I really do. I have no idea what causes it, and I have no idea why it lasts for approximately one week before your normal smell takes over, but I do love that smell. I realize to some of you that purchasing a new car without setting foot on your new job or even getting your first paycheck might seem a little impulsive, but let me explain the circumstances:
My 2000 Toyota Camry Solara was a bungled and fucked-up affair. I loved the car to death; I loved the handling, I loved the range, I loved the color (green). It was truly my car. The problem was, I traded in a paid-for 1995 Toyota Tercel (cherry red) for this car in the hopes that I was purchasing the 2000 Solara outright. The problem is that when I went to buy the 2000, the salesman talked me into some plan called the Toyota Touch Plan, which was, in effect, there to give me more options. The way it was presented to me was… I would have options after 2 years that would allow me to either a) continue to buy the car, b) trade it in and use the equity on another newer car, or c) sell it on consignment with the dealer. I thought the equity thing was pretty cool, so I opted for that. At no time did the dealer tell me the Touch plan was a fucking lease and that I would be limited on how many miles I put on this car.
For those of you who know me, you know me as a driver. I love to drive. I drive everywhere if I can help it. This is how much I love my car. Under a lease, the car is limited to 10,000 miles a year. Anything over that, and they charge me a dime per mile. When I put the car up for the option deal, I was almost 40,000 miles over, and that’s 4,000 dollars I would owe on the trade-in.. on top of the balance on the lease. Load of fucking suck. Anyway, when I got the new job, and my grandmother and I were talking about where it was, she made a good point that I would be driving at least 100 miles every day for work. That meant we were talking about serious money owed on top of my balance when the lease was over, not to mention she was upset I lose my Tercel over a lease. So, being my grandmother and wanting me to get out of a sticky situation, she and I up and went to the Toyota dealer and got me a new car.
Understand right now that there was no way I could get out of the lease unless I made a deal with the dealer. They fucked me but good over the lease, and they were going to get my money no matter what. Now, the dealer aside, I love Toyotas. They’re reliable and trustworthy, not to mention that even after I beat the unholy shit of them, they just come right back for more. I bought the 2004 Toyota Camry Solara SLE 5-speed automatic. I did not buy it with the on-board voice-activate GPS navigational system (another 2,500 extra). I can’t beleive leather interior costs so much! I also can’t beleive my engine has multimode functions… they’ve come a long way in 4 years. I love my new car.
