Holden Astra CDX

So what did I get? I traded my lovely , lovely Mazda on a Holden Astra CDX. I did get a a good trade in price but because I had been on the car net sites I could see the used car prices were coming down. Very, very odd. I have made it my policy to turn my car in every 5 years. This way I have got a better and better car and then I have no longer had to suffer the indignity of roadside failures, tow trucks, blown up engines...because I used to drive my cars into the ground. I have had some great cars. For different reasons. Every car brings a new adventure and new perspective. My Mazda restored my sheer joy of driving and whoever has it now has a beautiful car. I could use the net sites to search and see. It came down to the Holden Astra Hatchback because it had a 1.8 litre engine, which I wanted, it had oodles of safety gear, it was full of gadgets and buttons and my Mazda had a lot of that stuff so I was hardly going to forgo it. Well now I have a car which tells me the time and temperature, which gives me messages, where I can stack my CDs. There gear changes are superb. The ABS breaks a real bonus. It holds the road like nothing else I have ever driven and so I feel very secure in my judgements. I had to get a steering wheel cover because my hands were slipping on the steering wheel, but that's just made it look cooler. The sound system is good. There is comfort in the back seats and head rests. Everyone comments on how great eh seats are because they make you feel comfortable and secure. It is a bit stark on the inside, but it is very precise and precision built. So far everyone loves it and my Mazda was very popular...a drooly kind of car. This Holden Astra I would never have considered if it weren't for the car sites on the Net. It meant I could look, compare, read reviews, look at prices and what each car had. I had a list of three cars to go and look at...but this Astra looked so cool...with the removable aerial on the back and I have dark tinted windows. I love it! Bottom line? Had I not got a good trade in I would have kept the Mazda and next year I would have got a few extras added to it and I would have just kept running it...and running it.