The Hot Hatch Aesthetic

I had had my beloved Pepper for a little over three years now.  I bought her coming off of a hard breakup with a '98 Altima (Birdy, may you rest in peace), and for a while beforehand I had been just using Zyvelles instead of getting my own car (may she rest in peace as well).  I knew from these experiences that I needed horsepower and I needed a stickshift.  I dug the hot hatch aesthetic.  I did a lot of research, I bought Pepper (who was then at 110,000 miles and eight years old), and three years later I still couldn't have been happier.  After one major accident in which I ran over a fallen log in the road, a fender bender with a pickup (wow, I didn't even write a blog post on that--probably because it was embarrassing), and several expensive but fairly routine repairs later (clutch replacement around 117k, the whole front clip and assorted other things after the log run-in, new front struts several months later but probably linked to the log accident, cleaning the mass air flow sensor to get rid of a check engine light, as well as synthetic oil changes and brakes and tires), I was still in love.

Then one morning I cranked her up and heard a very strange but consistent ticking periodically.  I worried that she wasn't safe to drive.  I did a little Internet research and thought maybe it had something to do with the intake manifold, which forums said was common but wasn't major.  Deciding that the car was driveable, I continued with my day.  Later I had Jamie listen to the noise, and as we sat, I realized the ticking occurred at the exact same time the air compressor would normally run.  Jamie and I agreed--because, you know, we're experts right?--it was likely an AC thing.

The next day, I took her in to my mechanic, who came out pretty quickly with bad news.  According to him, I needed to replace the compressor, and according to his darling service writer (who I just love to pieces), that would cost me around $1100.  When my mechanic offered to just remove that belt so I couldn't hear the annoying ticking noise, I agreed.  I told him I was probably going to just get another car, and he said, "I don't know if I want you to do that, because then I won't see you as often!"  I got in Pepper to leave the mechanic, and when I pushed that pedal in and turned the key I have to admit I felt a little differently about her.  I went home, looked at the Kelley Blue Book for my eleven-year-old car with 180,000 miles on it, and it was something like $3000 optimistically for a private party sale.  I love this car, but I am not going to spend a third of my car's value on a repair.  And thus the search began.

For a brief minute, I thought about a coupe, but I can't stand how cramped Jamie's is and how you have to move mountains and suck in your stomach to get in to the backseat.  I used to fancy myself a two-seater roadster kind of girl, but I am starting to learn that's just not who I am.  I want to tear it up if I want to, but I also want to cart long lengths of wood or sheep (please, not the sheep!) if I want to.  I knew I wanted a stickshift hatch under 100,000 miles, and I had my budget constraints decided.  Subarus were pretty neat but didn't fall in my price range.  The Toyota Matrix was a contender, because of the Toyota reliability, great gas mileage, and not-ugly newest generation.  And of course there was the Mazda3.  I decided I probably wanted a Mazda 3 again, just newer, and with all the same stuff--stickshift, hatch, sunroof, etc.  My plan B would be a Toyota Matrix if one of them came up and looked particularly polished.  And in the meanwhile, I had to figure out how to sell Pepper.

To do that, Jamie and I went to CarMax, where a very sweet girl (I'll call her that since she was younger than me) showed us several...oh I'm sorry, six, nationwide...options of Mazda3s that corresponded to my very stringent demands.  The closest one was midway down in Florida, but I could ship it for $450.  What Matrixes do you have available?  Several--all automatics.  Because no gearheads buy Matrixes.  After test-driving a second-gen Mazda3 automatic just to make sure I still enjoyed the steering and that the engine pulled along nicely, the same sweet girl told me that CarMax had appraised my car for $1500.  They also thought the AC was okay, which should give you an idea about how intensive their mechanical inspections are.  This vehicle was literally missing a belt that was necessary for the AC to function.  I didn't say anything, because I had a feeling I wasn't going to accept that kind of offer anyway.  I gave her a big smile and told her (at that point I thought I was being truthful) that I would be checking in with her again.  Jamie and I complained to each other about the offer on the way home, but I realized that given the cosmetic damage on the rear passenger door, all the mechanical issues, and the high-mileage, that I should have expected that offer from a dealership.

I looked at Craigslist for a few days, but the car I was looking for didn't seem to exist within a 300-mile radius.  I found a couple of promising cars in Virginia and near Atlanta, but I hated to drive between three and six hours just to see if a car was tolerable to me.  Pictures don't tell you if the engine sound changes when you push the clutch in, or if the engine doesn't idle quietly, or if the interior is stained and disgusting, or if the salesperson seems shady.  I put in a recipe on ITTT (If This Then That, look it up if you don't know about it) to send me any new Mazda3s that came up on Craigslist in Charlotte, Columbia, or Raleigh, but the first two of them came three days apart and were automatics.  Jamie told me matter-of-factly that I was looking for a unicorn.  Then I discovered Autotrader, which had many more cars come up, but of course all of them were still far away.  Many were in Maryland, and I wondered about snowy winters and rust from all the salt.  Prior to my CarMax excitement, I test drove a Toyota Matrix I found, just to see, and the clutch was completely shot (so much so that I couldn't feel a biting point at all).  This particular Matrix (I don't want to be damning of all of them since I haven't driven all of them) was so underwhelming that I had gotten back in my own car (seven years older, mind you) and marveled at the ease of the gearbox, the nimble steering, and the quiet purr of the engine.

