In 1986 I left my job and I
bought a new car. The kind of work I did came with a company car. I knew I
would get another job and another company car, but until then I decided to buy
a car I would keep, a convertible. The dealer tossed me the keys and told me to
take a test drive. I liked the car, and bought it. I call her Beverly.
I didn’t buy air conditioning
on the convertible, thinking as a young person that if it were warm I would
have the top down. In 2002
I was hot all the time. Even if I drove fast with the top down I was still hot.
I really needed a car with air-conditioning.
The Mini Cooper was just
being introduced and I thought it adorable. I was put on a 6-8 month waiting
list. I couldn’t wait. I was going through cancer treatments and my coping
skills were diminished. I needed air! I
found a Mini on line and bought the car over the phone. I call him Monty.
I think cars age about 5
years for every human year. My husband and I fall in love with our cars. Beverly’s
value is more sentimental in her present condition than monetary. Monty has lots of miles and Mini’s
aren’t known for running with hundreds of thousands of miles. We are in the
talking stages of selling.
I bought my cars with so much
emotion that they are hard to sell. I want to hold
on to that confident young woman’s buying choice of a convertible. I want to remember my
fearlessness with buying a car unseen, not test driven as my victory over
cancer. I really hate that my cars are aging faster than me!
Have you ever become attached
to your car? What did you do when your car became old?
