ihaveacar,ihaveacar!

I bought a car today!!! It’s a 1988 5-speed red Toyota Corolla liftback. Yes, it’s older than my first-ever car (a 1989 Dodge Spirit, in case you didn’t memorize the ‘Baby Jetta’ post ;) ). And no, it doesn’t have power steering, central locks, electric windows, air conditioning, ABS, or any of that fancy stuff (oh – and the stereo didn’t convey). But it’s exactly what I wanted: something solid, safe and basic, economical, with 4 doors and lots of room for people and luggage on roadtrips. It’s a low mileage car that passed the NZ warrant of fitness, the car-expert-guest’s tests, and Spike’s, from Spike’s Mechanic, inspection.

I’m very excited. I have a list of car-related things to do tomorrow (make spare key(s), get 3rd-party insurance, check out AA membership, fill up petrol, buy washer fluid, etc.) but I did cross of one of the top items, ‘Find the perfect keychain,’ when I was searching through my backpack for something else and realized I’d packed my little oval you-won’t-believe-it’s-a-Leatherman thingie.

Oh…and did I mention my expert negotiation team got it for me at 33% off? No, I wasn’t a part of this team. Strength: recognizing & acknowledging own weaknesses. A major weakness: bargaining/negotiation.

The car is actually the very first one I ever looked at here, from the Car Company Cheapies lot in Nelson proper. I’d originally written it off as beyond my budget, but this before I knew there was so much wiggle room on sticker price.

HOORAY FOR ROADTRIPS!!!