Sarah gets a new car?

Well, its official.

I heard from my insurance company this morning and our car was deemed a total loss.  

So now comes the decision as to what I am going to do for transportation.

I have gotten quite used to taking the train to work.  It takes me 4 minutes to walk to the station near our house, half an hour to get to the station near my work, and Tayla picks me up and takes me to work.  Yes, its pretty convenient!  Lee works walking distance in town, so that's good too!

However, there is no train to get to the barn or my weekend job, and come mid November Tayla is leaving for Maternity leave.  Do I want to do the 20 min walk down derry Rd in winter?  Then theres things like groceries, banking and other errands.  I don't exactly have lots of time to spend walking to the ends of town, I do plan my whole life down to the minute.

So alas, another car may be necessary, even if it just spends most of its time in the driveway. 

Question now becomes what do I get?  I always like new cars because I know nothing about cars and really rely on the warranty and peace of mind that a new car brings.  I know I can trust it.  With our altima, the transmission needed work last year and spent a week in the shop, the warranty really saved us on that!  Plus, I keep a strict budget and the payments for a new car is already planned for, so life wouldn't change at all, we could even save a bit more per month if I got a cheaper car or put a larger downpayment.

Of course, the idea of a used car also appeals for me.  While it brings about some uncertainty, the money we get back from our current car plus what we have in savings could mean we are able to purchase a (well)used car outright and the monthly payments can be re budgeted (to horse expenses maybe?!)

So some pondering still to do.