Perfectionist Car Shopping

Cutter's Log - Stardate 2102.12.70
Current Song - Virtual Insanity (Jamiroquai)

I am a perfectionist, but you can't tell by the car that I drive.

At age 26, I am on my second car. My first car was handed down to me when I was 18 after my great-grandfather's passing. His car, a 1986 Pontiac Parisienne, lasted just a few months before finally breaking down for good.

I have had my current car for 5 1/2 years - a green 1998 Pontiac Grand Am. You may know the car from its political bumper sticker on the back. The car is 15 years old and has been as far as Cooperstown and as far as the origin of the Mississippi River. I think it's got at least one more trip left in it before exhausting all it can.

Three years ago, I was preparing for a breakdown and saying that its got at least one more year left of life. I still drive it. It's over 200K in miles. It runs fine but has some areas of minor cosmetic damage. So right now, I'm guessing at least by January 2014 it will be time to look for another vehicle. I will have had it for eight years. My family's third car lasted seven years, as did our first van.

But nearly 18 months before wanting to get something different, I am already doing some comparisions and such. My dad did most of the work in getting me my car, and I just liked how it drove and what the color was. Now it'll be up to me to do the math and do the digging.

I'm on an extremely tight budget (again, I don't even have a place of my own to LIVE in), so I'll be asking for the impossible and the improbable. What I can divulge on here is that I'm looking for a small, used truck.

I have a certain price maximum in mind.
I have a certain mileage range in mind.
I'm willing to travel at least 300 miles.
Miles-per-gallon will be a huge factor in a decision.
I will ask tough questions.
And I don't want to draw this out for 72 months, or 72 years.

Again, I'm not looking at buying one immediately. Once I know what's out there, I may be able to bend my price max and mileage range somewhat. Then when the time comes, I will be prepared.