7:16 a.m. - 2005-03-15
entry-level mafia staff car
ha!
I bought a car yesterday!
Dad's been letting me use/maintain his truck for a while now, (which I very, very, very much appreciate) but lately he's been making vague noises about wanting to sell his car, and how much he misses his truck, and how difficult it would be to sell his car if he doesn't have the truck to drive. He's also been saying that he's ok for now, and as long as I need it, I can keep the truck, but... well, it's been quite a while, and I know he wants it back. Great truck, but... Anyway. Every time I've been in town since august we've gone car shopping - at the used lots, the auctions, sometimes the new lots who take (and sell) trade-ins, and anything that looks good in the classifieds, but between my criteria and his, there's always been something wrong. Sometimes it's just that vague "seems ok but I don't have a good feeling about this car" that one or the other of us comes up with. (Often it's from signs that there's been poorly hidden damage that the seller isn't declaring.) Right. So we swung by m&h yesterday to see what they had, and there was this sweet little jetta sitting on the lot... filthy, and a hole (and 1/2" of water) in one headlight, but otherwise in fine shape, and a killer price - more than I wanted to spend, but not by much. (besides, I'm a student - I don't want to spend money at all. I want them to pay me to take the car.)
There's a small, irrational part of me that feels almost guilty over buying a jetta, knowing that blue's been looking for one for so long (see? irrational.) but I'm still insanely happy with it. I'm going outside to wash it now. We couldn't do it yesterday because we (dad and I) were having adventures trying to get the water out of the headlight. Eventually we contrived a solution involving a drinking straw, a flannel diaper, some brazing rod, a hair dryer, an air compressor, some duct tape, and a length of dryer hose from a '46 hudson. It wasn't the prettiest solution, but it worked. But then the silicon sealant we used wanted to dry overnight, so I had to wait until this morning to wash it. And yes, dammit, I'm excited about washing a car. Yes, I'm a freak. I'm even excited about waxing it when I get back to Vancouver.
Oh. And it has a security system. An hour after buying the car, I learned about the alarm. I mean, I knew it was there... I just learned how to turn it off. And no, it didn't stay on for an hour - it took me almost that long to set it off by mistake. sigh
...and anyone who's driven a german stick shift knows that reverse is not where you'd expect, but I'm sure I'll get used to that too.
I love my new car. She needs a name. Any suggestions?
(she's a '96, sedan, black, grey interior. tinted windows. dad keeps calling it the entry-level mafia staff car.)
