What you see is the front end of my previous car. I spoke about buying it just a little over three years ago in an article that I called Buyer's Remorse. At the time I lamented having to buy a car in short period of time, due to an engine blowing up, and not being happy overall with my choices.
At the time I was hoping to move into a hybrid or even an electric car. I was not happy with the results as I felt that I got pushed into buying a used Toyota for cash.
The other reason I was not happy was because the research I was doing into hybrid and electric cars was not showing much promise at that time. Electric cars simply did not have the infostructure needed to make buying one worth while. Three years ago charging stations were few and far between and I am happy to report that several gas stations near me now include several electric car charging ports in addition to the traditional gas pumps. I take that as a positive.
My current job has two chargers on site, although I've only seen one Tesla vehicle using the charging station. It appears to be a free service. A local hotel group, whom my wife happens to work for, has a series of free charging stations as well.
No, I'm not looking for a "free" fill up, but honestly I would not turn one down either, the point is that the situation regarding the available chargers in the area have improved. However there are still questions about lower milage and distance in winter. and it was a brutally cold winter this year, needed to be taken into consideration. Electric cars are certainly more viable but there are still to many unknown questions - such as keeping them maintained, that concern me.
Hybrids would still be preferred offering the best of both worlds that I loved. If only I could find one that was within the price range. That's the other issue. Affordability. The issues regarding the possible damage of lithium mining and battery performance were also issues that continued to weigh on my mind.
Was there anything in my price range that would meet my primary need of providing good milage?
Plus, and this is important to note, living in the country requires certain things. One of those things is the ability to haul things from point A to B. We already have a pick up truck that we used to move several tons of wood pellets, trees that needed to be spilt for wood fires, furniture and appliances. A pick up is not a status symbol but a tool. Something to pull a neighbor out of a ditch, or attach a snow plow too in addition to being a ride into town. Having an SUV or similar vehicle makes logical sense.
I've hinted at the changes in my life over the last few two years or so in the previous posts from February and March 2026. I simply am not making the money that we used to make, that that affected my decisions as well. A additional payment of $400 to $500 dollars a month was simply going to be hard, if not impossible to do even in the short run.
Hybrids are just not common enough in my area to consider as a realistic possibility nor were they currently affordable.
In the end I ended up buying a used Hyundai Kona from a rental company The logic being that it was affordable, that even though it was "high milage" for only being a few years old that the car would "hopefully" be maintained well.
The fact that I drive mostly "highway miles" and the mpg was 35 mpg highway (15 Km/l) certainly helped.
Plus, due to the check that I received from my insurance company and the down payment we made will actually make this payment affordable, and if all goes according to plan, the car will be owned outright within the next two to three years.
Now if only I can keep it running that long.
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