When I turned 16 my parents surprised me with my very first car, a red 1994 manual transmission Chevy S10 pickup truck. I drove my 5 speed until it finally bit the dust my junior year of college. In a panic, I called my parents to give them the news that I was in desperate need of a new vehicle. My parents told me not to worry and that they would start the search (based off of the criteria I gave them) for my new car. The following weekend I made the most exciting trip home ever. I absolutely could not wait to see what my parents were going to have waiting for me. I dreamed of driving back to Gainesville in my new Acura, Accord or Camry. After all, that was what I was going get according to my “criteria,” right..?
As my bestie and I pulled into my driveway, I became even more excited because I realized my grandparents had come into town, and they too had purchased a new car! We raced inside, hugged my parents and asked how soon we could go pick up my new car. My dad smiled and said, “How did you miss it? Your new car is sitting in the driveway!” Now, my dad is never serious, ever, so I immediately knew he was joking. However, over the next few minutes I quickly realized my grandparents were in fact not visiting, and the 2001 Buick Regal sitting in the driveway was indeed mine.
My parents hated me and my life was ruined, or so I thought. How was I going to park my sparkly blue, turbo charged Buick in front of the Kappa Delta house, next to all of my sorority sisters’ brand new BMWs?
Like a huge jerk, I cried, screamed and refused to take the car. Making matters worse, my dad had been working full time out of town and had made a special trip home just to car shop for me — his ungrateful 21 year old daughter. When they couldn’t find anything safe enough in my (very modest) price range, they opted to take my neighbor up on his offer to give us his mom’s Buick Regal with 16K miles. They then advised me to take the car to Gainesville and trade it in for something I wanted.
I cried all the way back to school – in my Buick Regal.
Out of pure laziness I kept the Buick for 3 years, hiding it in the back of parking lots and never offering to drive anyone anywhere. Finally, in 2010 I said goodbye forever to the Buick. And you know what? I ended up being pretty darn grateful (& humble) from the experience.
But then…
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A few days ago, I got the Buick back. Yep, we traded in Matt’s Pathfinder for a new Buick Regal. Sigh. After test driving half a dozen cars and walking away from the Acura dealership, we ended up at the GMC dealership with a new Regal. I still cannot believe we are now officially “Buick people,” along with Peyton Manning and Shaquille O’Neal.
Quite an impressive upgrade from my 2001 Regal, don’t ya think?
Edited: Matt lasted about 6 months in the Buick before realizing he was actually more of a truck person.
This is hilarious!!!! I do love the new buick regals though. Peyton is right and those are some nice cars!!
I love this post — love, love, love. And you know what? Maybe it's a good thing that you didn't pull up into your parent's driveway and see a shiny black BMW with a red bow on top. I think they made a pretty amazing choice for you. 🙂
lol this is hilarious. I love the new car! Did you call your dad and laugh about this??
hahaha! i love this! hilarious! the new car is gorgeous! are y'all still sharing 1 vehicle? how's that going? 🙂
Hilarious! This is so random but my rental car this week was a black buick regal! It's a slick car!
What an awesome story, I love it! Your new Buick is pretty snazzy, although I wouldn't judge if you we're still sporting the sparkly blue one! 🙂
That is awesome!! I ended up being stuck with my dads '84 benz..and it was not a nice one..it was tank..I cried and threw a fit too!! I am now a happy owner a a fusion and f250 🙂
hahaha! I love this story 🙂 its funny to look back on how ridiculous we have acted in the past…but I seriously would've been pissed too…I would have cried all they way back to school too. Love the new car!xo
LOVE your story!! My husband is actually loving the Buick commercials with Peyton Manning and Shaq, so we're looking into them when he trades in his car, too! Hope you love it. There's nothing more fun than driving a new car 🙂
This is the best story ever! HA. Congrats on the new ride!
That is a HOOT! I would have done the same thing in college!!I ended up with my Mom's Honda Accord though towards the end.That's cute that you guys ended up buying a Buick!!Congrats!
OMG congrats on the new car! But… I thought you were getting a new one?
this is awesome! the new ride is beautiful. i bet your family will be teasing you for quite awhile on this;)
Love this! We had some good mornings in the ole' Buick (until we were told we weren't allowed to ride together anymore)! Oh how times have changed…
Hahaha this is such a great post. My first car was a 1991 Nissan Stanza and I had it until my sophomore year of college. It was soooooooo embarassing.
Love the car and love the color black!! I have a black Fusion. 🙂
Christina,This is a great post. I love it. My husband drove a buick when I met him, and we laughed that I must have joked that it was "true love" because it definitely was not for his car. His buick was older than your 2001. We met in 2000. It was a very reliable car. Eventually, we traded it for a Mercedes, but we have spent a lot more on the Mercedes than we ever did with his Buick. I bet he misses it. He'll be in the market for one, too…and he may join you again. I loved the the fact that you thought your grandparents were visiting, and what nice parents you have for telling you that you could trade it. Hmmm, I don't think many would do that. Leigh
it seems as though buick has TOTALLY stepped up their game…love the new ride friend!!
Those Buicks have come a long way! My hubs was recently looking at the regal too! I think they are sharp looking!
I am literally peeing laughing about this!! love the new ride!!!
The advantage of having a Buick is that you don’t have to worry about it breaking down – they’re always built durable and tough. But what I like about the Regal is that the car has all the standard safety and security features like the antilock brakes, traction control, and a theft-deterrent system, some of which are lacking in most midsized vehicles. And for the exterior, it certainly has an amazing look. Congratulations!
So nice!!!
There are really some things in life that we don’t get to fully appreciate when we were younger. But this incident shows you can never escape your destiny. It sounds wicked, haha. What I mean is that the Buick Regal will always be a part of your auto life. This is one reliable car. It’s not as flashy, but it is always comfortable to drive. Congrats!
What an awesome story! I am sure like you said that wasn't the car you REALLY wanted. But I love how you just learned to live with it. I had a Honda Accord from when I was 16 (car was 14) till I was 21. Sadly, the poor thing was in an accident. But after that my parents took me to the Buick in Grand Rapids. And told me to pick one! Then of course their jokes kept going because I had to pay for it all. But still I can say now I am a Buick person too! Thanks for sharing!
This is a great story …love it..that Buick ended up being the best purchase your patents made for you…congrats on your new car!
This is a great story …love it..that Buick ended up being the best purchase your patents made for you…congrats on your new car!
This is quite a funny story, and I’m sure it makes you smile too when you think of it. But I'm pretty sure you have learned a lesson from this experience, like don't hate Buick when you see it the first time, because eventually, you're going to love it. 🙂 Anyway, your new car's indeed a big leap from your fist one. Congrats!