My neighbor Bob is totally not a car guy. He drives a mid-2000s F-150. White. Grey fabric interior, 110,000 miles. Bob has lived across the street for 15 years, and I’ve never seen him wash this truck – ever. I’m guessing he runs it through the car wash now and again because it’s not filthy. Whenever he listens to me get all excited about the car du jour, he’s always quick to remark, “A car is just a tool to get from A to B for me.”
Now, my fellow car enthusiasts might take offense to this, and to be honest, I used to raise a Spock-like eyebrow at this as well, but something changed.
While I hate to admit this out loud, whenever Bob lends me said pickup, I always come back in love. But not for the reasons you might think. After spending just about $2,500 on my Mini Clubman S for new LED headlights, some scheduled maintenance, and a cooling system leak, I started thinking.
I could sell the Clubbie for $20k and buy a nice older F-150 for under $10k, and buy another Alfa – I mean put some money towards that roof the house needs.
Zooming back and forth between my storage unit, on top of my loving the F-150, my thoughts are not turning to “what shocks, what tires, what wheels, what exhaust, la, la, la. I can just drive this truck as it is. For those of you that know where I’m going with this – it’s freeing.
I’m thinking, “Wow, I could put this baby through the car wash.” I drive past Oil Can Henry’s and think – “I could get the oil changed here, for like $75.” Filling up the tank with $3.49/gallon regular instead of premium, that’s getting pretty close to $5/gallon, is refreshing. Because all those little BMW-powered Minis crave the good stuff. Now that the Clubbie has a tune, there’s no choice.
Not to mention, I could drive through a whole parking lot full of shopping carts at Costco and not feel a thing. It’s up high. It’s comfy, it’s quiet, it’s smooth. Hmmm. What’s not to love here?
A quick call to Pam to tell her about my new evil plan meets with major resistance. It will ultimately be futile, but I listen. “I’m not a truck girl.” (I’m not buying it for you…) “You’re not a truck guy.” (maybe I am a repressed truck guy after all) “Where will the dogs go?” (in the king cab) I’ve got it all figured out already.
Reluctantly, she takes a ride with me on the last storage unit run and says, “I never dated a guy that had a truck.” Hey, I never dated a woman with kids, but we all cave at some point.
Will I actually get an F-150? I’m not sure. But for all the reasons mentioned above, I could really use one. Plus, we are thinking about some major house renovation in the next four years, so a truckster could really come in handy. “We can always sell it after the house is done.”
A tool to get from A to B is just the thing this car guy needs. Stay tuned.
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