Searching for Cars

When I was seventeen years old I was in the market looking for a new car. I started by looking for a new car online. I’m not very proficient in cars and I had no idea what to look for, so I figured it would be best to look around at all my options. I browsed hundreds of different cars. I had no idea what to get and I was lost in a sea of car brands and models.

“Why does finding a used car have to be so hard!” I exclaimed to my computer, fully expecting to get an answer out of it.

“You need to understand that your first car isn’t going to be your dream car,” my mom explained, attempting to bring me back down to Earth.

Over the weekend, my parents and I decided to go to some used car lots. The first lot we went to had a variety of different cars from all types of brands. Me being the picky person I am and looking for a car that I wanted, I would turn down almost every car that I saw in the lot.

For every car that we looked at, I finished the inspection by saying “I don’t know,” and then saying a simple reason as to why I didn’t like the car. After looking at the final used car in the lot, I had still not found a car that I was willing to live with for the next couple of years. I was losing hope of finding a car.

The next weekend came and my parents and I went to another used car dealership. We walked around for a few minutes and it wasn’t until we came across a 2013 Nissan Juke we came to a complete halt. The color was dark brown, nearly black and although I was not agreeing with the color, I had to let go of the little things that were holding me back.

“She’s a beaut,” said the car dealer, he was walking towards us, trying to start a conversation.

“Yeah, it’s a nice looking car,” my dad agreed. My dad peeled his eyes away from the car to ask the dealer how much the car was.

“Nine thousand for the car,” the dealer responded.

My dad scratched his beard; he was thinking.

“Can we do a test drive?” my dad asked.

“Sure thing,” the dealer said.

My dad was the first to test drive the new car. As we were going down the street he was telling me everything he liked about the car.

“It sounds really nice for a used car. I really do love this car,” he babbled on for quite some time, until he pulled over in a neighborhood and had me test drive the car.

The ride was particularly smooth. The seats were comfortable, the steering and handling of the car was smooth, the dashboard had all kinds of buttons. I knew that this would be the best car that I could find, so we drove back to the used car lot.

“So how was the drive?” the dealer asked.

“It’s a really nice car,” I replied.

“I’ve got a few concerns but otherwise I think it’s not too bad,” my dad added.

My dad backed me up when I explained some of the problems with the car. The dealer offered us a packaged deal that seemed irresistible, even I agreed with it.

“Let’s head to my office and we can sign some paperwork,” the dealer was pointing behind him with his thumb.

The office had a clear smell of gasoline. The dealer pulled out a stack of papers to sign. With how much of my savings I was investing into the car and in addition my parents paying for a portion of it, I felt like I was signing my life away. When it came time to write the check out for the payment, my hands were shaky and clammy.

I handed the dealer the check and we shook hands. I left the lot with a smile on my face. It was through perseverance, constant research and overcoming my purchasing anxiety that made me able to buy my first car.