Getting used to having a new car

The idea of buying an actual new car has always seemed somewhat foreign to me — as in out of reach and hard to comprehend. Every vehicle I’ve ever owned has had at least one or two previous owners, whether they were parents or complete strangers.

This past weekend, my wife and I got closer than ever to buying an honest-togoodness new car. The 2019 Hyundai Sonata we brought home on Saturday still very much has “that new car smell” in the interior, and the odometer is just a few hundred miles over 10,000.

It makes me nervous just to write this, like I’m afraid to own such a pristine automobile. Like I said before, most of the cars I’ve driven throughout my life have been handme- downs that had lost the newcar sheen years before I got the keys. Our new Sonata only had one previous owner, the O’Hare Airport in Chicago, where it was used to shuttle people around for a few months before it was sold to a dealership.

Now, thanks to Linda no longer having student loan payments to worry about, we have freed up a majority of the money we need to make a new monthly car payment. Thus, like some kind of miracle, she was able to trade in her 2004 Buick Century with advancing rust lines and replace it with a shiny “ocean blue” Sonata.

Of course, it made both of us a little anxious to sign on all of the dotted lines at the dealership on Saturday, but we were ready to make the first big purchase of our nearly six-year-old marriage. There’s almost nothing that brings you closer together than agreeing to a five-year loan with a 10-year extended warranty.

For someone like me, who’s not much of a “car guy,” the most intriguing part of our new vehicle is all the onboard technology. Both Linda and I grew up in the era of tape decks and CD players, so just figuring out how to play the songs we like has been a quantum leap into the future. Once I plugged in Linda’s iPhone, we started to realize all the possibilities at our fingertips. And, fortunately for us and all of the other drivers we might pass on the road, most of programs can be voice-activated.

Still, when I got back inside my ole’ 2008 Nissan Versa, I was almost relieved to see just a simple CD player and a radio tuner in front of me. I didn’t have to worry about what “app” I wanted to use or fiddle around with an endless set of menu screens. I’m kind of curmudgeon when it comes to new technology, but like most of us, I quickly get accustomed to new conveniences and possibilities.

Overall, I’m excited about our new purchase, but I also look forward to the day when it doesn’t seem so new. That’ll probably happen the first time I spill coffee on one of the seats. Just kidding, Linda.

OUT FOR A WALK

KEVIN O’BRIEN

EDITOR