Happy Happy, Joy Joy
Published by Toni October 4th, 2005 in Uncategorized.I actually enjoyed going to school today.
Because I went to school…in my brand new car!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys have no idea how happy I am right now. I’m so relieved and glad that I was able to finally get rid of the shitbox that I was using for 3 years.
You see, when I came back from Japan, I didn’t have a car. Actually, I never really had one. We were po’ folk, we were. My parents- God bless them- thought it would be prudent to buy one from a police car auction.
Yes people.
A police car auction.
We came home with a 1998 Ford Contour with 86,000 miles on it. I don’t know what the fuck possessed me to agree to buying this, but at the time it looked ok. The engine, battery, and other stuff looked new. The interior looked clean. We had no reason to suspect that it was a lemon.
Only a couple of months would pass before the deterioration begin.
It started with the gas tank. I found that I couldn’t pump gas smoothly. It would stop after a couple of seconds, thinking that the tank was already full when it wasn’t. Turned out that because of the faulty flap on the gas tank, air bubbles kept getting trapped in the tank, and this prevented the smooth flow of gas inside.
Then the A/C gave out.
Then we had problems with the oxygen sensors. I got to replace some, but not all.
Then the oil was leaking. Turned out that the last owner put in a cheap ass seal gasket. Had to replace that too.
The tires and brake pads needed to be replaced. Bf took care of that.
Then a year ago the cheap ass sparkplugs that the last owner had put in deteriorated and fried a lot of the electrical parts inside, including the ignition coil. Had to replace the whole thing.
Took the car in for smog test. Failed it of course. Had to get the necessary repairs to get it up to snuff.
Then the transmission failed. Spent 2500$ in a new one.
A few weeks ago I started leaking coolant to the point that I had to replenish it twice a day. Turned out that the water pump was cracked and I had to replace it, among other things. Would have cost us 367$.
This is when my bf said, “This is all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!!!” (or something to that extent).
We started car shopping two weeks ago. At first we were looking at Hyundais since we’d heard of their awesome 10 year/100,000 mile power train warranty, not to mention that they’ve been praised by critics and had positive reviews.
We started out with looking at used Accents. I figured that I didn’t really want anything fancy shmancy, just something that’s reliable and that works. We test drove one but weren’t impressed with it. Still keeping it in mind, we considered going a step up and looked at used Elantras. Definitely much better than the Accent, but we were surprised by the price. Furthermore, the Hyundai guys told us that the 10 year warranty is only for new car buyers. Suddenly the Hyundais didn’t hold that same sparkle anymore.
My bf thought of other cars. Mazda maybe? We drove around but couldn’t find a Mazda dealership.
We then happened upon a Toyota dealership in Pasadena. My bf mentioned that they had a weekend special going on. A brand new, 2006 Corolla was on sale for 2,000$ less. We figured that someone surely had snapped it up already but decided to check it out anyway just in case.
Miraculously, the car was still in the lot. It was waaaay in the back with the other brand spankin’ new cars. It was so new that the headrests were still wrapped in plastic, and there were only 3 miles on it.
It was beautiful. All shiny and clean, with a spacious interior. It had A/C, and a CD player. It goes a whopping 38 miles/gallon on the freeway, 34 on the street. Can you believe that shit?
Best of all, it was red.
My favorite color.
My shitbox was also red, but over the years oxidation and scratches had turned it into a muddy, dull red.
This Corolla had a deep, rich, dark red color.
It was gorgeous.
Granted, it’s not perfect. There are no power windows or locks, but I figured, BFD. It’s a terrific car and a great price.
We mulled about it for a night and decided to get it.
We returned to the dealership the next morning, signed the papers, and by that afternoon we were the owners of a brand new car! (It’s under both our names.)
I haven’t taken pictures of it, but here’s a picture from the Toyota website.
Isn’t it so purrrrty? 
If I were a Peanuts character, I’d have little hearts floating around my head whenever I see my car.
I can’t wait to go home so I can drive again!
9 Responses to “Happy Happy, Joy Joy”
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Congrats on the new car! I have a 2003 Corolla, without power locks and windows. The power windows I can do without, but I really wish I had power locks because I have to keep reminding people to lock their doors. I wonder if I can get those installed? Again, congratulations!
Yes, you can add power locks to a car; check with a local shop that installs car stereos if you don’t want to do it yourself. I don’t think it’s very expensive (and while you’re at it, you may as well have them add keyless entry, too). You can also install power windows, but that costs a little more.
I had a 1994 Corolla that was a joy to drive. I bought it used and drove it for 5 years before selling it and buying a Honda Accord (a little bigger, less road noise). In that time, I didn’t do any work on the car aside from regular maintenance (timing belt, change the oil, rotate the tires). I still see it around town every now and then, too.
Glad to hear you got out from under your old piece of shit, Toni. If you take care of the Corolla, it will run forever.
Congrats on your new car! I know how nice it is to have a new one after putting up with a crappy used one for a few years. My “new” car is now three years plus old but I still like driving it.
I like it already. And I can totally picture you in it.
Congrats on the new car! I was looking into buying a Corolla — they’re super nice, aren’t they?? I bought my car when the 2006’s were coming in and with the new Civic model coming out, the 2005 Civics were just a better deal at the time. Although I really like my Civic now (fully loaded, full option!) but I really wanted to get the Corolla in Phantom Grey Pearl color… just the name of that sounds real perty, yanno?
Congrats…I’ll bet you look great in it. Not to throw water on anything, but don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get the incredible mileage that was on the window stiicker. Real-life driving (ESPECIALLY LA driving) rarely gets the MPG that the government tests do.
Thanks for the info, Dave. You know what car looks really good, the 2006 Honda Civic. One of my co-workers just got one and it looks really sporty. Actually, when I first saw it, I thought it was a car from Honda’s more expensive cousin, Acura.
Marvo- Thanks! Yeah, it would be a pain to have to keep reminding people to lock their dooors. I figured though, that I don’t really shuttle friends around and would be the only person driving it, so power locks aren’t that big of a deal for now.
Dave- I had no idea you can have power locks added independently. I wonder how much they cost? Perhaps in the future (when I have a real job) I can have them AND power windows added. I also wish I could hook up my iPod (I can’t even use a cassette adapter since there’s no cassette player) but then again I’m just happy the car’s not hiccuping anymore whenever I pull out from a full stop.
Chuck- Thanks! What kind of car do you have?
bug- Thanks! Red has always been my color.
Haemi- Yep, Phantom Grey pearl sounds quite nice. We did consider a Civic but those are just waaay out of our price change for now.
Jumpcut- Thanks for the warning about the mileage. Yeah, I kind of got skeptical yesterday since I already had to fill the tank after only 4 days of driving. Then again, I drove it on extra trips other than school and back. On Tuesday we took the car to Beverly Hills and back, and on Wednesday I had to go to UCLA. Still, my bf was saying that I wouldn’t have to fill the tank for 2 weeks or something.
Marvo- Civics are kewl. We were thinking of getting a used one. Alas, they hold their value too well.