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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