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, desperately needing a new vehicle. They assured me they’d start looking based on the “criteria” I gave them.
The following weekend, I made the most exciting trip home ever, eagerly anticipating the new car that would surely be waiting for me. I had grand dreams of cruising back to Gainesville in my new Acura, Accord, or maybe a Camry—after all, that’s what my “criteria” said, right?
As I pulled into the driveway with my best friend, I was even more excited when I realized my grandparents had come to visit, and they too had purchased a new car! We raced inside, greeted my parents with hugs, and immediately asked when we could go pick up my new ride. My dad, with his classic grin, said, “How did you miss it? Your new car is sitting in the driveway!” Now, my dad has never been serious, so I thought he was joking. But then, in the next few minutes, I realized my grandparents weren’t there to show off a new car at all. Instead, sitting in the driveway was a 2001 Buick Regal.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. How was I supposed to roll up to the Kappa Delta house in my shiny, turbocharged Buick next to my sorority sisters’ brand-new BMWs?
Like the world’s most entitled teenager, I cried, screamed, and refused to even consider taking the car. To make matters worse, my dad had made a special trip home from his out-of-town job just to find me a new car—and now I was rejecting the one he thought was perfect. When they couldn’t find anything that met my “very modest” price range, they had taken up our neighbor’s offer to buy his mom’s Buick Regal with only 16K miles on it. “Take it to Gainesville and trade it in for something you want,” they said.
I cried all the way back to school—in my Buick Regal.
Out of sheer laziness, I kept the car for three years, hiding it in the back of parking lots and never offering to drive anyone anywhere. Finally, in 2010, I said goodbye to the Buick forever. And you know what? I ended up being surprisingly grateful (and a lot more humble) because of the whole experience.
But then….JPG)
A few days ago, guess what? I got a Buick back in my life. Yep, we traded in Matt’s Pathfinder for a new Buick Regal. After test-driving a half-dozen cars and walking away from an Acura dealership, we ended up at the GMC dealership with a shiny new Regal. I still can’t believe we’re officially “Buick people” now—just like 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.
