My other car is a horse: the new car in my life!

Did I mention I got a new car? Yep. A 2008 Toyota Yaris hatchback. Until I saw the 2 door Yaris, I would never have guessed there were smaller cars on the road than my Focus. Going from a Focus to a Yaris, I went from a car that could fit two small bales of hay to one with a trunk the size of a laundry basket. I have a shoebox with my barn shoes, two containers of horse emergency items (bandages, iodine soap,etc), and there is barely room for groceries. Sigh.

But my 2000 Focus was not starting reliably, and the mechanics didn't know why. Last Saturday, it failed to turn over while Bob was out of town. I waited awhile, tried again, and when it started I drove straight to the Toyota dealership.

Horse vs. car, horse wins
So why get the Yaris? It's all about money. As much as I wanted to save for a "real" car (one with four doors), the horses are always in the back of my mind. I didn't want to spend money I might need for the horses. "Show me what you have for under $15K," I told the dealer. My preference is to pay cash for cars, and I had 13K in savings. In the end, I bought the manager's special. It was the last 2008 Yaris on the lot, with black cloth seats, no GPS, no automatic anything(goodbye keyless entry), and no extras on the dash (e.g., no tachometer). But it was priced at under $13K. My fiscal constraints guided my decision. I'm not disappointed -- it is kind of a cute car, easy to maneuver, and I got 43MPG in the first 250 miles. More trips to the barn!

And now I need a bumper sticker :-)
Help me pick one! Here they are -- vote for one in the poll, top right of this blog. Thanks!

• Whinnying is everything
  
• My other car is a horse
  
• Chestnut is the new black (featuring a picture of Riley)
  
• Horses get great grass mileage
  
• I halt for dressage
  
  

Or, find me another one.