Family Dynamics

Great, Now I Want a New Car.

I tried to warn him. It’s not my fault he wouldn’t listen. Now he has to suffer the consequences.

You can’t take me car shopping unless we’re leaving the lot in a different car from the one we came in.

But I need to back up and explain a bit.

On the way home from church, both of us were in grumpy moods because we were actually so late that we couldn’t find parking, which resulted in us missing the service altogether. Believe me, when you wake up early on a Sunday morning, you want it to mean something. Sniping at each other, threatening dismemberment (actually that was just me), and disagreeing on what we were going to do next, we drove by a car dealership and Mike asked me if I wanted to look around.

“Why would I want to look around? It’s not like we’re going to buy a car now.”

“No, but your car is twelve years old, and you’re going to have to get a new one eventually.”

“Not for a couple of years, you said.”

“But if it breaks down before then, don’t you want to be prepared?”

“No. I’ll deal with that problem when it comes. If I start looking for a car right now, I’m going to want a new car. Right now. I get pretty single-minded when I really want something. I’d rather not even entertain the idea, and be happy with my crappy little car.”

(Related: You can scrap your car in Montreal and get rid of the junk)

This is completely true, and I don’t think he fully grasps the force of my domineering personality when it comes to getting my own way. When I decided I wanted to learn to drive, I took the initiative and enrolled in driving class when I was exactly fifteen-and-a-half, so that I could take the driving test exactly on my sixteenth birthday. Which is Christmas Eve. Bet you didn’t know the DMV was open on Christmas Eve, did you? It’s the best day to go, because it’s a ghost town that day. You’re welcome for the tip.

Then, when I wanted to get my own car, it was all I thought/talked about for two years while I saved up money in order to purchase the car that was almost as old as I was. Every day, I talked about how awesome life would be when I got my car. Every. Single. Day. I lived and breathed the Auto Trader, combing it for affordable, in-reasonably-decent-condition vehicles. Every. Single. Day. I don’t think I had another thought in my head during those years. Except maybe boys. My parents, no doubt, were dying to beat me with that stupid Auto Trader magazine. Lucky for me, they tolerated my obstinacy and probably tuned me out for most of those teen years. I got my first car with the help of WOWloans cause I had bad credits at that time, but I did not require help from my parents or anyone else as I like making my own decisions and also being independent when it comes to making decisions which are going to affect my life.

I am also of the variety of customer that salespeople refer to as an “easy sell,” or a salesman’s wet dream. You quote me a fair price, I come up with every reason in the universe to walk out with a purchase. Combine all of these factors, and the reason why it’s not a good idea to take me car shopping unless we’re going to buy a car becomes quite clear.

Even though I related to him these explanations, warning him of the consequences of letting me believe there might be a possibility of getting a new car, he still managed to talk me into walking through the lot with him.

Huge mistake.

Let’s just say that two hours later, we both left the lot with no new car, but one of us left the lot feeling confused and inordinately dissatisfied with her current vehicle. Shit, I don’t have time for any new obsessions. Thanks a lot, Mike.

At least now, I can look at cars online and don’t have to shell out $3.79 for a copy of the Auto Trader, as one had to do back in the nineties. And Mike wouldn’t dare beat me over the head with the computer. Those mofos are expensive.

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