An Automotive Horror Story

Everyone who’s bought a new or used car has a horror story to tell. This one is mine.

Flashback: I’m 22, a recent university graduate who’s been trying out the big city for the past four years. During this time, my ’88 Nissan Sentra SE (two-door hatchback that had only one previous owner, a military man) has sat at the folks’ place during the winters, waiting patiently for the summer months when I would return home to smother her with love and affection.

This September is different, though. I’m moving back to the big city permanently: got me a full-time job and a place to live complete with a sweet parking spot for my baby. I’m bringing her with me on this next phase of my city adventure!

So I’m on my way in my Nissan Sentra, her name is Goober by the way, and she’s filled to the roof with my belongings. Deciding to prolong this wonderful ride, I take the back roads through small towns and the countryside. Night is almost upon me and I’m about 150 kilometers away from my destination.

Suddenly, while going through one of those backcountry towns, she starts feeling funny. The clutch isn’t working! Panic starts in my throat, thoughts are whirling in my head and the realization sets in (quite quickly) that I’m going downhill!

By chance, there’s a little gas bar at mid-hill. I pull in fairly gracefully, if I do say so myself, and start talking to a few people. It’s a long weekend and so my chance of getting in touch with a mechanic is hopeless. I call a nearby towing company to help me finish the trip. The towing guy drags me and my broken baby into the city.

I got a deal on the tow, only $259.73. The real horror of the story starts here, though, when I bring Goober into the doc’s office. The mechanic told me it was the transmission. I bought the car when I was 17 (5 years earlier) for $1,800 from a used car dealer near my hometown. A great deal – especially considering that a new used Nissan transmission (plus labour) was priced at $1,500!

Student blood still running through my veins, I had no money for this! So, the mechanic, being a wonderful and kind man that he was, sends me into the direction of a credit lender. This was to be my first (and last) foray into the world of unconventional money lending – the one where you go when no one else wants to lend you money.

Because of my desperation and the fact that I was considered high-risk to conventional lenders, these guys were able to charge me 30% interest! I took on the challenge, planning to throw huge chunks of dough on top of the monthly payment. Well, it took me a year and a half to pay off that loan, and when it was all said and done, that foreign tranny cost me almost $3,000!

I loved Goober; she was good to me even though I mistreated her, ran her into the ground and learned to drive standard on her. But those foreign parts for used cars are killer on the pocketbook! Oh, the horror, the horror…

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