The Ultimate Torture

I've been sitting here at lunch going through car ads... uughh... If there is anything I really dislike doing, it is shopping for cars. I just want a car that runs and doesn't cost me much to operate. That's where my problem is, I own three gas guzzlers that now have no value on the used car market. I need to get a vehicle that gets much better gas mileage so we can afford to drive again. I go through the ads over and over (kind of like watching a horse race over and over to see if a different horse is going to win) and either the cars are too high mileage or too expensive. I am beginning to think that the salvage value on old Subarus is more than the value of the currently working (well working is a strong word) vehicles that I own. Now I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't own a Subaru. I could probably live with a used Escort or Taurus. A couple of years ago I heard a comedian talk about the Taurus being the ultimate sign of giving up on life. He joked that you see all these middle-aged people driving Tauruses the sign that they have given in and have no more hopes or dreams. Well, I can relate to that about now. Why do cars have to be a symbol of who were are (in that case I am old, barely functioning, consume too much and not worth anything). I need a vehicle that breathes life into me without sucking it out of my financially (I just don't see that happening). In the end, I know that I will eventually purchase a moderately high-mileage car with a few scratches and dents to bring the price down (scratches and dents don't affect the operation of the vehicle unless sustained in a more accident and I have Carfax so I won't get a wrecked or lemon vehicle). And that is the representation of my life, adequate with scratches and dents. I guess in the end, scratches and dents are merely cosmetic and it's what inside that makes it run okay that matters.