On Keeping Cars

A friend of mine likes to talk about cars, and about the commitment we’re making when we obtain them. He’s probably not the first to put vehicles in this perspective, but recently he's been having some automotive difficulties and he's been philosophical about it.

For example, he says, renting a car – a convertible, say – is very fun. You can pick out the coolest model at the agency that day, and for a very small fee, you can use it all weekend. Take it around, show it off to your friends and laugh about how you wish you could afford one like that in real life. You can speed down a deserted highway with the top down, steering with your knees and your hands up in the air, screaming at the top of your lungs. You gun the engine at stop lights and pull into parking spaces just a little too fast.

Because there’s no commitment. You’re not particularly careful when you drive it because it’s not yours. You make sure you leave it almost as clean as when you got it, and you turn it in at the end of the weekend. But you don’t even have to look back as you leave the lot.

If you lease a car, though, you can get most of the benefits of renting, but with some trade-offs in terms of obligation. You can still afford a car much more exciting than your resources would normally allow, but there are some upkeep requirements. Oil must be changed and you have to wash it and generally keep it in good working order. If it breaks down, most problems are not going to be your responsibility depending on the lease agreement, but you do have to keep it running well.

And when the lease agreement is up, you can walk away like nothing ever happened. But you’ve had time to develop some feelings for the car – maybe you’ll miss the way it drove, or be glad to be rid of that window that never properly sealed. It wasn’t just a car, it was your car, albeit for just a short while. And the next person to drive it will feel how you wore it in.

When we buy a car, he cautioned me, we take full ownership responsibility. Yes, yes, it’s wonderful to drive it off the lot and hold that steering wheel in your hands and know that this car - this car - is yours and no one else’s. at first, maybe, we treat it like a rental until that day someone dings it with their car door, and it sinks in: no else is going to fix this.

From then on, it's an investment. But the warranty is good for a few years. If something turns out to be very wrong with it, we can get it fixed for next to nothing. But it’s still ours, flaws and all.

Generally, in this case, we also have fewer options. Because we’re going to pay for it, maintain it, and rely on it, we have to be more selective. No racy thing will do for most of us, because the fuel bills would bankrupt us or spare parts are just too expensive.

So we limit our options, usually, and spend our money wisely. And in return, the car is there for us, day and night, to take us where we have to go. Sometimes little things that are simple to address pop up and get resolved, and usually the car remains reliable for a generation.

After a few years, repairs can get a bit expensive, especially if we skimp on routine maintenance. It’s usually something we expect, though, and by this time the car has been reliable for so long that we don’t mind. It’s a good car, it’s been there for us, it’s taken abuse and never complained. Fixing it up is almost like giving back - rewarding in a way that could never be achieved with a rented or leased vehicle.

But sometimes something bad happens for no apparent reason, and there’s no one but you to address the problem. You're no wrencher, and you're stuck. Perhaps the onboard computer starts acting up and the car won’t start. The mechanic – expensive by himself - can’t diagnose the problem until you find out it’s too costly to fix. So it sits in your garage silently gathering dust for months while you get used to taking the bus and your resentment against it builds. Until one day you sell it, relieved but a little sad.

My friend’s car isn’t running so well, and that’s disappointing because he really likes it. I don't blame him, it’s a beautiful, fun car from a great year.