5 Signs It's Time For A New Car
by Awl Sponsors
This post is sponsored by Kia.
There are lots of valid reasons for driving the same car for a real long time. For starters, it’s probably all paid off, and not having a monthly bill allows you to spend extra money on fun stuff like vacations. Maybe you’re so overwhelmed with work, school, and/or family stuff that the thought of car shopping is daunting. Or, perhaps your car is like an old friend that has sentimental value — you even gave it a name!
Despite all of these reasons, the time will come when you must part ways and treat yourself to a new ride. If affordability, style, safety, and a smooth ride are on your new car wish list, you should start your search with KIA’s Optima and Soul vehicles.
But first you have to let go of your old clunker. Here is how you know when the time has come.
1. The cassette player is stuck, forcing you to listen to side 2 of the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill over and over. A brand new car today might have a CD player if you’re still hooked on that format, but don’t count on getting to play that cassette collection you picked up at a local garage sale for $3. Better still, you can connect your music players via USB connection or tune into built-in Satellite radio systems. In the KIA Soul, for instance, you have the option for a Premium UVO eServices Infotainment System — voice command, Bluetooth, rear camera display, and more!
2. Friends can hear you coming from a mile away, thanks to your squeaky breaks and faulty muffler. Once your car is, in a sense, calling out to you, asking to be put out of its misery, you should listen and heed its warning. In all seriousness, you don’t want to be on the road in a vehicle that would have trouble passing a routine inspection. Safety comes first, even if that means taking on the expense of purchasing or leasing a new automobile. Better still, choosing one with a great safety rating like the KIA Optima, which earned a 2013 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, can allow you to start driving with peace of mind again.
3. Your bumper sticker says “Clinton/Gore.” You know how you feel about the guy who walks around in his Springsteen World Tour ’91 concert T-shirt? You’re the driver equivalent of that! In other words, your car symbolizes that you’re living in the past. The same can be said if you have your college logo on display, and you graduated over a decade ago. It’s time to move on.
4. You’ve cracked six digits on your odometer. Owning a vehicle with lasting power is a wonderful thing — that is, until it starts nickel-and-diming you with high-cost maintenance repairs. That’s bound to happen more and more with every 10,000 miles you put on the car. Don’t press your luck if you’ve reached the 100,000 or more milestone already.
5. The check engine light has been on since 2008. After nearly dozen attempts to figure out the root cause of the dreaded “check engine” light (and being asked if you closed the gas cap every time!), you officially given up worrying about it. Except when you have to go on a long trip, because what if it really is the engine? Speaking of engines, KIA Optima features a GDI 2.0L Turbo Engine, so you have the fuel efficiency of a 4-cylinder, but the power of a V6.
If any of these signs sound familiar, it’s time to put the old gal in park and drive off into the new car sunset. Start your car shopping at KIA, where you can choose from among high quality, affordable, and fun vehicles like the Soul and Optima to suit your needs.