Here's the story: In high school, my parents bought me a green 1995 Nissan Sentra, complete with power windows, power locks, and a sunroof...I thought I was hot stuff! Let me be clear though, it was not really MY car. It was made quite clear to me from the very beginning that it was my parents' 3rd car that I was given the privilege to be able to drive. I had VERY strict rules as to where I could drive, with who, with how many people, when, etc. It was also made very evident to me when one of my parents' cars would break down (or if I made a C on my report card...which only happened once, they made a believer out of me!) and they would take "my" car to drive. My dad would even graciously let me take him to work (very early in the morning) to allow me the possibility of driving it to school, softball practice, etc., and then pick him up that evening. I was able to drive my "little green go cart" from my Junior year in high school through college and graduate school. I got my first teaching job at BA in 2007, and along with a new job, my parent's informed me that I needed to purchase my own car so that my sister, Kristen, could use their 3rd car for the start of her Junior year of high school that year (she is 8 1/2 years younger than me). At first, I was a little upset, but I started looking. One day, on my way to the mall, I just happened to be driving by Dick Smith automotive on Conagree Road (I should get some kind of perk for mentioning their name...lol) and saw it...parked right on the street...a Honda Civic Hybrid. The car that I had decided that I was going to purchase...well, I wanted some kind of hybrid and I knew a Honda would last forever, as well as their value. I called my aunt, Becky (who at the time worked at the Dick Smith in Columbia) and told her about my car. She had them deliver the car to her store, and after enjoying a week at the beach with Paul's family, Paul and I stopped by Becky's store to check out the car. We test drove it, and I fell in love! That day, in June of 2007, 2 months before I started my first teaching job, (when the gas prices rose...and never really came back down), I purchased my very own silver 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. Paul and I were getting married that coming November and I was starting my first "real" job, so I had NO money to put down. I had to finance everything, including tax, tags, and title. I took out a 6 year loan, and was able to pay it off in a little less than 4 years! Paying it off was the easy part, getting the bank to send me my title...not so much. After 4 months of getting the run-around, they informed me that they never had the title, so they sent me a letter of release of lien and told me that I needed to go to the DMV to apply for a second title. Now remember, we've moved to NC now...the car was purchased in SC. I have to go to SC to apply for the title. FRUSTRATING! Thankfully, I had a trip planned for my sister's birthday, so I went on down to the DMV to apply for the title. Here is some advice, keep EVERY piece of paper that you get regarding ANY large purchase!...you never know when you might need it!! After a lovely trip to the DMV, which thankfully, my friend Nicole was working that day and was able to help me, I filed for a second title. Exactly 2 weeks later, here it is! If I needed to go through that whole process, I wish the bank would have told me that 4 months ago!!! I will say, even after all of that, I am very grateful that my parents did what they did in regards to having a car in high school and how they did it...so much so, that Paul and I will probably do the same for our own children.
Well, all of that being said...I am super duper excited that my little silver Honda Civic Hybrid is really ALL MINE!...OFFICIALLY!! (even if Paul is the one who drives it!)
Thanks for reading,
Carolyn
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