Most people have to have the newest gadget, phone, or most upgraded car or newest year SUV. I however, only wish for my vehicle to get me from point A to point B most days. I don't commute because i'm an RA on campus but needing a sturdy car is something i've thought about since my car started going down hill fast. My nissan is my 2nd car-my first was a purple sparkly station wagon a hyundai elantra-of course the highlight of owning this vehicle was my brother had to drive it all through high school until he went to school in arizona and bought his own car-a enormous truck. My Car is one of a kind...my car is falling apart in every sense of the world and is referred to as "The egg carton" by many-this i feel makes it unique. I drive a 1995 Nissan Altima and while i love my car because it gets me (usually) to where i need to be and generally gets me there on time i am in desperate need of something, shall we say in this decade.
when bringing my car to the auto shop to get something fixed (yep you guessed it, this happens often. The mechanics and i have quite the first name basis relationship) they can't even start my car. My car has a trick to start it-you have to use a certain side of the key and pull the key out slightly and wiggle the steering wheel to get the car to start. If this doesn't work remove the key, try it on the other side, and repeat. while it took a few months of having this car to develop this ever so scientific systematic trick i would rather be able to start a car the usual way that cars usually start-insert key, turn.
sadly that is one of the easier things that my car has to deal with a general list of tricks i have developed to combat these issues has been developed along the last 6 years:
-The dash lights and tail lights flicker and go out while driving-usually at night because whats more convienet than that? Of course the only thing that is lit up on the dash is the clock when this happens-because i can tell you what time it is, but i can't tell you how fast i'm driving. These lights have been replaced 3 times and still the mechanics are stumped to figure out what this could be. To combat this minor issue i thought of 2 options
1.) Stop driving at night (not the most realistic option for a 23 year old with a very active social calendar)
or
2.) Purchase a 10 dollar book light at barnes and noble and clip said book light onto the signal light switch pointing towards the dash. When interior lights go out i can still vaguely see how fast my car is going. The issue of the tail lights going out when this happen still prevails but the only option i see fit to combat this:
1.) don't drive near the cops-they will pull you over.
-i don't have a passenger side mirror any longer. About 2 years ago someone in the brownell parking lot decided i no longer needed my mirror....i however, beg to differ. After calling campus police to see if it was illegal to drive without a passenger side mirror i decided to combat this in the following ways:
1.) Drive with passengers-especially on the highway who are able to look into the lanes to the back right corner of your car so they can tell you if you can switch lanes to the right and exit the highway.
2.) Duck-tape the mirror-less nub with black tape so strangers and other road users do not point and laugh or take notice of your lack of mirror
3.) option number 1 is the only option for this situation so far which i see fit.
-The center console in my car between the drivers seat and the passenger seat falls off into the back seat on a regular basis while trying to remove and replace my GPS. I see two options to combat this issue:
1.) Glue metal part of console back onto its hinge using any sort of very sturdy glue or multiple glues-duck-tape is also an option.
2.) when option 1 doesn't work and the box falls off anyway after trying every glue sold in every store within a 20 mile radius-have the passenger in the vehicle hold onto the center console top and remove and replace GPS as necessary.
-My car has no hub caps. This i don't feel has been especially pertinent in fixing for my car as hub caps are nearly decoration to me in this situation. However, hub caps that fly off the car like paper plates taped onto the wheels is a less than convienet condition for driving.
1.) hub caps found that were once on the car are stored in the basement for the day when you finally "get around to putting them back on" so your car isn't a complete disgrace.
-The cassette player and radio in my car don't work any longer and the antenna doesn't revert back into my car. My cassette player has a tape that is stuck in it (the tape with the wire so you can plug your ipod into it) turning off the car and jamming various items into the cassette player helped to partially extract the tape and let the radio work for a few weeks until the radio itself stopped working. There are no ways to combat this other than to sing to yourself while you're driving-Being tone deaf this isn't an option passengers enjoy too much.
-My Heat doesn't work unless its on full blast. The heat doesn't work on settings 1,2, or 3 but works on blast. Wearing contacts in my car is never a safe option in the winter as your eyes would get so dried out from the heater in your face.
1.) usually i just don't turn on the heat and wear mittens instead, unless I'm driving someone and they don't enjoy the winter months as much as i do in which case we turn the heat on and off regularly to try and regulate the internal temperature of the car.
-My gas cap door doesn't open when the gas cap door button is pressed several times. As usual gas doesn't last forever and eventually this issue had to be creatively handled to solve.
1.) Hit gas cap door button several times a hyper speed, next take the gym membership key card and slide it in around the side of the gas door to pop open the door, fill up tank, body slam car and kick door closed. Try not to travel long distances where gas stations seem to be far and few between, repeat as necessary
2.) option 1 is the only successful option i have found for the past 4 years.
-Wheels squeak and shake any speed over 55. to combat this minor issue i see one option:
1.) remind the "jolly green giant" that you have places to go and it would be preferable to arrive in one piece.
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| A 1995 green nissan Altima that looks much better than mine does. |
The moral of the story is that yes, would it be nice to have had a new car 6 years ago when i got this car and it started going down hill? yes, it would have been helpful, and a heck of a lot safer. However, this car has gotten me through some of the best times and the worst times. Does it make me nervous that if something were to happen the air bags wouldn't necessarily deploy...yes it does but at the end of the day, it builds character and assists for a humorous blog post of my choosing. Saturday at 3pm i will be picking up my Tan/ Gold barely-driven, like-new 2006 Nissan Altima. In 11 years since the 1995 model i have to say Nissan has made some vast improvements to the model and i have to say i approve.
| My new Nissan Altima. Couldn't be happier! |
I don't need the newest gadget, or the best car on the lot, or the most expensive anything because I'm creative, and sarcastic and am perfectly able of working with what i have. Life is all about working with the cards you're delt and it builds character if you approach it with the right mindset.
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