A New Used Car
12 October 2006
Over the past two weeks I took another step of reintegrating into American society: I bought a car. Once I successfully passed my driving test I figured it was only a matter of time before I would take the plunge and get a vehicle, because let’s face it, in the United States you can’t really function without one.
Since I got back I have been driving my mom’s 1980 Chevy Malibu and to be honest, I really figured I would continue to do so for a while. However, since I have to drive 44 miles round trip to work (I got a temporary job helping out my dad while I wait for a library job) and that Malibu gets horrible gas mileage, I was prompted to start looking into buying a more fuel-efficient car.
As luck would have it, my step-dad came across a really good deal on a 2004 Chevy Cavalier about two weeks ago. And though I wasn’t 100% sure about the make and model, it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for: A late model vehicle that gets great gas mileage… and the fact that it is a little blue coupe just sweetened the deal all the more. So a couple of trips to the bank to apply for a loan and one cashier’s check later, I am the proud owner of a brand new used car.
Now, “buy a car” is something that I had considered putting on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, but since I wasn’t sure how long it would be before I could actually make such an investment I chose to list “save $500 towards the down payment for a new car” instead. However, given this new (and somewhat unexpected) development and the fact that I plan on driving this particular car for some time after my initial 1001 days, I have made the executive decision to revise #61 from its original form and substitute “get a loan for a new car” so that I can cross it off.
And that $500 that I was supposed to be saving for a down-payment? Well, I suppose I should still save it because I will eventually have to buy new tires or maybe something even more essential… like a fancy stereo system. 
