When it comes to cars, I am clueless, like as clueless as Alicia Silverston playing Cher Horowitz in Clueless. That being said, a few weeks ago, I had one of the worst weeks. I was out of a car.
The car I drove from Detroit to Washington and then to 100 Mile House acquired some serious rust on the bottom. I drove in the middle of winter, so I suspect that is why it was so bad. When I went to go get an out-of-province car inspection so I could insure the car, it failed. I had it inspected twice and it failed both times. The budget I had for a new car was the budget of a young professional whose not yet established but surviving to get by. So, not much of a budget at all.
I really didn’t have the slightest clue navigating the how-tos of finding a new vehicle. Well, I knew where to look but when it came to the rest of it, like the mechanics or the best deal, I was lost.
It was hard to say goodbye to my car. I drove a Chevy Cobalt that was a champagne gold colour – the kind of car your grandmother would drive. So, I decided to name the car, the ‘Golden Girl’.
She truly was spectacular. I mean she got me across America without a hitch and then some.
Again, I was faced with a difficult situation. A situation that if I was faced with a year ago, I probably wouldn’t have handled it as well as I did. It took a week for me to figure it out and my poor coworkers had to sacrifice their own vehicles for those few days but it all worked itself out.
Before I found the car, I had two options. The first option was to find a car and the second option was to pack everything up and drive my car back to Ontario. I knew I had to make a choice and make it relatively quick. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the second option, I didn’t want to leave. It just happened that I was about to find a cheap car. A car that was off the grid at the end of a dirt road.
This new car… well, we are still getting to know each other. If this car had a gender, it would definitely be a man and not the kind you would take home to your mother. He was manufactured in 92 which makes him weathered but he is also edgy, noisy and has a gambling addiction. When I drive, it’s a gamble if I will make it to and from the next destination.
We fight a lot. He doesn’t always like to start when I need to go. One of these days, he’s going to give up on this relationship.
I could be dramatic about the whole ordeal but the car does the job and it works. For my first time buying a car without the help of my parents, I think I did ok. I have a vehicle and that is the most important part. We are faced with obstacles every day but what matters is how we navigate around them. For better or worse, there is always a solution to every problem.
