My opportunity has finally come, the opportunity of finally, after living down here for three years, getting a car. I had to quickly decide as to whether I would buy it or not. I know if I did, there would be major consequences and on my family and me.

It all started in January of this year. After living down here for three years and having a license for one year, I was finally looking for a car. I was looking in the classifieds section of the newspapers and online. I found a few Pontiac Firebirds in the '85-'91 range, but even though the Firebird is my dream car, I decided to hold off on getting one of those because I knew I would have a few problems with them because of their age, so I decided to go with those new Saturn 2-door coupes. I wanted to go to the dealership with my uncle because he has a lot of experience with buying cars, but every time I asked, he was always too busy. I decided to go with my friend and look around but that was all I could do because I had no credit cards or checking account to actually buy anything. He said he would help me out with the down-payment, but in order for me to purchase the car and lease it, I had to have someone co-sign it for me because I never bought a car before and don't have a full-time job. My friend would not do it for me because his other friend ended up making him pay for his car when he co-signed it because he didn't continue making the monthly payments. I ended up jotting down the cars I liked and showed them to my uncle, who said maybe one of these days we can go to the dealerships and take a look. A couple weeks passed by again and I have not went anywhere with him. I know I was getting nowhere with that so I was starting to get pissed off. I am twenty-one now and I, along with everyone else, knew I needed a car, yet my uncle is too busy to help out.

It is now February and my friend found a nice car for me. It was a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix Coupe. I never thought about getting a Grand Prix before but as soon as I saw it, I know it was everything I wanted in a car. I told my uncle about it and we went over the owners' house to check it out. My uncle thought it was a nice car also and said the price was good too. Even though the car was $16,500 and I had more than enough money for it, my uncle said it would be best to get a loan from the bank. I agreed. My uncle and I went back to my house and he told my mother about it and my grandfather on the phone, who was visiting my other uncle at the time. So far, it was all good. My uncle just had to help me with a loan, insurance, and that would be it. I really know the time has come for me to get a car, which will be a big step in my life.

A few days passed and my uncle was telling about his progress and I know I was getting close. A week later passed and he said he had to make a few more calls.

It is now the end of February and now I know it wasn't going to happen. My uncle just kept saying he was just making a few calls to find out the value of the car and about the insurance. Then my grandfather decided to step in and goes to his insurance company and found out how much the insurance would be. Later on that day he said the insurance was too high and it's not worth getting a car right now. He said to wait until the end of the year and we will see what happens. I was pissed off again because I knew I had enough money for a car.

A couple more weeks passed and it is now in the middle of March. My uncle spoke to me again and said it was a good thing I didn't get that car because there is some kind of engine problem with it.

I was at the point now where I needed a car and wasn't going to wait any longer. I was looking around again online for a few older cars and then my friend thought of something. He said his wife's friends' husband is a car dealer and sells used cars. He said he would contact him and see what he has. I said OK.

It is now the beginning of April and my friend contacted the wife and she said she brought home a car. It's a '97 dodge Neon, 2-door, black, and sporty. I knew that sounds good. Now I had to think of a plan as to how I was going to get it without letting my parents find out.

My plan was to go to the bank and have my money transferred to that bank from my old one so I can open a checking account in advance without anyone finding out.

A few days later passed and my friend drove me to the car dealers' house. I took the car for a test drive and I loved it. Now I had to decide if I should get it or not.

About an hour passed and I was sitting in the house thinking if I should get it or not. I knew if I got it, I would get scolded when I got home and I knew if I didn't, I would be waiting a long time to get a car. I decided to go for it. I wrote a check for the car, filled out all the paper work, got insurance, and I was all set.

I drove to work right after and spent most of my time thinking about what to do when it is time for me to go home. I called my house to let them know they didn't have to pick me up because I was driving myself home. My grandfather was on the other end and didn't believe me and thought I was getting a ride home from a friend. I ended up driving around after work until around twelve at night. I pulled in slowly in the driveway and tried not to make any noise. When I went inside, everyone was already in bed so I just stayed in my room for the rest of the night.

The effect this had on my family and me was what happened the next morning. I had my alarm clock set for seven in the morning because I was going to my friends' house to wash the car. I ended up waking up to the sound of my grandfather in the kitchen getting ready for church. My plan was to leave the house before everyone woke up, go over my friends' house and come back later. My grandfather went outside to the garage, opened it, and went to get the paper. A few minutes passed and he came back in the house, woke my mother, and asked her why there was a car in the driveway. My mother didn't know why and my grandfather left for church. My mother ended up waking me up, even though I was already awake. She asked me if I drove someone's car home last night. I said, "yes." She then asked me whose car it was. I said, with a hard swallow, "it's mine." After that she scolded me a bit and called my uncle. My uncle came over about thirty minutes later and scolded me a bit and then checked out the car. We talked a bit more and then we went back in out rooms and my uncle waited for my grandfather to come home. My grandfather came home and my uncle took him out to breakfast and told him the news. They both came back and my grandfather started to talk to my mother. A few minutes later I got dressed and was on my way to my friends house. Before I left I knew I had to eventually talk to my grandfather so I did that for fifteen minutes.

In conclusion, I thought what I did was going to have more negative effects on my family and me when I came home, but it wasn't so bad. I know, however, that it will now start having positive effects on my life because I can go when I want without having to rely on one of my parents to take me and I am now able to start being an intern for the Public Defender's Office so I can get my Private Investigator's license.

Click on my Dodoge below for pics of my Dodge!

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Click on the pic of me standing by my car like a cool dude to go back to the main page!

This page was created on May 16, 2004
Last update was June 13, 2004