Sensors.

Post graduate life never ceases to amaze me. I'm really hoping that one day I will look back at my sporadic blog postings that detail out every single transition post graduation. I'm not really giving it it's full justice either, because I'm technically still in school. I'm in my 2nd year of graduate school and I'm paying for it as I go. Which makes the whole "glamor" part of being graduated and getting a real job, difficult to portray, when I don't ever really get to enjoy those funds anyways.

If those funds aren't going to school, then they are going to my car. MY CAR. Want to know the funny/great thing about cars? When something is wrong with them, they don't usually hold back on letting you know.

For instance, a sensor will usually emerge on the dash: 

For those of us who do not live in Jackson county, this little light, will tear up your world in less than 2.5 seconds. Jackson County, the sweet little place that it is, allows it's community to get away with having this light on. However, here in Charlotte and basically the rest of North Carolina, you will not pass inspection...oh ... and no matter how small the issue...you better be ready to PAY.

What's wrong with it? Hmm...I won't bore you with all of the details, but let's just say around these parts, they charge you $100 just to get a "diagnostic". You better hope and pray it's the right one.

After taking a day off of work to drive to the mountains to get my Dad to give me his personal opinion and then bringing it back to Charlotte to be quoted a minimum of $2,000 to fix a problem that I got completed elsewhere for $275....the light finally went off.

I only wish that was the end of my story. Two weeks pass by and I'm driving that thing around as if it were the center of attention in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So proud that my light was off. I go home for my little brothers birthday and the gas peddles wouldn't really.....well..work. Three minutes after noticing this, the sensor comes back on. I don't panic, because this is just a casualty at this point. I get back home, take it to my guy, I get the call...."$3,000" !!! "You have transmission issues Morgan."

The words that kill.

"How much do I owe you for looking at it and diagnosing it?"
"Nothing, looks to me as if you've got enough problems as it is" 


......That's the moment that I was no longer concerned about the sensors on the car and more so concerned about the sensors going off in my brain. I pick up my car, knowing that all hope for it is over. I knew at that point that it was time to move on. I will say, it got me through the last 2 years of college, it got me through my first job, working in sales where I put 40,000 miles on it in 1 year alone and then it got me through a move to Charlotte and through my first year of graduate school. It's riding 97,000 miles and I think it's just time.


Car shopping is a joke.

I have been shopping for 3 days now and it's the WORST. I've read a 100 articles on the subject. Ask me anything about NADA, KBB, AutoTrader, NC/SC Sales Tax, Interest Rates, Trades, Warranties, "What not to tell your car salesman" & Poker Faces.

I think what frustrates me the most about cars, is that it's something that I know the least about. Usually, when I don't know the answer to something, I will research it and study it until I understand it. With cars, it's such a game that there isn't a book out there that lists all of the "sneaky tricks and trades of buying a car". The only thing you can do is talk to every man you've ever met, gather their advice, read articles, reviews, talk to your credit union and insurance company and do your very best to educate yourself and most importantly, to have the confidence to walk away from any situation.

Being female in this situation is the absolute worst. I went into a dealership yesterday alone. The salesman said "You came in here alone? Usually girls bring an entire football team with them, their dad, grandpa, boyfriend, brothers.....you're brave!" 

----- I'm brave? ...Thanks for preempting me about the fact that you're about to screw me over! I could rant about that statement but I'll save you the trouble. I'm not a feminist, but the small part of me that could be, absolutely wanted to retaliate right there on the show room floor....brave...come ON.

 For those of you who buy cars a lot, I don't see how or why you do it. To me, at this point, I would rather just bike. I honestly would.

I think why this whole process is so interesting to me is because it's the first time that I have ever done it alone. Don't get me wrong, I call my Dad twice a day to fill him in on what I've encountered that day and he's coached me over the phone.

It's just like the first time that I filed taxes as an independent, got my own cell phone plan, renters insurance (didn't even know that was a thing), internet, electricity, signed up for Triple A (best decision ever), apartment, dental plan etc. NO ONE TEACHES YOU THESE THINGS. How are you supposed to know? I read one of those "Buzz Feed" articles about "15 Things College Never Taught You About Life After Graduation"   It's hilarious, only it's not, because it's true! Don't get me wrong, some of the things on there are a little stupid, but all in all there are a few that I just want to do one solid fist pump to in agreement. YES.

Teach us how to write a check. Teach us how to maintain good credit scores. Teach us what we need to know when we need to buy a car, or a house (I haven't even THOUGHT about that one!). Teach us how to check our oil and change a tire. Teach us about the stock market. Teach us about insurance, 401Ks, Time Management. We spend the majority of our childhood trying to master the art of mathematics when the majority of us won't EVER need to solve a word problem in real life, or discover the root of 1,456,988.01. (Math is important, just an example)