Melissa bought herself a car....

[carole]

My 16 and half yr old daughter Melissa has been saving hard for her first car,and after much searching by herself and her Dad we finally found one that fitted her budget and was in reasonably good order, it is not perfect and has a few minor dents and scrapes by the previous owner, but mechanically it is sound,my husband checked it out first ,then took it to our mechanic,it just needs the rear brakes fixed to get a warrant, so hubby is on holiday and is getting on to that today, by Friday it should be on the road, with my daughter behind the wheel, it is so scarey.

She has been driving for over year now, but it is still worrying for parents,it is the other idiots out there one has to worry about, just saw a crash on our corner yesterday, two young girls, in both cars, one from overseas, who obviously did not know the road rules, causing the accident, and one of the passengers rather badly hurt.

Anyhow here is a pic of the beast as Melissa refers it to, it is a 1991 Nissan Bluebird Arx,1.8 litre, asking price was $1500, we offered $1300 but took it down to $1100 because of the brakes issue, and was accepted, Melissa earned every single dollar, it seems huge to me, but she has only been driving our car which is the same cc's and only slightly shorter in length, i guess i just expected her first car to be a little hatchback or something.

Anyhow we bought her the new car seat covers as a little present,she is off to pick u some fluffly black dices today lol.,we have it all insured third party for fire and theft, so just up to Dad to get it up and running now,now pressure lol.

Well will have no problem figuring out what to buy her for future birthdays and xmas's now, something for the car, she wants, spinners,lights underneath,GPS, backing camera, all on the wish list lol. Next she will be wanting those personal plates, with Final Fantasy no doubt on them.

So here it the BEAST.

[JenBKR]

Cute car - you must be so proud of her for earning the money herself. What a mature daughter you have!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Hmmmm ... NICE Ride for the Kiddo!!

But - How's come you got one wiffa Steerin Wheel onna *Wrong Side*?

[carole]

Yes i am indeed, we are not able to just give her money to go buy a car, even though most of her friends parents are doing that, i said to her yesterday, it is nice when someone just hands over the money to get what you want, but don't you feel so much more satisfied and proud that you earned it yourself, and she said Yes, before she bought it , she really did not see it like that, now it is here, she really understands what i mean't.

She is a good girl and yes she is quite mature for her age, and rather sensible,well at least to my knowledge lol, i guess there will always be some things a mother will never know and does not want to know lol.

Ah cinder and smoke you always make me laugh, actually if you look it is on the right side, get it lol.,you Americans been driving on the wrong side for years lol.

[Sirrahsim]

What a perfect car for her The first car that was my very own was a Nissan Bluebird that my husband bought for me when I moved to Japan

[carole]

wow really, yes it is a japanese import, with a few miles on the clock, but not too bad considering its age,hubby has just about finished fixing the brakes, just got to pick up the drums, which were being lathed or something like that, bit too technical for me lol, and it is all booked in for its warrant of fitness tomorrow,Melissa went off in our car to the mall to buy some of those things that go around your number plates, with sayings on them, so i guess she is gradually making it how she wants it to look.

It certainly isn't the type of car i thought she would choose, it is quite a family looking car, not really a young persons car, but she is thrilled to bits with it,she is already planning a road trip end of next year, she will then have her full licence and be able to take passengers without a licence,now will she have any money by then, mmh that is the question, i think the Beast will drain her pocket more than she realizes lol

[lv4dogs]

What a responsible daughter you have. Kudos to you for raising such a fine young gal.
I'm not sure what the exchange rate is between us but that car would be selling for about $3000 to $4000 here. If thats the case then she made a great deal!

[davidpizzica]

Sis, I think Melissa is a very responsible young lady and will be able to maintain her car. I got some fancy accesories when I got my car, too ( no personalized license plate, though). I'd be too nervous to drive in New Zealand!

[carole]

I can tell you this David NZ Drivers are known not to be very courteous,however i noticed when in the big smoke Auckland they were better than down here,hey the thought of driving anywhere in the states is just as frightening, however i remember my Dad drove in New York,scarey thought,honestly if you can drive in a big city in USA, you would find it a breeze here, just the road rules might be a tad different and of course the worst part is we drive on the RIGHT side of the road lol.

Yes I am hoping melissa will prove to be responsible with her car, she certainly seems to have the right ideas so far so good,no personlized plates yet David, i have a feeling that won't happen, they cost a bomb,she will have enough just keeping it warranted and registered,she is looking to get some more hours at work,i think she is going to need them, we don't want her over doing it though, as her studies are top priority.

Hopefully it will pass the warrant of fitness test today,and she will then be mobile,she will love having her independence.

Yeah i think we got a reasonable deal, we had looked at the auctions and privately and for the same money she paid, we only found lemons, and i mean lemons, this one is solid, mechanically sound,and yes does have a few cosmetic issues, but none that affect getting a warrant,nothing that really needs fixing,just makes it look nicer, and Melissa is not too worried about that,yeah we are pretty darn happy with the purchase, of course there are no guarantees,anyhow her Dad can do heaps to keep it on the road,so that is a big help, it will get some oil flush or something done at the garage today as well,so that will take care of all of Melissa's savings.

BTW i did the money conversion thing 1100 nz dollars is around 656 US dollars, not bad huh.

[kuhio98]

Great car. Wonderful, responsible daughter! I'm so proud of her.

When Bobcat and I drove around the North Island (back in 1987) the road signs puzzled us. I wish we had taken photos of some of them. I remember "rumble strip" and "panel beaters".

I did a little driving in Australia and did pretty well until I had to make a turn. My brain couldn't remember which side of the road to get on. Luckily, I caused no accidents.

Bobcat did all the driving in NZ. Most of the roads out of Aukland were pretty narrow and we had a very wide camper/caravan. I don't know how he did it.

[carole]

Lisa things have improved some since then i would imagine,lots of upgrading going on,soon the trip from my city to auckland will be almost motorway all the way, although in the country we still have the skinny roads, but compared to Britain, they are wide believe me.

I am not familiar with rumble strip ,but yes panelbeater, that is what my nieces husband does for a living,oh yes we have many more funny ones, for instance i would say to you i will shout you lunch.,and i might refer to you as being a hardcase,i guess you can make a guess as to what they mean.lol

I am curious what was it that puzzled you about the road signs, the names of the towns, or what?

[kuhio98]

I am curious what was it that puzzled you about the road signs, the names of the towns, or what?

I meant the signs along the road. We saw the rumble strip sign and couldn't figure out what it mean -- never heard that term before. We finally figured it out when we crossed over a section that had a grating of some sort in the asphalt. Since it made the caravan rumble when we went over it, we figured it out.

We had never heard the expression -- panel beaters -- before. We figured it out when we went by a garage/body shop.

[Karen]

Hey, what a great first car. It will teach her a lot, and good for her having paid for it herself? Now, will Dad teach her all the important things, like how to check the oil, change a tire, etc?

Will Mom maybe use this opportunity to learn to drive?

[carole]

Yes dad will teach her all she needs to know,and no mum won't be learning to drive,i think i am way to nervous a person, i would be a danger to myself and others IMO lol,but seriously that is how i feel, no confidence at all.

[moosmom]

Way to go Melissa!!! I bought my very first car when I turned 18. A 1972 powder blue Volkswagen bug. I loved that car!! Total cost including tax, title, etc...$2400. Of course, that was 37 years ago. *sigh*