I once bought a Fiat Spyder that caused a mechanic to intone "LADY, have you looked UNDERNEATH this car?????" Gulp. Well, no, I hadn't. I'd trusted my asshole boyfriend, who "seemed" to know a great deal about cars. (The car was impounded - as was the boyfriend - by the Louisville police department while they checked to see if the car had been stolen out-of-state. I had the paperwork that said it hadn't been stolen *in* state, but my asshole boyfriend's attitude caused the situation to escalate.)
I also once owned a Ford Galaxy that caused yet another mechanic to lean in my driver's side window and say sadly "promise me you will NEVER invest any money in this car. No matter what anyone tells you or promises you. If it breaks down...just walk away from it." When it broke down - in the parking lot of the place I worked, I did indeed walk away from it. Eventually, it was towed.
I also owned a little Rambler that I adored. Three on the column. Yummy, my favorite. (Well, I "owned" it in the sense that I had handed cash to someone who then handed me keys. No paperwork was involved in the transaction. My youth was...interesting.) A roommate wrapped my beloved little car around a tree. The car was wearing the plates of the Ford Galaxy at the time. Luckily, nothing untoward resulted from that incident. The tree recovered, too.
I don't think I personally have ever owned a car that *wasn't* crap. I married a man with a passion for old Volkswagons who actually *does* know a lot about cars. Finally we live in a place with a flat driveway where he can work on his own cars, which causes him to be quite merry.
When we took the tour of the Indianapolis Speedway decades ago and the gleam wouldn't leave his eye, I told him that I was indeed a most supportive spouse and if he wanted to zip his 1974 Volkswagon Super Beetle out onto the track and go around until he was arrested, I'd happily bail him out and pay the fine. He thought about it. If we hadn't had the toddler with us and I hadn't been pregnant with the youngest, I think he would have gone for it.
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