Mom, dad, there's someone new in my life...

[netmouse]

She's a Jetta.

:)

Thanks, everyone for your comments on the earlier thread. I now have my first new car and I am very happy with it. She's dressed in red and I love the way she moves. She handles very easily with a light touch, and I'm surprised how fussy I feel about her since I first drove her away from the dealership. Bill predicted we would now fight over the garage and I thought "No..." but sure enough right when I got home I put the garage door opener on her visor and *couldn't* just leave her out in the snow...

I think I'm going to get a vanity plate for her [NETMSE or NETMSE2]. I like that extra ease of finding a car in the parking lot. But I can already recognize her - one thing that drew me to the volkswagons was that I learned to recognize them on my own, I was that drawn to the lines of the Jetta and Passat. That and recommendations from a couple key friends made me go check them out.

I was going to go right in and work on clearing space for two cars in the garage but then I remembered that I just gave blood and can't do any heavy lifting. It won't really make sense to have both of us park in there until we get rid of the Nova anyway - I'm not sure you're allowed to park a car with an expired license in the street, and with one car in the driveway two can't get in and out of the garage. It would really make more sense for Bill's car to park in the garage since he has to use it on a daily basis, but for him to get in and out I would have to park on the street and I don't want to do that. What are the odds they'd notice and ticket us in one week of parking the Nova in the street?

I called the car talk car donation program first thing this morning and we'll be donating the car before the end of the year. If anyone wants the trunk-mounted 6-cd changer and accompanying tape deck and radio, this is your last chance. First come, first serve.

My physical thereapist came out and took a look at the car, approved of the seats and everything. :) She might help me get a no smoking sticker to put someplace inside the car - her mom works on anti-smoking programs for teens.

It's something different, to be starting off with something brand new that's just yours. neat.

Comments

[mishamish.livejournal.com]

YAY new car! And I know exactly how you feel. Even when I finally talked my father into SELLING me the '98 Ford F-150 that I've been borrowing for 18 months now (read as: A very long test drive), I noticed that I felt differently about it as soon as I signed the title. It was MINE now. My very own. Dare I say, my.... prrreeeeecccccioouss. :-D

However, speaking of which, the ONE thing wrong with that truck is that the volume control on the radio is fubar'd. How much are you asking for that CD-player/receiver?

Oh, and speaking as a smoker, I don't know that the no-smoking would really be required. I've NEVER smoked in the car of anyone that I knew was a non-smoker unless they expressly told me to. I never asked, either; it's just that one time when Matt and I had been on the road for 6+ hours and were stuck in traffic, I said "Okay, I'm going to get out and walk a few hundred yards ahead to smoke. Catch up with me when you can." And any smoker who WOULD do such a thing should be beaten to within an inch of their life with a box of NicoDerms and a copy of an Ettiquette manual (preferably a BIG, THICK one). That's just my .11 cents, though.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

yeah, I dunno. My mom transfered her old car to me but it had been hers so long (since I was in high school) that I never felt any strong ownership of it - part of why I ran it into the ground instead of putting the money into it I probably should have. I feel completely differently about this one.

I don't want anything for the stereo, you just have to come get it out of the car.

The car isn't insured, but I'm willing to move it less than a mile to take it to someone who can do the work. We're close to Corsa or there's Toys With Noise really close to here, but they'll charge $60/hour for labor and predict over the phone it would take altogether 2 to 3 hours.

[mishamish.livejournal.com]

Then consider it SOLD AMERICAN! I'm down the road from you quite a bit (Cleveland) but I wouldn't mind coming out some weekend or other to do it. Normally, I'd just offer to drive up one night this week, but I've got reads on a play all week, and this weekend is Christmas.

Uhm... would you mind me coming up for it on Boxing Day or January 2nd?

Also, do you have any info about either the car it was in or model #s on the radio? I'm just wondering how much of my d0p3 |\|1nj4 wiring skills I'm going to have to invoke to wire it into my truck.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

well, that's the trick. I'm donating the car for charity. I've already called NPR We have to donate it before the end of the year to get the tax benefits for this year which for various reasons would be more helpful to us this year than next year. That means we'll be mailing in paperwork very soon (tm), dated before December 31 and then a towing company will be calling us to schedule towing the car. I don't expect that will happen after January 2, but if it looks like it might and someone hasn't already come to pull the stereo I will definitely let you know.

I've had a lot of people say "yes! I want it" but so far nobody has actually come and get it, and we really want to clear the car out as soon as possible. So I'm not really willing to reserve the stereo on say-so, at least not more than a day or two. sorry.

(the car it's in is a 1988 Chevy Nova, but this is an after-market stereo with Disc changer installed in the trunk.)

