Going Topless: Feeling Kinda Used

After test driving the new convertibles and crunching the numbers, I came to a sobering conclusion. Sure, I could manage the monthly payments for five to six years, but do I want to? I’d have to give up a few things – brand-name macaroni and cheese, vacations to warm destinations and new shoes (perhaps the sweetest morsel of them all). I really like all of those things and I’m not willing to give them up for a few years. I have a shoe fetish that must be fed. And for these reasons (along with many more), I’ve decided to go with a used convertible.

It all comes down to wants versus needs. I have decided that I’m going with a convertible, and as such, should expect a higher price tag. But what other factors do I really need? Is it all that important that my car is a 2012 or 2013 model? Nah, not really. How about that it’ll come with a few thousand miles on the odometer? Again, I can live with it. And on the plus side, a few of the older models may come with features that are available as options. So heated seats aren’t out of the question – sweet.

I spoke with Anne Fleming, President and Car Buying Advocate of Women-Drivers.com, who gave me some awesome advice for used car shopping. You can say that she’s an advocate of used cars – that’s all she ever buys. And even though there’s risk when buying a used car, she reminds us that there’s always a risk, no matter what you do.“Look at what you feel comfortable with,” says Fleming. “It’s a personal thing, it’s your money. There’s no right or wrong answer.” And this bit of advice really helps make my decision to buy used easier.

She advises to look at the difference between the models to determine what you think is a reasonable and affordable option. For me, I’ve narrowed down the years of the models from 2007 to 2010. And breaking it down by miles, features and the car’s history, I’m better able to determine where I’ll get the most bang for my buck.

With my initial research, I have the choice to go with a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) or Non-Certified Pre-Owned. A CPO vehicle is offered by an automaker’s official dealership. It comes with a complete inspection to get it up to as-new condition. It may come with an extended warranty that goes over and above the original warranty that came with the new car. This also means that a CPO will cost more than a Non CPO, which are offered by your neighborhood used car dealer or a private seller.

At first, I was convinced that I should go with a CPO, but after speaking with Fleming, now I’m not so sure. She says that a CPO isn’t always worth the extra cash involved. But if I don’t go with a CPO, I’d better have some “just in case” money to cover repairs needed for my used car. Fleming recommends saving $1,000 per year. And by adding this repair money against the cost difference of a CPO, it will be a useful factor when decided which type of used car to go with.

My next step is taking out some used cars for a test drive. I’m going to hit the big three: the brand dealership, the average used car dealership and the private seller. Now, I know I said that I wasn’t going to bring anyone along for the test drive, but for the test drives that involve a private seller, I’m bringing back up. This isn’t to give me an edge in any way – it’s for safety purposes only. Fleming suggested bringing along a warm body because I won’t know the private seller, so I’m bending the rules for this instance.

I’ve also cut my list of four down to two – the Mazda Miata and the Volkswagen Eos. Both of these cars come with the hard top retractable roof, which for my purposes, is a need, not a want. Because of the cold winters, I need a convertible that offers more protection from the elements. As well, it gives me an added sense of security – you can’t slice open this top to get inside these cars. But in the end, there can be only one (who thought I’d be able to drop a Highlander quote into an article about convertibles – but I made it happen). So before I go on my used car journey, I’m going to have to cut it to one choice.