Let me give you a little background information…I still own the car that I got when I turned 16. It is a ’97 white Camry and currently has over 206,000 miles on it. I don’t really drive it anymore because my sweet husband lets me drive his Pathfinder. But I still call it “my car” because I love it. The sad thing is…this car was also Brent’s first car when he turned 16 (only for like 4 months). HAHAHA. Brent’s dad owned it and when I turned 16, my dad bought it from his dad. My car has also been totaled and rebuilt twice (neither of the wrecks happened with me or my father-in-law). And, to my dismay the only major things wrong with it is that it jumps out of gear and runs into mailboxes and the alarm has a mind of it’s own. There have been many times that Brent and I have been sitting in the car at a gas station or something and the alarm decides to go off, the doors lock, and there is nothing we can do about it. No…the panic button does not work in situations like this. It is the most embarrassing thing in the world. If the alarm goes off in the driveway, I just ignore it like I’m not home or something. The car was pretty fancy 11 years ago…top of the line for it’s class. The locks on the door are supposed to automatically lock when you shut the door. That has never worked for me. Instead, it randomly makes the noise like the doors are locking, but nothing is actually happening. Needless to say, my car has a lot of character. It really has it’s own personality. Nothing mechanical has ever been wrong with it…other than expected stuff that would happen to any car, young or old. The Camry is very stubborn and I have this feeling that it is going to last for like 10 more years just to spite me. I guess it will be a while before I get a new car. It makes no sense to buy a new car and the insurance that comes with it when the Camry works just fine. I say all of that to tell you this…
The Faithful Camry
My car has always had a few places where paint has chipped. Over the last year or so, it’s gotten a lot worse. There are places that you can see the red primer and there are places that have rusted. The only part of the car that still has a waxy shine is the back left panel that was replaced 2 summers ago after an idiot backed into my parked car. And, the only hubcap that looks nice is the one I got for Christmas this year that doesn’t match the other 3. Until yesterday, there were still spots of car chalk from the honeymoon! It’s hasn’t been washed since we drove off Captiva Island last May. So, Brent and I thought the Camry was past due for a washing. We are going out of town for our anniversary and thought it would be the perfect time to wash it. So, we took it to the Goo Goo Car Wash on 72. And, I do believe that if you have a newer car with a better paint job, your car will look outstanding. But…you know that you have a old paint job when you pay 9 DOLLARS for a car wash and afterwards the guy that runs the place asks if you want to wash the car again because it didn’t get all the dirt off the first time! Brent just said, “Nope, that’s just how it looks.” The bumper and spoiler are really bad. Those are the places where you could see the primer. Now, after going through this powerful car wash, you can see a lot more primer and you can even see under the primer! This car has been way more than faithful to me and I plan on buying a new Camry when this one decides to die. And, if it ever dies, my brother and I are going to paint ball it to death.
A Merry Heart 