Now that I am finally about to take my SGI road test, it is time to go car shopping. I am sadly going to be part of the stereotype that girls don't know anything about cars. Here's the thing, I have plenty of girlfriends that know everything there is to know about cars, but I'm just not one of them. There are so many things to look at when searching for the perfect vehicle to suit your needs. First of all I have not decided if I want to buy a new vehicle or a used vehicle. Sure you save a few thousand dollars with used, but the small cars I am interested in are not overly pricey to begin with. I originally fell in love with and set my heart on the Toyota Yaris. It was super affordable, great on gas and important to my girly side it comes in a beautiful mermaid tail colour. The only problem is that the nearest Toyota dealership is in Regina. I have been informed that if I have mechanical problems that will be a problem. I am still clueless to this and think it would be alright, but hey, like I said, I know zero about cars. This leaves me with the dealerships in Carlyle. Luckily, for a small town, the selection of vehicles is pretty decent. The two large dealers offer a mix of previously owned and brand new models. Out of the bunch, I should be able to pick something out.Here comes my problem, I am again feeding into the girls don't know anything about cars rumors. I am pretty sure that a car salesman could sell me anything. If I went alone, I would come out of there with every accessory known to man. It doesn't matter if I need something or not, my lack of knowledge means I could end up with quite a hefty bill. I have spent so much time focusing on internet research and building my Yaris online, that I haven't had time to actually spend time with a salesperson. A friend in Montreal is a car salesman and laughs at me when I inform him that I am scared of people in his line of work. It's nothing personal; I just have a strange need for making people happy. I practiced saying no for an entire week and was ready to go shopping on my own last Saturday. Unfortunately, I chickened out. It is strange that I have no problem talking to strangers, until that person is going to be selling me a car. I think my fear is that once I commit myself to a vehicle, I have to be happy with it for quite some years. I am 21, and this will be my first car. For many of you in Saskatchewan, you probably got your first car when you were still in high school. However in Montreal at 21, the majority of my acquaintances still remain without a vehicle. The public transportation system is fairly reliable and a metro (subway) can get you anywhere you want to go in the city in under 30 minutes. This was both a luxury and a road block as it prevented me from having to add pollution into an already busy city but it also prevented me from exploring a large number of job opportunities. So here I sit pondering over my choices and have come to the conclusion that I will need to bring a friend for back up during my shopping adventure. If not I might end up with a total dud of a car because it came in a pretty colour. I'm sure this wouldn't be good as I will actually have to do some driving in the near future. Here's hoping my move to Regina in a couple of weeks will result in a beautiful and functional vehicle
