First Car- Oh the freedom you may have

Your first car is the biggest (and most joyous) purchase of your young adult life. It not only means independence but also has the means to give you more responsibility that you could ever hope for (or more perhaps than your wallet can afford.)

Most people purchase their first car on their own (hopefully with the guidance of a mechanic) or with the help of a family member. I, however, chose both. I had a family member willing to part with an older car for a really good deal (or so I thought at the time.) For a small fee, I was able to procure my first car and has the insurance money to boot. I was ecstatic. After the initial joy wore off, I began to slowly notice little things that I needed to fix.

First off winter tires needed to be switched no big deal…or so I thought. After having my car for almost three weeks now, the winter tires are finally switched but unfortunately I am unable to drive it still. While pulling the lug nuts off the lug stud, we sheared off one of the lug studs. Now this would be fine to drive with if you were not paranoid like I am. Instead, however, I am going to have a mechanic friend look it over and figure out what all needs attention to immediately and what I can afford to wait for a few months to fix.

Here’s a rough idea of what I think all the things I need to fix are:

1. Windshield
2. Lug studs are rusted and need to be replaced
3. Window on driver’s side doesn’t go up and down
4. Ignition- having problems starting the car
5. New summer tires are needed this year
6. Automatic locking doors need to be looked at
7. Brakes- possibly needing to be bled but I am not sure

So at the moment, I am wondering how in the world I am going to be able to afford this but this is one of the many joys of getting a used vehicle. There are bound to be things that need to be fixed but once they are oh the freedom you may have.