The Last Apple

November 2012.  It came into my possession, after my previous car, a 2005 Saturn Ion, developed scary electrical failures.

And over the past two-plus years, I’ve taken care of this car to the best of my abilities.  I’ve replaced the original performance Linglong tires with four all-weather Pirellis – then replaced two of the Pirellis with Goodyears after the Pirellis developed leaks – then replaced the OTHER two Pirellis with Dunlops when the tread on one of the Pirellis just completely tore off the tire.

I’ve changed the fluids several times – oil (semi-synthetic at Valvoline), coolant, an air conditioning recharge.  The struts were replaced the minute I got the car; the rear shocks were replaced a few weeks ago (apparently the shocks were original to the car).

I can’t count how many times I’ve replaced the windshield – suffice it to say that I seem to attract highway debris and stray stones, and those chips turn into side-to-side windshield cracks in nothing flat.

I’ve replaced the headlights a couple of times, including a re-replacement when the original installer (Pep Boys) touched the halogen bulbs with bare fingers, causing oils to develop on the light, shorting out the bulb.

I’ve had the ignition switch replaced, in that my car was part of General Motors’ nationwide recall.

I’ve built a network of car care and maintenance people in the past two and a half years.  National chains like Valvoline and Mavis Discount Tire.  Independents like Ernie’s Auto Repair on Green Island.  And DePaula Chevrolet when the car needed “dealer repair” coverage.

The car has visited Canada three times – it’s gone to New Brunswick (Saint John), Prince Edward Island (Summerside) and Ontario (Windsor).  I’ve also driven it to Boston, to Niagara Falls, to the Adirondacks, to New York City and to New Jersey.

I’ve listened to thousands of hours of satellite radio broadcasts.  Nothing like enjoying uninterrupted radio broadcasts from Albany to New York City.  Fun stuff.

The only true customization I’ve ever done to it was add an old bumper sticker from the Jericho Drive-In.  That’s it.

And through it all, I’ve made sure that every payment on my car was made.  Over-made.  If I had extra funds, it went on the car.  At one point in my six-year car loan, I was a year and a half ahead of schedule.  I refinanced.  And even with that, I continued to over-pay my loan.

Because I remember life without a car.  Or life where I had to ride shotgun with someone else who was willing to courier me.  Or where I had to share a car in a marriage, where the car was so small I would have thought it would be fit only for clowns at the circus.

I remember growing up and riding in my family’s cars.  Those cars were a crazy-quilt of vehicles – a Ford Galaxie 500, a VW microbus, a Renault Alliance, a Ford Escort, an Eagle Summit, and a string of Nissan Altimas.  I hated all of those cars.  They were too big, too small, too unreliable.

And then came the first car of my own possession – my Grandma Betty’s 1991 Pontiac 6000.  Seven years after I acquired that beast, it died.  I immediately switched to a 2005 Saturn Ion (“Cardachrome”) and began my own car payments on it.

That did not impress my wife at the time, who chastised me every chance she could about the purchase.  “I know people who sell cars in this area,” she scolded, “Why didn’t you go to one of them to get a car?  Why didn’t you consult me when you bought this car?  Why didn’t you let me make a decision on buying it with you?”

I don’t know… maybe because you never allowed me into the decision-making process of cars during our marriage?

November 2012.  I acquire my current car, a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS.  It’s black and it has the SS package – naturally aspirated engine and leather interiors and moonroof and XM and an OnStar that I never use…

And in acquiring that car, I started making payments on a car loan.

A few apples here, a few apples there.  Win money at trivia, it’s an apple to the bushel.  Win prize money for my photos, it’s several apples.  Get some cash for my writing projects… how do you like them apples?

Yesterday was a very special day for me.

First thing in the morning…

I took the car to Valvoline and double-checked all the fluids.

I took the car to Mavis and checked the tires and alignment.

I took the car to Hoffman Car Wash and received a full detailing, inside and outside.

And when all that was done…

I drove over to my bank.

I went inside.  This is not a transaction you make through the teller window.

And with cash in my hand… I approached the teller…

And I paid my final payment.

My last apple.

I am now the owner, free and clear, of a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS four-door sedan, black exterior, leather interior.  Sports package with heated leather seats, XM satellite radio, and OnStar if I ever feel like using it again.  Ha.  The car was manufactured in Ohio at the General Motors plant, manufactured by union men and union women who earned a union wage.

You hear me?  The owner.  As Brian Wilson sang, “I got the pink slip, daddy…”

This is the first car that I bought from dealership to ownership.  I’m not sharing a too-small-for-Chuck car with an ex-spouse.  I didn’t inherit the car from a relative.  I didn’t buy the car in haste because the previous car died.

This is my car.  My Blackbird.

Paid off three and a half years ahead of schedule.

Paid off to the point where doing so has surely inflated my FICO credit score to above that of a Parker Bohn III triple.

I now own this car.  That’s a good feeling.  It means something special.  It’s a far cry from the days when I scraped together pennies and nickels just so that I would have bus fare.

And this car fits my personality.  It’s got style, it’s got class, it’s got attitude.

Now what do I do with it now that it’s fully paid off?

Hmm…

One thing I thought I could take care of is replacing the alloy wheels.  When I got the Blackbird, the alloy wheels had curb rash on them.  That really never bothered me at the time… now, however, I’d kinda like to get those either buffed out or replaced.  Someone even suggested I go with steel wheels, as they are more adept to handling potholes.

It’s a thought, for sure.

But the only thing I’m thinking about right now is…

This is my freakin’ car.

And it’s road trip time.