I’ve been driving my old car for over 10 years now.  During the last oil maintenance, the mechanic I go to said that any future repairs I needed might not be worth the cost.  Reading on the type of repair needed (new catalytic converter), this repair costs at least $3000 in parts which is more than the current value of the car (~$2500).  He strongly suggested I consider replacing the car.  The car still drives pretty well.  It retains its V6 power and acceleration and it’s engine is still in fairly good shape.

Looking for a new car, I realized that the advances in car “comforts” is pretty amazing.  You now have standard navigation package, bluetooth connectivity, rearview cameras, parking/proximity sensors, lane assists and even braking  sensor and assists!  In all fairness, the standard navigation is now being replaced with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.  Going into the new car search, I knew what kind of options I absolutely wanted.   Unfortunately, many of the cars required additional packages to the base trim in order to have some of these options.

Anyways, I settled on an Acura.  I was offered a really good deal that was too good to pass up.  I enjoy driving it so far.  The acceleration and power is more responsive than my old car.  I’m still getting used to that rearview camera as well.  With all the options, I’m still learning about all the various sensor beeps and warning beeps.  The lane assists is pretty amazing and works well on straight road driving but not so much on curved roads.  I’ve since hit the 100 mile and 500 mile mark already.

One thing I do have to say is that it is a bit frustrating learning about all the different new electronics in the car.  The bluetooth connectivity was a little annoying as I expected a lot more.  But in retrospect, I think my expectations were a bit to lofty and unfounded.  The USB audio option however is still annoying and I’m still working on understanding what’s going on.  It apparently cannot play certain songs on a playlist BUT it’s able to play the song if I search for it manually.  I think I may end up having to just have a few folders that contain all the songs I want to listen via USB audio.  Fortunately, I’m OK with repeating a favorite song over and over again.

Safe Driving!