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Dec. 15th, 2008 01:30 amI'm going to be buying a new car (hopefully) in the next couple of weeks and the idea of it, the enormity of it, is sending me into anxiety-ridden states of panic.
As it is, I am loathe to give up the Caddy. She's a great beast of a car and I have loved her for many, many years. Sadly, when one is afraid of driving long distances for fear of what may happen, it's usually a sign. As of a few weeks ago, the driver's side door decided to give up the ghost and no longer opens at all from the outside, which is a quite lovely addition to the fact I already can't unlock it from the outside. Before, I had to unlock the passenger side, lean over and unlock the driver's door. Now I have to do all of those things and actually open the door from the inside. Oh, and the passenger side doesn't open from the inside. It's a lot of fun.
Door issues aside, the engine runs fairly well (if a bit loud), but it is pushing 90K miles. I'm losing my tailpipe slowly as it's corroding away from its middle bits and something is making a rather annoying squeaking sound from the back of the car somewhere.
All of the original issues of the headliner falling down around my ears, a terribly cracked dashboard, wonky climate control, and absolutely wrecked seats are all still present. It's also just beginning to rust on the roof and the nose.
After next semester, I'm going to have to start traveling to Trenton for funeral school and the idea of taking the Caddy that far and back several times a week gives me The Fear. Not only because I'm unsure if it can withstand that amount of driving, but also because the car only takes premium gas and the amount of money I would have to put out to keep the tank full would most likely rival my student loans.
So, it's new car territory a-hoy.
My mind is already made up. I want a Mini Cooper. It doesn't have to be brand new. Just a Mini. Black. Preferably with a black roof, although I wouldn't turn up my nose at a white roof. No bells and whistles, I don't require them. But, it absolutely must be an automatic. I can't drive stick and despite how many manual drivers telling me how great it is to drive stick and how blessedly easy, I am uninterested. I'll learn how, sure. That's no problem. But, I'm not buying a manual.
I have some money squirrelled away for a down payment. The little pile will be growing slightly on Friday when I get paid. But, I've never done this before. I've never bought a car, had a car payment, had my own car insurance. The idea of all of these new bills also gives me The Fear. My paychecks are currently alright. I do basically ok. One fucked up set of circumstances would severely screw me, though. Putting car payments and insurance premiums into this mix? I could do it. It's just going to suck. And if I have to get my apartment when my lease is up (this is a whole other story I don't have the energy for at the moment), it's going to really suck.
I spoke to a co-worker's husband this evening who works for a car dealership and he gave me some ideas of what to expect and how to pursue all of this. He also killed my hopes of using the Mini Select financing (it's a balloon loan) by telling me it is a Very Bad Idea to get into that sort of thing. He did, however, tell give me quite a lot of ideas on how to approach this.
This week, I have to go to my bank and see about getting outside financing for the car loan. I'm not sure how it's going to go, but he told me it would be wise to make that my first step.
I just want a little reliable car that doesn't cause me to go into wild amount of debt and misery. Why do the Powers That Be make this kind of thing so goddamn difficult and nerve-wracking? I am, at turns, completely over the moon at the idea of having a car that actually does what it is supposed to do 100% of the time (and unlock it from the driver's side!) and completely terrified.
As it is, I am loathe to give up the Caddy. She's a great beast of a car and I have loved her for many, many years. Sadly, when one is afraid of driving long distances for fear of what may happen, it's usually a sign. As of a few weeks ago, the driver's side door decided to give up the ghost and no longer opens at all from the outside, which is a quite lovely addition to the fact I already can't unlock it from the outside. Before, I had to unlock the passenger side, lean over and unlock the driver's door. Now I have to do all of those things and actually open the door from the inside. Oh, and the passenger side doesn't open from the inside. It's a lot of fun.
Door issues aside, the engine runs fairly well (if a bit loud), but it is pushing 90K miles. I'm losing my tailpipe slowly as it's corroding away from its middle bits and something is making a rather annoying squeaking sound from the back of the car somewhere.
All of the original issues of the headliner falling down around my ears, a terribly cracked dashboard, wonky climate control, and absolutely wrecked seats are all still present. It's also just beginning to rust on the roof and the nose.
After next semester, I'm going to have to start traveling to Trenton for funeral school and the idea of taking the Caddy that far and back several times a week gives me The Fear. Not only because I'm unsure if it can withstand that amount of driving, but also because the car only takes premium gas and the amount of money I would have to put out to keep the tank full would most likely rival my student loans.
So, it's new car territory a-hoy.
My mind is already made up. I want a Mini Cooper. It doesn't have to be brand new. Just a Mini. Black. Preferably with a black roof, although I wouldn't turn up my nose at a white roof. No bells and whistles, I don't require them. But, it absolutely must be an automatic. I can't drive stick and despite how many manual drivers telling me how great it is to drive stick and how blessedly easy, I am uninterested. I'll learn how, sure. That's no problem. But, I'm not buying a manual.
I have some money squirrelled away for a down payment. The little pile will be growing slightly on Friday when I get paid. But, I've never done this before. I've never bought a car, had a car payment, had my own car insurance. The idea of all of these new bills also gives me The Fear. My paychecks are currently alright. I do basically ok. One fucked up set of circumstances would severely screw me, though. Putting car payments and insurance premiums into this mix? I could do it. It's just going to suck. And if I have to get my apartment when my lease is up (this is a whole other story I don't have the energy for at the moment), it's going to really suck.
I spoke to a co-worker's husband this evening who works for a car dealership and he gave me some ideas of what to expect and how to pursue all of this. He also killed my hopes of using the Mini Select financing (it's a balloon loan) by telling me it is a Very Bad Idea to get into that sort of thing. He did, however, tell give me quite a lot of ideas on how to approach this.
This week, I have to go to my bank and see about getting outside financing for the car loan. I'm not sure how it's going to go, but he told me it would be wise to make that my first step.
I just want a little reliable car that doesn't cause me to go into wild amount of debt and misery. Why do the Powers That Be make this kind of thing so goddamn difficult and nerve-wracking? I am, at turns, completely over the moon at the idea of having a car that actually does what it is supposed to do 100% of the time (and unlock it from the driver's side!) and completely terrified.
