So, I had a bit of an end of an era last weekend. I upgraded my ride.
I bought my first new car (second new to me car) back in September 2002. It was a bit of a rush job – my original car, a sometime in the 90s Honda Accord (91, I think) I had bought used in the summer of 1999 had succumbed to rust and time, and I wasn’t willing to put any more money into it. I decided to buy a Hyundai because of the five year complete warranty. (I was gun shy.) I ended up with a white Accent that at least had AC, because there were pretty much no other power features in that car. But you know what, it was exactly what I needed at that time, and it served me well.
But I was 25 when I bought that car. I’m just shy of 39 now. And I aged out of the car a while ago. (As evidenced by the fact that the best picture of it I could find is below.) But I really enjoyed not having a car payment. And for a while, that was enough.
But two years of a thousand dollars in repairs just to be able to get a sticker were enough for me. After my last sticker in December, I resolved I was getting a new car this Fall. (I had a whole savings plan to pad my down payment laid out.) And then, the little old man’s alternator gave out. So last Saturday, I went car shopping. I bought a Hyundai Tucson. I’d never seen myself owning an SUV, but we’d been talking it over, and the extra cargo space (which we need about twice a year, but will be so nice for those two times a year), and having something more comfortable that we could bring on trips (we did all our traveling in BF’s car – he didn’t really like driving the little old man – he didn’t fit in it very well) made that my choice. (BF also has a Hyundai – a Sonata – I do have to say, Hyundai has treated us well.)
Monday, it snowed. The City of Portland, in its infinite wisdom, did not treat the Hill of Doom on Congress Street at Stroudwater. As I approached, it was icy, and there was a Prius stuck in the outer lane (lucky me gets to go up the hill for my morning commute). At this point, my stomach sunk, as it has for the past number of years in similar conditions. But you know what? I have all wheel drive now. And I got up that hill with no problems. It was glorious.
I’m also coming off a drive down to Boston this weekend. (BF’s brothers were both in town, so we met up.) I actually drove it all the way into Roslindale myself (I made BF take it into Allston when we decided to do lunch there – I haven’t had time to increase my intestinal fortitude that much yet), and drove it back from our hotel in Natick the next morning. And it was also glorious for a road trip.
I love this car. I do hope to drive this one into the ground too – so here’s hoping to at least another thirteen and half years.
2024 Note: It’s still going strong. We liked it so much that we bought another Tucson, a hybrid this time, this year. That’s now the travelling car, but mine is still great for tooling about.