My sister's little car
I love my sister to death. But that little car she's driving--oof! It's a goner.
My sister is driving a 1989 Mazda 626 LX Sedan. My parents were nice enough to give it to her (or sell it cheap--don't remember)....they gave me one as well, but it died a couple of years back. The transmission went. I drove it into the ground. It was a good car, but it was time.
I'm afraid her car is not doing as well as she says. She is indeed correct when she says, "It runs, dammit!" It's just that there's something just a little off with just about everything. I will try to recreate:
Taillights--a little beat up (but still functioning)
Headlights--a little beat up (but still functioning)
Windshield--cracked and with rock (spiderweb) chips [she says she can barely feel it, but I know there's structural ]damage there. I've had my windshield replaced by Allstate (it was convered) for less!
Heating--it no longer heats
A/C--it no longer cools
Body damage-- on the left side. Front AND back.
Misc--A piece I didn't know existed fell off the front--to her credit, my sis did get some masking tape, but dear LORD!
I mean, come on....I tried rolling down my front passenger seat window, and the freaking DOOR opened!
And seriously--it's not really a big deal (as the car is running, and the transmission's kicking and the engine block's not cracked)--but man, oh, MAN is that thing old. I love my sister to death. But that little car she's driving--oof! It's a goner.
Good luck with it, sis.
posted by The Naysayer @ 1/26/2006 06:34:00 PM
1 Comments:
Somehow I knew you were going to write about this, especially after I asked you not to talk about it. :) Hey, I have some friends who live in a house that you might call a "crackerbox" or a "ticky tacky home"--whenever it rains, it rains in the house, because they can't afford to get the roof leak fixed. Maybe you can write an entry making fun of them, since being poor is so hilarious.
What I think is even hilarious is people buying brand new cars, which according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance lose 60% of their value in the first four years. In other words, if I buy a new car for $30,000, it becomes worth $12,000 in about four years. If I wanted to sell you an investment where I told you that I could take your $30,000 and turn it into $12,000 in four years, you would laugh at me, even if I had a brand new car. My idea is to drive my car and save up money until I can buy a used car with cash, in order to avoid having a big, depreciating lump sitting in the middle of my driveway.
There really is a huge difference in between structural damage and mechanical damage. Mechanical damage could put me in a dangerous situation and stop me from being able to drive to the laundromat and the grocery store. Structural damage makes absolutely no difference on my life, and in fact nobody has ever judged me for it except for you. I kind of like the idea of not basing my self-worth on something extrinsic. If I were to do that, then without my designer clothing or brand new car, I'd feel worthless.
Dr. Shaun Saunders, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in England, studied more than 1,000 people and found materialistic folks who try to keep up with the Joneses are more likely to be angry, depressed, frustrated, and anxious.
You might want to look into it.
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