2023, Automotive, Family, Kids, Technology

Gimme gimme

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All of our car talk the other day struck a nerve here.

YA loves cars.  She has always had all the cars in the neighborhood memorized and can tell you the make of any car she sees as we’re driving down the street.  I wondered if she might go into some kind of automotive engineering but she never seemed interested in that route.

When it was time for her to purchase her first car, she did a lot of research.  Unfortunately the first car we went to look at turned out to be one of those cars that was totaled out by an insurance company and fixed up by a third party.  As these cars are generally not insurable and YA needed my name on the loan paperwork, I was able to put my foot down easily on this. 

The second car was at a dealership and didn’t start.  I would have left right then – what kind dealership doesn’t even run down to check that the car will start before an appointment?  But she pleaded with me so we looked another car on the lot.  It didn’t look to me like the kind of thing she would like but she REALLY wanted a car.  The salesman then tried to convince her (while I sitting right there) that leasing a new car would be good.  Her eyes got that kind of glazed-over look.  I squashed this idea as well as telling the sales guy that he was out of line.  But she REALLY wanted a car, so ended up buying one that had fairly low mileage and pretty good price.  I told the sales guy that if he was even thinking of telling her it was pre-owned by a little old grandma, to think again.

This was the car that got sideswiped and totaled out two years later.  Back down to a different dealership.  This car turned out to be a stick, which was why it had been sitting on the lot for a while; the website didn’t say it was a manual so everybody who came to see it passed on it.  I suggested to her that if the dealership couldn’t be bothered to fix the listing online, maybe they weren’t to be overly trusted.  But she REALLY wanted a car so she signed on the dotted line.  Luckily she learned to drive in Civetta, my Honda Civic, which had been a stick. 

She’s whined about this car for a bit over the last few years and in the past month or so had set out a timeline (about 8 months from now) for looking for a new car.

Fast forward to last week.  I got some frantic texts – she had locked herself out of her car at the station/carwash down the street.  Apparently she got out of the car to pay for the carwash and the door swung shut.  I know you’re thinking, how did it get locked?  Well, if the car is RUNNING when you get out to pay for the carwash…….  I drove down with her spare key, but of course it didn’t work.  It took about 20 minutes and $80  to get somebody there to break into her car (AAA had a 2-hour wait).  As I was driving home I thought to myself “that’s the nail in the coffin for that car.”

And I was correct.  A couple of days ater, she took off at lunch with a “I’m going to look at a car” called over her shoulder.  I thought to myself “she’s going to buy a car today”.  Luckily the days of my having to go with her are over.    I was correct again – she bought a car.  A new car.  Honda (I can’t remember the make) with some kind of hatch back and I think it’s a hybrid as well.  Won’t know for sure until the end of June when she picks it up.  She’s done the math and says she can afford it, although she did sheepishly say she should probably cut back on some of her clothing/shoe purchases for a while.  Good thing she’s living rent-free with mom!

There’s been A LOT of car talk the last few days – I’m just grinning it and bearing it – hopefully it will die down for a bit soon.  At least until it gets closer to the car’s arrival!

What is something that you just had to have?

18 thoughts on “Gimme gimme”

  1. When a sensible man reaches a certain age, the list of things he can’t do without gets pretty short. I was driving a 2014 mustang V6 premium convertible that I liked a lot. I had no intentions of replacing it. However, I was browsing craigslist for entertainment and spotted a 2012 mustang GT convertible with 29,000 mi on it. I took the wife along for the outing and we drove it. She said, ” if you’re going to buy anything, you ought to buy this. ”

    Like I said, we’re old and not easily impressed. The car made us want it. We bought it. I’ve had it almost 3 years. It’s been a great car. I’ll probably drive the wheels off of it.

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    2. I wouldn’t have a convertible here in MN but whenever I traveled to Hawaii, I always rented a convertible – preferably red. When YA and I took our trip to Maui last December, when we were looking at the rental cars, I said “get the convertible” and she balked because it was more than a compact. I don’t find myself saying “you only live once” very often but this was one of those times.

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  2. Rise and ShineBaboons,

    I just HAD to have a corgi puppy.

    Baby dogs, like baby humans, are a lot of work. House training proceeded well, and now we are stalled out with a few accidents daily. How to mix it up and finish this training is the question. Plus it is very clear that the last days of my mother’s life have arrived, so I have a puppy care plan in place for Saturday when we are again driving to Iowa for a visit— maybe the last one. But disrupting the training will lengthen the process. :(.

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    1. We’re going through the same thing with a 6-month-old beagle / dachshund mix. I finally caught him in the act of pooping in the hallway yesterday. He got a very loud scolding. He was very very sorry. I hope it worked.

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        3. Positive reinforcement for the behavior you want is the only thing that works for terriers. They are tough but extremely sensitive.

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    2. I was working a dance show a few weeks ago, and watching all the moms and dads and diaper bags and carrying kids on hips, and I thought ‘Man is that a lot of work I’ve forgotten about’. And good for them. Better them than me!

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  3. When our daughter was 5, a friend of ours came over with his violin. Daughter saw it and just about wrestled him to the ground to get to the violin. She took lessons until she graduated from high school.

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  4. Well, for one, I just HAD to have a new computer… 2nd day, and we’re getting the hang of it. You have to re-sign in to everything, and it’s taking its time to get to know us. Still more that needs doing, but the guy is good to work with.

    I remember shopping with my mom for the college equivalent of a prom dress, and couldn’t decide between two I really really really liked. My mom let me buy both, figuring it would just save time because I’d need the other one eventually! (They were “cocktail” dresses – not long gowns…) I don’t actually remember whether that happened or not.

    Usually if I just HAVE to have something, it’s a pair of shoes…

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  6. Ill considered automotive purchases were the hallmark of my 20s. I cannot think of even ONE of them that turned out well. Of more mature years now, half a century later, I was hooked by the desire to get an electric car three years ago. It took a full year to convince my cautious spouse, who was content with the 2008 Civic we’d bought used some years previously (and which was hitting us up for about $500 in repair bills twice a year). We now have an electric. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that it was new upon purchase, or that it sails past the filling station, but I’m very happy with it.

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