Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“So long, Frank Lloyd Wright, I can’t believe your song is gone so soon”— Simon & Garfunkel
I wrapped up 2018 by selling my Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 that I’ve had a love-hate relationship almost from the beginning. So why did I buy it? It’s a long story…
The sale happened very quickly just before New Year’s Day and the car is going to a new home. I still have four low-mileage (22,000 miles) 225/40R18 Potenza tires from it for sale on Craig’s List if you are interested. The cool BBS knockoffs that I installed on the car with its summer Michelin Pilot Sport tires were sold and again went to a good home. The stock wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak’s helped sell the car in December.
While my wife, for some reason, misses the car, I do not. I think she liked the comfort of riding in its passenger seat, which is probably a little more comfortable than her 2016 Beetle convertible. Her other car is provided by the company she works for and is a 2018 AWD Ford Escape that she likes and while I’m not allowed to drive it (by company policy) I have caught ride in it from time to time. As with most anonymous crossovers, it’s pleasant — I guess.
So what’s in store for the next Joe Car? I have a friend who has an old Mercedes Benz AMG that I hope to talk him into selling me. If he doesn’t or I wait too long to make a deal, I still haven’t gotten over my fixation for Saab wagons. I know, I know, I’m demented. So who knows what the future hold for me car-wise. In the meantime, I’ll be driving Mary’s Beetle and while it’s the base model, it’s still lots of fun to drive. Its 1.8 Turbo engine is peppy even with the non-Tiptronic automatic transmission and it handles surprisingly well. In fact the overall driving experience is better than my CLA 250 but then again, I like driving smaller cars.
Stay tuned for what 2019 holds in store for my garage.