Ah, the Open Road...
The wind in your hair, the bugs in your teeth....
Well, that doesn't really happen when you're driving a car, but you know what I mean. I HAVE A CAR.
Repeat: I have a car.
I've been taking the bus everywhere for two years now, or walking, or taking the occasional Uber. Twice I rented a car for a weekend, most recently last weekend when I attended Orycon. Two long years of being chained to the bus schedule and the bus routes.
I intended eventually to buy a car, but put it off for most of the last two years because I was paying off debts from my divorce and didn't have the means for a car payment. But I finally paid it off in January of this year.
So what have I been doing for the last ten months? Procrastinating, mostly. Doing research. Perusing Craigslist. Putting off actively hunting for a vehicle. Scheduling time to look at a car someone has for sale on Craigslist when you have to take the bus is huge time commitment. I had no desire to go thru a dealer, or to get a new car. Used was fine. But that has its own issues (reliability, mostly).
I did talk to the loan officer at my credit union a few months ago, and she recommended an agency that works with credit unions and their members to find cars for people. So after the glory of driving myself wherever I wanted whenever I wanted last weekend, I couldn't wait any longer. I contacted them, told they roughly what I was looking for, and a week later...I am the proud owner of a 2008 Nissan Altima.
It's silver. I'd have preferred red or blue or green, but didn't care enough to limit their search to those colors. It has a little over 100,000 miles on it, but it's in great shape, has a clean history and title, and it was well within my budget. I'd looked at another car (a private seller) last night, but the owner felt...sketchy, and was definitely pushy about trying to get an offer, so I bailed.
I called the agent I've been working with, who had another car to offer me (he'd offered several, but I'd turned them down for pricing or because my research suggested they weren't good bargains, mostly on the grounds of reliability). This one I liked, I liked it after test-driving it. It was in excellent shape. So I pulled the trigger.
I spent much of today on talking, texting, and emailing with the agent, with my loan officer, and with my insurance agent getting all my ducks in a row so that after work today, I walked outside and met the agent, who handed over my new car. Well, okay, we drove to the credit union and signed some papers and gave him his check, then drove to his office and signed MORE papers.
But it's mine now! It's going to take a bite out of my spending money, but I'm trading money for time and after two years on the bus, it's well worth it. I'll still take the bus to work during the week. Trying to park at OHSU is a major chore and not worth what it would cost even if I could get a parking spot.
This entry was originally posted at https://sinanju.dreamwidth.org/229213.html. Comment here or on Dreamwidth.
Well, that doesn't really happen when you're driving a car, but you know what I mean. I HAVE A CAR.
Repeat: I have a car.
I've been taking the bus everywhere for two years now, or walking, or taking the occasional Uber. Twice I rented a car for a weekend, most recently last weekend when I attended Orycon. Two long years of being chained to the bus schedule and the bus routes.
I intended eventually to buy a car, but put it off for most of the last two years because I was paying off debts from my divorce and didn't have the means for a car payment. But I finally paid it off in January of this year.
So what have I been doing for the last ten months? Procrastinating, mostly. Doing research. Perusing Craigslist. Putting off actively hunting for a vehicle. Scheduling time to look at a car someone has for sale on Craigslist when you have to take the bus is huge time commitment. I had no desire to go thru a dealer, or to get a new car. Used was fine. But that has its own issues (reliability, mostly).
I did talk to the loan officer at my credit union a few months ago, and she recommended an agency that works with credit unions and their members to find cars for people. So after the glory of driving myself wherever I wanted whenever I wanted last weekend, I couldn't wait any longer. I contacted them, told they roughly what I was looking for, and a week later...I am the proud owner of a 2008 Nissan Altima.
It's silver. I'd have preferred red or blue or green, but didn't care enough to limit their search to those colors. It has a little over 100,000 miles on it, but it's in great shape, has a clean history and title, and it was well within my budget. I'd looked at another car (a private seller) last night, but the owner felt...sketchy, and was definitely pushy about trying to get an offer, so I bailed.
I called the agent I've been working with, who had another car to offer me (he'd offered several, but I'd turned them down for pricing or because my research suggested they weren't good bargains, mostly on the grounds of reliability). This one I liked, I liked it after test-driving it. It was in excellent shape. So I pulled the trigger.
I spent much of today on talking, texting, and emailing with the agent, with my loan officer, and with my insurance agent getting all my ducks in a row so that after work today, I walked outside and met the agent, who handed over my new car. Well, okay, we drove to the credit union and signed some papers and gave him his check, then drove to his office and signed MORE papers.
But it's mine now! It's going to take a bite out of my spending money, but I'm trading money for time and after two years on the bus, it's well worth it. I'll still take the bus to work during the week. Trying to park at OHSU is a major chore and not worth what it would cost even if I could get a parking spot.
This entry was originally posted at https://sinanju.dreamwidth.org/229213.html. Comment here or on Dreamwidth.