« Dana Gould - Comedian | Main | Bike For Sale »
July 13, 2005
Good Bye Old Friend
I love cars, I mean I LOVE CARS. Fast cars, slow cars, old cars, new cars, it doesn't matter. I have become a car (and race) junky. I have owned a lot of cars in my life. Most of them where pretty crappy. My first new car was a 1984 Dodge Charger - what a piece of junk. My next new car was a 1990 Honda Accord. I loved that car. It was classy, with a great ride. I thought it looked cool, and with the exception of few electrical glitches early on caused by dealer installed parts, the car was trouble free. In fact, that Honda, kicked off a long line of Honda cars owned by me and my wife - we had a CRX (great), a Civic (killed in a wreck), and an Accord (still being loved by my brother-in-law). For some crazy reason we left the Honda family and bought a Jetta. Brain cramp I guess, it was a real piece of crap. Today, we are back in the Honda family, thoroughly enjoying a 2004 Acura TL.
But, all those cars where driven by my wife. I sold my Accord, in order to buy my house (yes money was that tight). My parents gave me a crappy Chevy with a stuck drivers door, but beggars can't be choosers, and for two years I would get in on the passenger side, and slide across the vinyl bench seat (not always the easiest thing to do in the middle of the summer) and drive. The car held up pretty good for a while, before finally dying. I was stuck with no car and no money, so I picked a 1979 Ford station wagon for $400. This thing was a tank. It rolled around so much, that I actually got pulled over one night for drunk driving. I explained to the officer that it was the car and not me, and he let me go.
After that car exploded in the hands of a friend, I bought my next new car - a Ford Ranger pickup with a 5 speed manual, and 4 cylinder engine. It cost me 18 grand, and I was over budget by $1,000. It was a great truck, and for 3 years a great station car, but once I started working at Estee Lauder (a 45 minute to 1 hour commute), driving the truck in a suit and tie was a little uncomfortable. So, I ventured into the world of leasing, and got my next car. A Buick. That is all I have to say about that.
Three and a half years ago the lease was coming up on the Buick, and I decided I was going to get a real car. I mean a REAL car. I spent a lot of time researching, and I came to the conclusion there was only one car that would give me everything I wanted. A BMW 330CI. It was cool, drove like a dream, and got nothing but fantastic reviews. In fact; I dare anyone to find a single disparaging remark published by any legitimate source about the 3 series BMW. I ordered the car from Habberstad BMW in Huntington, and for the next 2 months me and my pal Brian would follow the progress of my car on the BMW website. From assembly to shipping to delivery, we followed that car, and 3 years ago today I picked that car up.
It was love at first site. The car was Topaz Blue Metallic, with premium, cold weather, and sports packages. A black leather interior with aluminum trim, a 5 speed of course, navigation system, and 6 CD changer rounded out the options. It had massive tires and brakes. I remember being in the paddock at Limerock Race Track, and having guys come up to me to compliment the car, and ask various questions about tires, and brakes and performance. I was in my glory. It seemed like all my friends wanted a ride. Even my Dad asked me for a ride (and he is not a car guy at all). Debbie and I took the car on long trips, and marveled at the accuracy of the navigation system, while cursing the user interface at the same time. Was the car perfect, no, not really. Okay, who am I kidding, yes it was. I loved that car. With the exception of the tires complete inability to get any grip in the snow, it was perfect. But, like all good things, the love affair was doomed to end. The lease ended today, and so did the affair. I have just come back from turning the car in, and I miss it already. I considered buying it, but it was out of warranty, and the 3 years of free service was also over. I could have re-leased it, but it just wasn't financially the right thing to do. With the depreciation increase, my payment would have actually gone up almost $40 a month. After a lot of thought, I made the difficult decision to give the car up. Even as I was driving to the dealer this afternoon, I was still considering buying it, but in the end, I turned over the keys, and gave the car one last glance as I left the parking lot. So, I say good bye old friend. I will miss you. You served me well for 3 years and 30,000 miles. I hope your next owner enjoys driving you as much as I did.
Interestingly enough, as much as I loved the car, this is the only photo I could find.
Posted by pmadsen at July 13, 2005 06:13 PM
