“junk car” heaven

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Today is a sad day for me.

You probably know by now that I’m frugal. (Others would call me cheap.) I’ve mentioned my eighteen year-old car before but today’s news is very sad. Today it died. We knew it was sick but we had no idea it was dying. It wasn’t the engine or anything like that. As our mechanic said, “It’s a darn shame. It runs beautifully.” The frame basically rusted in half.That I didn’t expect. I was told to drive it home and park it. It’s unsafe to drive. (My husband followed me in his truck and we drove an alternative route home where there is little traffic.) The junk car dealer will be coming to pick it up.

My daughter didn’t believe me when I said I’m sad. But I am. Me and this car have been a team for a long time now. I loved my ’95 Taurus and have taken some pride in driving it this long. I was the car in the parking lot you didn’t want to park next to. I never worried about a ding or a dent. Believe it or not, there’s a lot to be learned from driving an old car.

  • It keeps you humble.
  • It keeps you level-headed.
  • It gives you more discretionary income.
  • It reminds you that you don’t need new things to be happy
  • it helps prioritize your life.
  • It needs you to keep it going, to feed it, water it, baby it.

So next week the search begins. We knew this time was coming eventually. I know the car I want, how much I want to pay and the number of miles I would be comfortable with. I guess you can tell by those remarks that it won’t be a new car. Besides, a new car is not a good investment unless you’re a millionaire a few times over.

We won’t spend a dime more than our budgeted amount because t’s not our money, it’s God’s. Besides, a car is only a car. It’s a way to get from point “a” to point “b”. That’s all it is and as long as it’s safe and halfway decent looking it’s o.k. with us. I do feel sorry for the poor salesman. We can’t be intimidated or talked into anything.We are the brick wall that he will run into early on in the negotiating process!

I hate looking for a car. I hate dealing with the salesman. I hate having to worry about the first scratch. But one aspect of all this I am excited about is being able to push a button to lock and unlock the car. That will feel like such a luxury to me. Then there is that “new” car, or should I say “kind of new” car smell. That will be nice, too.

(Anyway, that’s it for today. I haven’t posted for a week. We’ve been at “teeny-tiny-red-cabin” and I never even turned on my computer. I think taking a blogging vacation is a good idea. It was for me. But I’m back now and looking forward to sharing some great pics of “treasures”  I found at local thrift shops.)

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