying a few blood spatters were fine as long as there wasn’t a pool of the sticky red stuff back there, and suggesting I tackle the salesman to get my money back.

On second though, buying a car is kinda fun…

By the time we drove my Mazda off the lot, it was snowing fast and furiously. A mere 24 hours earlier, it had been a balmy 60°. After living in the Midwest for nearly eight years temperature swings like this shouldn’t surprise me, and yet, they do. Every single time. Regardless, we didn’t let a little Winter Weather Advisory stop us from driving up to Deforest for a late lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

“This will give you an opportunity to see how the Mazda handles snowy roads,” Tara said, but I already had my mind set on enchiladas so she didn’t need to do any extra convincing.

Turns out the CX30 handles winter driving conditions with aplomb, to borrow an expensive word, as we made it home in one piece without sliding into a ditch. Man, that would have sucked.

So, an exciting weekend for sure!