Doing My Civic Duty

Saturday, March 12, 2011

There was regret in his voice as he handed down the official diagnosis: "It's terminal," he told me. Shock & sadness washed over me; is this really the end?

The "doctor" in this true-life scenario is my mechanic. The patient? My 1993 Toyota Camry. And as of last Monday, it's official: She's a goner.

I knew when I - errr, my mom - bought a 1993 Camry last October that it wasn't going to be the start of a particularly long-term relationship, though I'd hoped we'd be together a bit longer. Maybe she got angry with me because I somewhat cruelly nicknamed her The Time Machine, an ode to her long-ago birthdate. Or maybe she was just plain tired, a result of her advanced age & the fact that I drove her from Ohio to New Hampshire in the snow & ice at 120k+ miles. Regardless, she's now dead, stuck on the mechanic's lot as she awaits a tow truck to take her to her final resting place.

The event that led to her death was truly traumatic: It involved a harrowing roadside breakdown, both physically (her) & emotionally (me), on a highway drive back from Boston. The phone calls that came afterward mostly involved me crying, especially to my mother (hey, I never claimed to be a real adult). "I JUST WANT A CIVIC!" I screamed. "How about an Accord?" she asked patiently. "I JUST WANT A CIVICCC!" I repeated, this time with extra oomph in the form of added whininess.

After a week of carlessness-induced despair, Nathan & I today made our way out to the Honda Barn - used car dealerships always aim to be classy! - where I stuck to my very particular, somewhat stubborn guns & refused to look at anything that wasn't a late-model Civic... & took the requisite steps toward purchasing my first car. It's not mine yet (credit check pending!), but my fingers are crossed & my thumbs are up.

19 comments:

  1. My "lovely" fiance bought a 1983 Truck today.... I don't want to talk about it....

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  2. Fingers crossed for you!

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  3. nice! she looks pretty! i've been thinking about a honda civic myself soon :)

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  4. How sad. And exciting at the same time. I hope everything works out and you can get your car. My car's name is Wanda, the Honda. Maybe you can name yours Yolanda, the Honda. :)

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  5. Ouch. There are Toyota people and there are Honda people. Sorry to see you leave the Toyota camp :( However, there is something so empowering about your first car-buying experience. I bought my first non parental hand me down corolla as a Valentine's day present to myself last year and it's a great feeling.

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  6. Sorry about The Time Machine but YAY for a new car. :)

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  7. Buying a new car is the worst, especially when you're in a position where you absolutely have to have one. Hope the civic is yours!

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  8. oh i know how you feel. i'm just getting ready to part with my '89 peugeot 309. luckily she's not dead (yet) but i want to try and sell her while she's still "breathing" and got a great offer from my best friend to buy her opel. so yay to the new car! :)

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  9. Yay for a new car.
    I have a heart time parting from old things, but when it's time, it's time ;)

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  10. Haha, I think making big purchases like cars & houses drive me crazy because when I want it...I want it NOW. I LOVE Honda and I hope you'll get the civic! :)

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  11. Honda Barn, got to love a name like that! So exciting and I hope it all works out for you... I love my Honda SO much. (Gosh, I'm such a dork, loving a car and all.)

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  12. girlwiththeredhairMarch 14, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    I have heard nothing but GREAT things about Civic's! I wanted one when I got a new car a couple of years ago but couldn't afford it so had to go with a Hyundai Elantra (which I now LOVE!)

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  13. I can't drive, but I get ridiculously attached to inanimate objects, so I can only imagine how devastated I'd be if this happened to me! Poor you!

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  14. I know exactly how you feel - I get extremely attached to cars and was crying when we had to say goodbye to our Jeep Cherokee last year. It wasn't on the verge of dying at all but we were only willing to drive one car down to Texas and chose the more reliable (newer) one. :( I miss my Jeep and we are sincerely looking into a getting a new one one day. Good luck with your car loan!!! :)

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  15. My first car, passed down from my mother, was a 1992 baby blue Toyota Corolla we named Blue's Clues. I handed it to my sister when I bought my own car. She killed Blue.

    I'm still driving around in my tC which I kind of hate because it drove itself into a wall. *ahem*

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  16. hey at least you are getting a new car out of this situation!!!

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  17. It's so pretty! Fingers crossed for you!

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  18. hey lady! mind if i use that last photo in a customers wearing oh, sweet joy post?

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