If you’ve heard me speak before, chances are you’ve probably heard about my first car: a 1986 Honda Accord. I was so excited when I first got it, but it was a horrible car. You may have heard about my problems with the leaking moon roof, a little extra jolt from the power locks, broken windshield wipers, and how occasionally, my car wouldn’t go in reverse.
So many warm and fuzzy memories…
But you may find yourself in the same spot. If you’ve saved up some money and all you can buy is a beat-up junker, don’t worry. I’ve got some advice for you…
- It Won’t Be The Only Car You’ll Ever Drive – I am currently driving the 5th car of my young life and each one has gotten slightly better than the previous. Just because your first car may be a disaster doesn’t mean you’ll have that the rest of your life. Get something that runs and then continue saving cash until you can afford to move up a level.
- I Promise Your Car Isn’t The Worst – Next time you’re sitting at a light waiting for it to turn green, take a moment and glance around at the other cars. I promise you they are not all brand new, shiny, sexy cars that were just driven off the showroom floor. You’ll probably see plenty of junkers. You’re not alone. In fact, there’s a website for owners of junky cars, www.junkycarclub.com!
YOUR 2 CENTS: Do you drive a junky car? Do you wonder or even care what others think about you because of your car?
Related posts:
A story I’ve chronicled on my own blog before… I started out with a 94 Ford Ranger. It was a great truck, bought it off of a friend. Transmission died, and rather than get a $1000 loan to fix it, I got a $5000 loan for a new truck – an 89 GMC Jimmy with 35″ tires, 12″ lift… a real offroading monster truck. I couldn’t get it inspected, and a puddle nearly sent me in to a telephone pole. I sold it a month later at auction for $750. Took the little bit of money I had left and bought a 92 F150 junker from my mechanic for $1200. I’ve already put 3 times that much in to fixing it in the past few years, but I’m fine with that. I know all of it’s problems, it’s quirks, and I’ve put too much money in to it to go buy something a little less junky only to have to fix that too.
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Ugh, my first car was such a junker, I sometimes forget that I even had that car! It was a van, actually – a 1993 Plymouth Voyager (this was 2005) that was on its last legs and leaking gas! But it was enough to get me to my summer job every day, and occasionally take a few friends to the movies. We called it “The Mule” after the quote in the movie Serenity: “The Mule won’t run with five!” because my van was missing the backseat, so you could only fit four people in it!
But, it gave me freedom, so I didn’t car. And a few years later, it no longer ran and I got another, much better, used car. Here’s a hint: buy your first car from your grandparents, if you can. Grandparents tend to buy nicer cars, treat them well, and they don’t put too many miles on it. I have my grandmother’s Oldsmobile now, and all I can say is: Leather seats and only 60,000 miles on it! (10,000 of which I put on there!)
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Well…..I agree with most of the things you said. Anyway, thanks!
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I have been searching for sites related to this. Glad I found you. Thanks
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Glad you’re digging the site Flashy (cool name!)
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