Happy 4th of July everyone!!
I hope this holiday finds you in good cheer and wondering how YOU can best preserve the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness our forefathers granted us by taking on significant risk and peril to create the grand experiment called The United States of America.
Unfortunately, there was another parade shooting today. This time in Chicago. As the parent of two former marching band kids, I can’t even imagine. The world gets crazier and crazier every day it seems.
I’m hopeful that people can come together to solve these problems and help end senseless violence and the divisive rhetoric that seems to encourage this behavior. But I digress, a little bit.
I often wonder what the country would be like with plentiful opportunities, a booming economy, first class education systems, and a society that cared more about making sure the next generations will be better off than their predecessors. Free to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness under the light of fair and just world.
We can get there.
In the meantime, I feel like I must write an ode of sorts for a situation I’m going through.
Some background. I’m a car guy. Seems like I always have been. Maybe every guy is a car guy, but I really like cars. Probably too much. The pragmatic side of me says they just get you from point A to point B, but the egotistical side says, “yeah, but you might as well look good doing it”, or “arrive there in style and comfort”, depending on the mood.
To that end, I recently purchased a 2013 Audi A5 Convertible, pictured in the post. It’s my 3rd Audi. I got rid of the other two because of maintenance problems. So I’m familiar with older car problems, and especially older German car problems. Nevertheless, I decided to purchase this vehicle.
The past 4 years, I’ve been driving a 2017 Volkswagen GTI Sport, purchased new in late 2017. I traded in a 2012 Audi S5 that I bought CPO in 2015, driving it home from Florida to Ohio in an epic, Redbull fueled overnight romp. But that is a story for another time.
The reason I traded that car in was that it started having problems that if not covered by the CPO, would have gotten very expensive, very fast. The upcoming maintenance on it would have been thousands of dollars as well. I was also transition a kid into college so factored a cheaper, sportier alternative into the equation, hence the GTI. Plus my kid thought they were cool as well.
Don’t get me wrong, loved the GTI and it was a worry free car that was quick and sporty. I opted for the Sport version to get better headlights, wheels, and more horsepower, suspension, brakes, and a sport differential. Even with all that, it still felt like a compromise vs the Audi’s. There is just something about the high end luxury German cars that feels right. The design, engineering, or just the history all combine to make a unique experience, and one that I really like.
Spring 2022
Two years of COVIDd have sucked. Between remote work, lockdowns, etc, it’s been a nightmare. We were fortunate to take a vacation at the end of 2021 to Hawaii to celebrate a 25 year anniversary, so that was great. But it’s just been a slog for everyone, myself included.
I took the GTI to get washed and detailed it myself. Cleaning off months of Ohio’s winter grime, shining up the little bits, and then driving it like I stole it back to my garage.
My wife asked, “What kind of car would you get next?”
“Audi.”, I said, after thinking for 5 seconds.
She was kinda surprised given the history, but that as my answer.
Two days later, my wife sends me a Facebook for sale post with the 2013 Silver Convertible for sale.
I asked her, “Why did you send this to me?”. She explained that it seemed like a good deal and I might like it. Of course I liked it. She said to go check it out and see if I could make a deal. I did and after some checking out the car and a little haggling, I was the new owner.
Really got into owning the convertible, waxing it, and getting far too much sun exposure, I was in love. I kept thanking my wife so much for green lighting the car, she politely asked me to stop.
Two months later, I’m driving into work and start hearing a banging noise near me. Turning down the radio, I thought, “Is that my car, or the crappy truck next to me.”
It’s my car.
After a couple of tows and a week at the shop, turns out it needs a new motor. With 38,000 miles on the car. Bad bearings. Incredible.
To be honest, am feeling pretty gut punched and perplexed by the situation. So many thoughts going through my head. “Did I cause it by driving too fast”, “Should I fix the motor and keep it”, “Sell it as is and move on”, “Will it feel the same ever again, just as I was getting used to it.”.
On top of feelings there’s an enormous repair bill. Fortunately, I’m in a position where I can afford to get it fixed. I imagine there are large numbers of people out there not so fortunate, so I feel gratitude for that.
At the end of the day, it’s just a car. It’ll get me from point a to point b. This isn’t a life altering decision. I don’t need to be embarrassed by the situation. It’s probably not reflective of me.
I do have the freedom to pursue my version of life, liberty, and happiness in spite of the situation. We still have that, even if it may not be ideal.
And for that I feel a great deal of gratitude.
Enjoy the day!
ck256
Just a Dude 