I toyed with the idea of paying a third of Pepper's value for a compressor.  I told myself that I technically had a few months with Pepper until hot weather came, along with our time of reckoning.  I stored the discouraging CarMax offer, valid for one week, in my glove box.  CarMax will buy my vehicle for $1500!  Guess I better hurry up and take advantage of that great offer within this seven-day period!  If there's anything that gets under my skin, it's time pressure.  Every time I opened my glove box to get a pen, I saw that piece of paper.  I began having unreasonable thoughts.  If I was Ayrton Senna, someone would just give me an NSX and I'd be fine.

Then after about a week, after that CarMax offer was no longer valid, ITTT sent me an ad about a 2013 Mazda3i touring six-speed hatch with 22,000 miles.  It was ridiculously underpriced (within my budget), and the only thing wrong was that it didn't have a sunroof.  This person was about a half hour away.  What?  Was this a scam?  I had already halfway decided the name of my next Mazda3.  I wondered if, when I bought a car, that name would still feel right.

I scheduled the test drive that night (about two hours after the ad was posted) for early the next morning.  The seller assured me that although the car had been in two accidents, it was really okay.  I asked why he was selling it at this price and getting a new car, and he said that he was selling it for $1000 more than they would give him on trade-in, and he wanted the new generation due to more room in the footwell.  I was a little skeptical, but I fell in love with the car and ran to the bank to get financing, as my seller said he had a 12:00 PM with another lady who was interested.  I gave him a deposit for him to hold the car for me until 5:00 PM the next day since I had to wait on financing.  I also wanted to get my mechanic to check it out given the history of accidents.  The gentleman reasonably shared that since the vehicle was still under bumper-to-bumper warranty, he had no reason not to have gotten everything fixed.  I acknowledged this but wanted someone I really trusted to have a look regardless.

The next day, he met me in the morning at my mechanic, where I was told the car was basically perfect with no damage to the unibody and all airbags functioning correctly.  I courteously provided a copy of the inspection notes as well as the Carfax I had paid for to my seller, who had been kind enough to drive up and meet me instead of forcing me to make two round trips to his house.  He was an interesting and friendly guy, definitely a car guy, and we chatted about our first cars as we waited in the mechanic's lobby.  He was very antsy and wanted to get his new car immediately (not that I blame him), so there was a great feeling of pressure as I waited and waited and waited for the bank to call me, which I had thought would happen within the next couple of hours before lunchtime.  The seller called me at 3:45 PM-ish, asking if I had heard back and whether I thought I would get financing.  I gently reminded him of our signed agreement and my deposit, valid to hold the car until 5:00 PM.  Finally, I kid you not, I get the call from the bank at 4:52 PM.  The woman from the bank was very friendly and made small talk with me as I frantically texted the seller, "I have financing!"  We met up the next day and closed everything up.

I am still in la-la land while I am driving this thing.  I was a little worried about the six-speed before I test drove it, because when I valeted, I would get these grumpy old Acura sedans with the push-down reverse and they were flipping impossible.  But with this car, every gear just chinks right into place perfectly, and I'm learning the six-speed gearing pretty quickly.  It has five fewer horsepower but is peppy and lovable.  It's pristine.  I feel safe in it.  I haven't landed on a name quite yet, though.  I usually have a three-day rule where I have to wait at least three days to finalize a name for significant things.

Today (the next day after buying the new car), I found (by which I mean a friend found) a buyer for Pepper.  She told me he was a mechanic who fixes up cars to sell them.  After I handed him the keys, he gave her an unforgiving test drive, complete with peeling out of the parking lot with squealing tires.  He came back with a smile he tried to hide and shared that it had been a while since he drove a stickshift.  He stated he was interested in buying her, and I agreed with his negotiated price ($300 higher than CarMax).  I shared very passionately about how much I love this car and begged him to treat her nicely and do right by her while he had her.  He asked what her name was, and of course I told him it was Pepper.  Then he said, "Well, I'm thinking I might keep Pepper for myself."  When he explained he would use her to commute, I told him immediately that she gets 28 MPG mixed city driving, 32 MPG on trips.  Then we shook hands.

Today, I washed that car for the last time.  Tomorrow I'll find time to Armorall and vacuum the interior.  I can't believe how good this car has been to me, and I hope that mechanic will be able to keep her alive and well for a good while yet.  I have no regrets about selling her, but I did tell Jamie on the way home that I can see myself at 65 years old, trying to find an old '04 Mazda3 for nostalgia's sake.