We bought our car a month or two after we got married, Summer 2000. I loved it. Red. Sorta sporty. Definitely reflective of my inner cool.
Six years later we are living in New York, have been here over four years, and have a toddler. Life has changed a lot. But our car has not.
When we first moved to New York, we stored our car in a barn in Vermont. We took the plates off, took the insurance off, and took the subway. We only planned on living here a year, and cars in New York are more headache than they are worth. So when we 'left' New York for Rochester we became part of the driving community again: plates, insurance and all. Through a strange turn of events, I ended up back in the city while Dave finished school in Rochester. We depended on our little car for our weekend rendevous.
When Dave finished school, he joined me in New York and we faced city insurance rates. Gulp. The car went back to the barn.
After Andrew was born we reevaluted things. We decided to move to a cheaper neighborhood and could then afford the heafty (but honest) insurance rates. Also, our car has depriciated in value (thank goodness), which ended up saving us a lot. So now we have the car full time and never threaten returning it the barn. I love it. I use it about twice a week (often just to move it to the other side of the street for street sweeping) and for long trips, (like the one pictured above, to my brother's in West Virginia). I hate to say it. This is not popular in New York. But I need it. Visiting friends and family is just too important now. The Chinatown bus used to meet all of our transportation needs, but now, with a baby, it is out of the question.
Today we went car shopping. It is time to upgrade. We need two more doors. Loading my cutie into his car seat in our two door is just no fun. And driving last summer without air conditioning did nothing for my mental (and probably physical) health. So it's time.
Our car has so much New York character now. Even though the scraped paint job and dents upset my dad (and other people's dads), it fits in. It's small and easy to park, has great gas mileage and manouvers well in traffic. It will be sad to see it go.
But, see it go, we must.
3 comments:
i lost my little red car when we moved back to the city. i know that one day the car issue will rear its head again. i was sad to have to say good-bye to my little red car...i was cute in it. new cars are silly here in the city - no dents!
Haha, I will have to tell Kate about the "other dads" comment! Have fun test driving!
Hey! If the timing works out right, maybe we can give you a good deal on a 4-door Hyundai!
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