A Week of PVIs May Foster a Car Shopping Rush

A while back, Mathew developed the concept of Personal Vehicular Incidents (PVIs) to describe when things went wrong with your ride.

A 1952 Dodge Wayfarer was more reliable than my Mercedes. (Image from MR38)

This week my luxobarge suffered the worst kind of PVI when it stopped running while traveling at 35 mph on a two-lane road (with no shoulder) in the left lane, while being driven by a friend. That is the worst kind of letdown for a vehicle. I used to own a 1952 Dodge Wayfarer and it never suffered that level of PVI. After a tow by AAA, a $400 repair and a heart to heart with my German car expert who assured me electrical problems aren't common in the S500, I'm back on the road.

But my confidence is shaken. According to a report we talked about in a podcast earlier in December, this week is an excellent time to buy a car because the deals are great. I will be going out tomorrow just to poke around for a good deal, but I think the luxobarge and I will be together for a while yet.

But I was not alone in having a PVI this week. One colleague had a flat tire and another suffer an electrical problem that led to a hair-raising ride home and a dead Jeep.

And there was this poor Ford Expedition owner in New York City who had a snow-related PVI thanks to some poor plowing.

Did you get to the end of the year without a PVI?