Out With the Old...In With the 'New.'

Last fall, the car that Geoff has been driving for the past four years got damaged in a sudden hailstorm south of the city.  When he took it for assessment, the insurance broker declared it to be a complete write-off...I guess the body damage was so comprehensive that they were better off selling it for parts than undertaking to repair it.  We were even more surprised when the amount they offered us was only about $1,400 less than we paid for the car four+ years ago - and Geoff was totally forthcoming about the car needing an entirely new transmission (we'd been quoted well over $3,000) and a new set of tires ($800?) to replace the completely bald ones.  We didn't need to be financial geniuses to figure out that we would sign on the dotted line.

We spent several months looking for the right car to replace it, and finally bought one last weekend.  We've always been Toyota and Honda kind of people, but the up-and-coming, just-named-vehicle-of-the-year, #1-rated-in-Consumer-Reports Hyundai Elantra was the one that hooked us this time.  We looked for months for the right car at the right price, and finally found it.

Here's our old black beauty, now sitting in a junk yard waiting for parts harvesting...

...and here's our new-to-us, surprisingly-sporty-looking 2011 Elantra, which the kids and I have named the Silver Bullet.

I'm just glad that we're done with the car shopping now!