I bought a new car
- col-lee-elliot-aging-graciously
- October 11, 2023
- 449
Well, I did it. I bought a new car. I have worried for so long about how painful the process was going to be that I just plain didn’t want to even consider it. My ’95 Astro Van finally gave up, and I finally gave in. Where to look? What to look for? All I knew was I wanted something tall so I could see the front of the car over the steering wheel.
The van had no bells and whistles. Which ones did I want? Which ones did I really need? The vehicle I chose has all-wheel drive, heated seats in the winter, heated outside mirrors, lights on those mirrors that tell me if someone is in my blind spot, seats that fold down so I can tote all my totables, automatic lights and dimming, GPS through my smart phone, and a backup camera.
That’s all I really need. I can push the hatch up manually. It keeps my arms in good shape. Now you may think that at my age I am extremely naïve in my knowledge of at least bells, if not whistles. But remember the last car I bought was in 1995. I loved it, and true to my faithful nature, I’ve not looked at another since.
The brand I ended up buying surprised me. I had not ever thought of purchasing from that group of popular cars. However, a kind gentleman, talking to me about my column during a program at the library, highly recommended I pursue this particular brand because they are so reliable and because the local company’s service is so outstanding. He was absolutely right.
Once I had chosen the car, and it didn’t take me long, I remembered the nearly day-long process of filling out paper work I had gone through so many years ago when buying the van. This time I was finished and driving home within the half-hour. Yikes! I now was a new car owner.
Here’s what I discovered in the hunting process. It may take up to three months to get a “new” new car — a 2024 — and the color choices are mostly black, white and gray. Mine is very slightly used, and it is an unusual shade of blue.
My van was always the tallest car in the parking lot, so I never lost it when I came out of a store. I have to hunt for this one or make an effort to remember where I parked. The van had wondrous room in the front; new cars do not. I am sitting on a cushion so I can be sure where the front bumper is.
I hope the kind gentleman was right. Things don’t always work out the way we would choose, and it is best to learn to live with that.
For now I’m enjoying being able to drive without worrying something is going to go wrong and feeling a little shock when I open the door to go out and see that strange, unblemished creature sitting where the old one used to be. I haven’t decided what to do with the old fellow yet. I would really like it to go to someone who loves to tinker with cars, knows where to get parts and what to do with them, and would love the old van as much as I did. If you are out there, let me know.