I posted a while back about my recent car shopping experience, which has been ongoing for the last several months. I've never had a new car and with midlife approaching, I was feeling entitled to a little crisis spending spree.
I had narrowed things down to four cars. The early front-runner was the Audi A7 TDI. It is a beautiful car and I came THIS close to pulling the trigger on it, two weeks ago Sunday to be precise. I had to walk away and posted right after doing so as I cooled off. It took a lot of willpower to resist that car that day. I considered things all the next week and eventually went in another direction.

I ended up buying Consumer Reports #1 rated mid-sized luxury sedan (and just a few points below the Tesla S for all cars): The Mercedes-Benz E-250 BlueTEC 4Matic:






I went for used (I can't even have a proper mid-life crisis!) instead of new. Old habits are hard to break and buying a car (unless it's vintage) is never a good investment. I decided to do the smart thing in the end, just like every other time. That being said, inventory was a huge factor because I just couldn't find a lot of new or late model used A7 TDIs available in the color and with the options I wanted. It was somewhat the same with the E-250 BlueTEC, but there were definitely more of those around to see and drive. Even to get a new A7 that nearly matched my wants I was looking at a 6 hour drive out of state to purchase it and bring it back and if not that car, a factory order with a 3 month wait was the only other option.

Oh, yeah, the difference between a new A7 and a '14 BlueTEC was only a measly 30 grand, so there was that too....LOL, and I am nothing if not a miser. (That's how I afforded this thing in the first place. )

Here it is delivered: