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Writer's pictureMcFate Diner

Tell me about your first car.


    This is a bittersweet memory.  I started working when I was twelve years old.  I had my first taxable income at age fourteen.  That year I earned $353.  I saved as much of my paychecks as I could each year with the intent to buy a car.  I got my license on my sixteenth birthday and was excited to start looking for a car.  After three years, I had about $3,500 of my total gross earnings of $4,800 in savings.

    I asked my dad for help to locate something affordable and reliable.  My mom came home from her office shortly after that and announced not only had she found the car I was going to buy, but she made the offer on it and the sellers expected us to pick it up that night.  It was a 1979 Mexico Beige, brown upholstery, manual transmission, diesel Volkswagen Rabbit.  The ONLY cool thing about it was it had a sunroof.  I was so upset.  That vehicle would never have been my choice.  I was essentially forced to give my savings to my mother to pay for a vehicle I didn’t choose.

    To add insult to injury, I was not taught to drive a manual transmission, so I couldn’t even drive my own car home.  I had that car for four years until the engine seized up.  Never was I so thankful to have a car break down.  I had been at college and working for the first two years, but only working for the latter two.  After paying rent and bills, I had managed to save a small amount to purchase one of my dream cars with financing:  a 1986 Ford Thunderbird turbo coupe.  It was gunmetal gray with a charcoal interior and I LOVED it!  I loved driving that car so much I didn’t even mind making the monthly payments!   Now I think of the VW Rabbit as simply a stepping stone to greatness.

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