Vehicles

I miss having a beat up old vehicle that I don't feel any compulsive need to take extreme care of.

When I bought my motorbike, I researched which make, model, and color had the highest resale value. The original plan was to drive it for two years and then sell it for a mere $200 less than I paid for it (the average resale value at that time) before moving back to the States after my 3 year contract was up. I figured $100/year for a brand new motorbike sounded like a deal. But of course, I had to drive carefully. No scratches, no dents, regular visits to the garage for maintenance, and regular wash and wax dates.

We're going on 3 years now, my bike and I. I've done a superb job of caring for it. I mostly consider this a product of my upbringing. If something is making a strange noise, I don't just ignore it. I get it fixed. And while most foreigners are intimidated by the idea of taking their vehicle to the shop, I'm quite comfortable there and have never had any qualms about going to a local bengkel (garage). I have a neighbor who has lived here 5 years and to my knowledge has never once taken her motorbike in for a tune-up. I'm also not sure if her bike has ever been washed. There is actually green mold growing on the underside of it.

Anyways, I digress. The point I'm getting at here is that for nearly 3 years, I have taken excellent care of my motorbike. I always slow down for speed bumps. I swerve around potholes. I keep it out of the rain and direct sunlight. When I find myself on rough, rocky roads, I drive like a 90 year old woman in a Crown Vic.

And after nearly 3 years of driving like this, I am starting to miss my '85 Silverado that was held together in many places by duct tape. I miss driving like a maniac on the worst of roads, because really, what more damage could I do? I didn't care about hitting potholes or how fast I went over speed bumps or driving through rivers of water running across the road after a heavy rain. I miss doing 60 over the railroad tracks and fishtailing down icy roads in winter. I miss not having to care where I park and not once ever washing or waxing my vehicle. I miss having a hammer under the seat that I used to beat various parts when they made strange noises or just stopped working altogether. I miss that 1 ton chunk of steel.

Keeping a vehicle nice is boring and altogether too much work. Some people are all about their fancy new cars. But I think beaters are the real luxury.