I’m pretty good at saying no to purchases. With purchases, I don’t experience the weak will like when deciding on whether to eat our perfectly good food at home. For some reason, I don’t mind going without. It’s not that I don’t want things and on occasion can make impulse purchases, but my will tends to be stronger in this area. I’ve also always enjoyed window shopping. I don’t mind checking things out just for the sake of it. I don’t have to buy to enjoy going out to shop necessarily.
I do have a hard time, however, with new cars. It’s almost like my eyes dilate when I sit in a new car at the dealership and smell that new car smell. When I sit in a new car, I really want one. Honestly, I just try to avoid it because I know that about myself. And since we have three kids and cars aren’t the highest priority right now, it’s just not a good place for me to hang out.
Right now, I’ve got a great 2012 Highlander. Sure, it’s starting to get up there in age, but it only has 175k miles on it. In Toyota years, that’s closer to being middle-aged aged really.
Recently, I had to drop it off at the dealership because of a paint issue that Toyota was repairing for free. On top of that, my AC had started to go out because of a slow leak of freon that’s started happening, and in Houston, that’s no fun. I was given a loaner to drive while they did their work.
What I didn’t expect was to be given a brand new 4Runner Limited with 10 miles on it. This car was amazing- leather seats, the latest features, and that brand new car smell.
It was so nice to drive and I got the opportunity to pretend to own this brand new car for about three weeks.
But what’s interesting is how I started to just get used to it over the course of the three weeks. Maybe it was because I knew deep down that it wasn’t really mine. Maybe I just adjusted to having it. But during that time, my life adjusted to this new normal and it became routine like everything else.
I noticed that this new vehicle, even though it was truly great, didn’t change my level of happiness or satisfaction. Work felt the same, my time with my family felt the same. Nothing really changed in any category for my life that truly mattered.
The biggest change may have instead come when it was time to finally turn it in.
That’s when I really missed it.
My Highlander smelled funny. It didn’t have any of the features I had gotten used to. I discovered that I really enjoyed the bigger size of the 4Runner compared to my Highlander, which felt tiny in comparison. I was also blown away by how incredibly loud the road noise was. My wife had commented on how quiet the 4Runner was but until she mentioned it, I hadn’t even noticed. Now that I was back in the Highlander, it felt like I might as well have been driving with the windows down.
I missed the 4Runner. It was nice and now that it was gone, I realized what I had during those three weeks all over again.
But I’ve adjusted yet again. My AC has been recharged and it has a brand new paint job. I’m back to enjoying my Highlander. It works great and I enjoy it overall.
So it’s interesting how we adjust to our lives and what we have in them. Overall, I’d say that the 4Runner hadn’t changed how happy I felt in my day to day life. I got used to it and I suspect that if I had actually bought it, I would have adjusted all the same. Eventually, I would have completely forgotten about what life was like driving the Highlander at all.
But there’s no mistaking that it was nice to have, that it was enjoyable to drive, and was something I really liked. I mean, it was a seriously nice vehicle.
I just would be misplaced in my thinking if I thought it would make me happier.
So for now, I’ll keep driving the Highlander. It’s fine.
And it’s also serving its purpose for my family. By holding on to it longer than average, it allows me to delay having a car payment and helps us reach other financial goals easier.
That won’t always be the case. At some point, I’ll get a new car and there’s no doubt that it’s going to be really nice to have.
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