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

(boxing day is the day after christmas? that might work if you were arriving after 2.)

[mishamish.livejournal.com]

Hehe... Boxing Day is also a Sunday. That means I'll be doing well to be CONSCIOUS before 2. :-)

However, I also just found out that we DON'T have play rehearsals the rest of this week. What do your weekday evenings look like this week?

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

sorry I ddn't reply earlier. My mother-inlaw arrived last night, staying until Sunday, so my weekdays were up in the air/busy. I mean, we might be home tonight but you don't want to drive through this snow just to get a stereo. Sunday's still an option if this junk is going to clear.

regarding the no smoking thing...

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

The way that came up is my physical therapist, Sheri, was poking around and I showed her the compartment in front of the shifter that has the power connect and a little tray in it and she said, "And it has a little ashtray," and I said, "No, that's not an ashtray." She said, "It's not?" And I said "No, I'm allergic to cigarette smoke. That will never be an ashtray. Maybe I should get a little sticker that says 'This is not an ashtray.'"

I appreciate your position on not smoking without permission. I think that's the best position to take.

Re: regarding the no smoking thing...

[mishamish.livejournal.com]

Well, I've got a kind of weird position when it comes to my smoking. I'm COMPLETELY and utterly unapologetic about the fact that I smoke: It's my decision, concerning my body, and I've made that decision willingly and in full possession of the facts. Stupidity is a question I'll leave out of it for now. However, I fully realize that my habit can affect other people as well, and choose not to let it. I don't even smoke in a smoking area around people that I know aren't smoking unless I'm having a SERIOUS nic-fit, and even then I always ask if they're comfortable with it first. If they're not, I excuse myself and find somewhere else to smoke.

However, people who bring their kids into a smoking area and plop down RIGHT beside me when I've ALREADY GOT ONE LIT, and when there are PLENTY of other places to sit just piss me off. Doubly so if they do that and then make eye gestures or face-fanning or such hand motions to show how much they disapprove of my habit. GRRRR! But I digress.

Re: regarding the no smoking thing...

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

Is the little tray removable?

If it is it is an ashtray but you can take it out.

If not removable then it is not an ashtray.

No smoking stickers are a bit much.

I think consider who would be in your car that would need to see one before putting one in.

[elizilla]

If you park a car with an expired plate on the street on the west side of Ann Arbor, nothing will happen for quite some time unless your neighbors complain. But if the city does decide to object, they will sticker the car and you will have 24 hours to remove it. They won't just tow it away without stickering it first.

[mgaiman.livejournal.com]

Yay, congrats on the new car! Which Jetta model is it?

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Yay, congrats on the new car! Which Jetta model is it?

Thanks! :)

It's a 2004 GL 4-door sedan. The interior is black but the seats are cloth, not leather. This isn't one of the models with the central armrest that's annoying - this one has no central armrest which makes it much easier to reach into the back from the front seat.

I would have liked the capacity for an in-dash 6-cd changer but I'm guessing at some point I'll break down and get an ipod so it won't really matter. Now that they have the adapters to make them broadcast on a frequency you can pick up on your car radio, you don't even need to plug an ipod into the car stereo to take advantage of the speakers.

It's an automatic, too. With a left knee injury that's really bothered by working the clutch and a right shoulder injury that makes moving the stick sideways a problem, I really had to switch to an automatic. Part of me would have liked to get a turbo, but honestly this little car has good pickup and I prefer the better fuel efficiency and less expensive fuel and oil requirements of the non-turbo, and I can always drive the impreza if I really want a sportscar buzz...

[metalfatigue]

I've been told (by the guy at the Apple Store at Twelve Oaks) that the radio adapters don't work too well in the Detroit area: there are too many radio stations, so you can't find an unused frequency. If you have a tape player, the cassette adapter is much better.

If it's possible, I want to pay a car stereo shop to put an RCA jack on my dash so I can plug my iPod in directly.

[stardustgirl.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the new arrival! Wait until summer when you can spend long afternoons washing and waxing it. I'm really not being sarcastic - I love working on mine even if getting the tar from roadwork off the sides is a pain,

Mine has the "ashtray" but it has always been used as a change holder for toll roads. And the "cigarette" lighter was always a power outlet...never mind the little smoking stick icon it has on it.

Personalized plates are great fun, even though I don't have the "makes it easier to find in a parking lot" issue ;-) I've had more people come up and say "I love Snoopy!" because of those plates.

[tshaile.livejournal.com]

Congrats! They are great.

I finally bought my first brand new car in late 2000 and it was a
Jetta. I have been VERY happy with it.

Enjoy!