The "I Bought a Car so I Must be Grown Up" Post
Yes, you read that title correctly. I bought a car, mostly on my own, and now consider myself to be officially grown up.
I realize that people of all ages buy cars every day. I know that teenagers buy their own cars all the time, but I've decided that the act of going through the tedious process of securing my own loan - without a cosigner I might add - and setting up my own insurance and signing a whole bunch of paperwork is my passage into adulthood. And let me tell you, it was a very tedious process.
You see, I live in one state but have residency in another. I suppose a rational person would have waited another month or so when they had swapped all of their stuff from one state to another to buy a new car, but I wanted it now.
So my parents, the seller, the bank and the insurer were all concerned with the legality of everything and basically putting the cart before the horse. They were wanting to have everything set up in Alabama right off the bat, which would have been cool except there's a problem.
In order to even get a quote for Alabama insurance you have to be a resident, so that meant no Alabama insurance. And you've got to have insurance before you drive the car off the lot.
Then there was the question of the title, i.e. what you need to get a tag. In order to do that in Alabama, once again you have to be a resident.
In the end though it all worked out legally, without having to crawl through any loopholes, and I am now the proud owner of a gently-used 2008 Toyota Camry.
[as a result of my growing up experience, I am now broke. guess that resolution I made is going to come into play, huh?]
5 comments
Woohoo for being a car owner! I bought a car once, still have it, doesn't make me feel any more grown up, though. Lol.
ReplyDeleteYay! Congrats on being a car owner!! When I grow up, I'll buy a car too. I'm 28 but I'm still small. So....
ReplyDelete;p
@Christina: I've never done anything of this magnitude on my own before. My parents have spoiled me, really.
ReplyDelete@Gnetch: This was more a matter of needing a new car than growing up, lol.
Isn't buying a car exciting?! It's also a huge headache. Yesterday was my one-year anniversary with my car. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great? Except for my car payments and insurance... I love it! It def made me feel more grown up too.
ReplyDelete