SHOPPING! Men aren’t supposed to like shopping, right? I do, though. I really do. The best kind is car shopping, which I think is somewhat exempt from the anti-shopping male stereotype anyway. So, the impending re-inspection of one my 20 year old ‘other vehicles’ has prompted some serious auto searching. Yes, I really do have 2 vehicles over 20 years old, and no, they’re not collectible, well, except that I’ve collected them. I also have a sensible 4 year old car, so not a complete idiot. Just a semi-idiot.
Anyway, I think the cars you seek reveal a lot about you. So, here’s what I’ve found out about myself this week…
First, I’m a bit annoying, no that’s not it, I’m easily distracted, no, no, indecisive! Yes, I am indecisive, or maybe I’m not. I can’t decide. The immediate effect of this has been the complete disengagement of my wife from the entire car purchase process. ‘Just do what you want.’, said with love, probably. It’s hard to tell since we’re both a little too attached to the sarcasm.
Second, I crave good stories. Sure, I could get a reliable vehicle with not too many miles, but beyond the new car smell mark-up, but there are such interesting auto stories to explore. Take, for example, the TAXI, a diesel Mercedes, barely 5 years old, with nearly 500,000 KM. Can you imagine what that thing has seen? Oh, and it comes with an authentic TAXI roof plaque and meter! The Smart’s have interesting tales, too. Invariably, they were faithfully maintained by ‘enthusiasts’ who always used official MB service and reluctantly traded them in to raise families or move abroad. Low mileage cars here in Germany are not ascribed to little old ladies from Pasadena apparently, but by young ladies who dream of raising families in Pasadena. I’ve been to Pasadena, and they really should have taken their SMARTs there, they’d fit right in.
Third, oh how I love a compromise. So, unable to imagine picking between the ingenue SMART or the grizzled old TAXI, I’m seriously leaning towards what could easily be described as their love-child, a slightly dated Mercedes A Series, that really looks like the result of their mating. That’s the plan this evening. By tomorrow, I might be buying an RV or an electric bicycle. Anything is possible, right up until you buy something. That’s the sad part, when the shopping has to end.
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