I have a cunning plan.
I've spent the last few hours indulging in my favorite hobby of late, watching YouTube videos of test drives (and breakdowns of Encanto songs, but that's for another day), and studying online window stickers like I have to break a code or the world will end. I've ended up down the same dead end alley where I often get, but this time, I may have a way out of it.
In the choice between standard hybrid and plug in hybrid, I've listened to what folks are telling me, and PHEV does indeed make the most sense, given my driving patterns and existing home solar panels. I have been fixated on the two PHEVs on the Phil Long dealer site, which is physically located in Colorado Springs. I kept thinking I'd just jump on the SEL version down there right away, if it is still available at the end of this week, once our house sale money comes in. But that always left me feeling depressed. The SEL trim package is fine in the standard hybrid. It has the cool stuff I want without the fluff I don't need. The PHEV is a different story. It is really stripped down, and I just discovered it does not have one of the features disabled me actually needs, a power lift gate. I can't get excited about how many of the modern conveniences are missing on the SEL. I think I would rather go for the Limited, to get the safety and accessibility I need. But it adds so much to the cost!
In addition to it being another 7 grand or so sticker price, it is really hard to get ahold of one right now. When I asked the local dealer about a PHEV, he chuckled painfully and said, yeah, probably six or eight months from now.
So what if I did wait? Baby number two isn't due until late July. We won't be driving them around in my car for weeks after that, most likely, until my daughter is healed up enough to want to go OFO with me and Val and new baby. If I get on a list now, I can wait for delivery of a new PHEV until August just fine. As for the increased cost, I have been telling myself that I could get 7-8k for my car as a trade in. I just went looking on Carvana, and 2013 Focus Titaniums go for 13-14k right now, retail. What if we just put my car up for sale, and see whether we can get that much for it? I have all the time in the world while I wait, to get the price I want. If it sells before the replacement car is here, I could just borrow the Mr's car when I have doctor appointments or Rotary. Six month's worth of interest isn't a whole lot, but I could still sit on the money I'm expecting to use for the next car, and maybe the bank would toss me some crumbs. Doing it that way would give me most of the difference between the SEL and Limited terms, and maybe in that time I can drum up enough business to make these mental gymnastics irrelevant.
Okay. That's my plan for now. Let's see whether it survives the first brush with reality.
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