Cars

My first and second cars came as complete surprises. My sister and I attended the same college for a year and lived across the hall from each other. One day, my dad called and said, "Your mother and I are coming to visit." Ok. An ordinary weekend in February, no special occasion for a two-hour drive. They arrived in separate vehicles. The white Nissan that we'd never seen before was a new leased car for my sister and I to share.

Then my sister transferred to another school, and I got to keep the car because I was older, my dad said (a phrase my sister didn't like, but I didn't argue about it, since I got the better end of the deal). Eventually, my parents traded, so I got their old Buick, and they took the Nissan.

By the time grad school rolled around, I had sent the Buick to my sister, since she needed it more than I did (my college was in a city; hers was in the middle of nowhere). Once more, I was carless, but it didn't matter since I was again in a city, and my roommate had a car.

And I got another phone call from my dad. He'd bought a used Dodge Shadow in teal/green, and I could fly down over spring break and drive it back up. Eventually the Dodge showed its true colors: the paint on the top became splotchy, and the Blue Book kindly revealed that the year my car was made was a bad year for paint jobs on Dodge Shadows. My parents transferred the Nissan to me and traded in the Dodge for a new car.

The Nissan was a nice car, and as I parked every day during my first teaching job, I hoped that no disgruntled student of mine would key it in the parking lot. For the first time, I felt the weighty responsibility of Car Payments and possible Repairs. I calculated how long I could expect this car to last until another surprise phone call from my dad....

I figured the car would last maybe 10 to 12 years. It's a '96, so maybe 2006 or 2008 - around the time of my 30th birthday. That felt SOOOOO far away at that point, I decided a new car would be a great 30th birthday present to myself.

Last week, the battery died on the Nissan. After we replaced the battery, John was a little disappointed. He'd been thinking, do we need a New Car?!! And that's when I remembered my birthday plan. 30 came along, but the car still works well and has not ever had major, expensive problems - and it's paid off (thanks to my thrifty husband!). So we'll keep the car until it dies a noble death around my 40th birthday (?) and enjoy our current freedom from car payments.

If the Nissan's performance holds steady, hopefully we'll have a LOT of time to research a replacement.