Title and Registration

I got the title for my car in the mail today. I think this is the first time I've ever had that pleasure, the pleasure of paying off a car loan. I had a loan for a car once before, when I was about 18, I think, but that was a personal loan and I don't think the title was held. Anyway, it feels good to have finally paid the thing off. I feel kind of, well, validated. Five years ago I walked into a car dealership, drove away in a new car with no trade-in and no money down, became a slave to the American Honda Finance Corporation for five years, and survived to come out the other side. That makes me a good American, right? Isn't that what productive members of our little society do? The crazy thing is that, at the time, I didn't even have any demonstrable income, but they gave me the keys anyway. I feel good about it, I really do. The trouble is, I never want to do it again. People keep saying, “cool, now that your car's paid off, what are you going to get next?” Nothing. I'm going to drive this car, which I own now, until I have to pay somebody to come take it out of my driveway or pick it up on the side of the road (just like every other car I've ever owned.) As much as I like my car, and as much as I enjoy having reliable transportation, I just haven't ever felt that great about paying $25,000 for something that's only worth $10,000 dollars by the time I finally own it. Or less. This is one of the main reasons I had to leave Michigan at a young age. I didn't get the whole car thing and it made me an outsider. I tried, for a while, to really care about cars (pickup trucks, actually) so I could fit in and, you know, get a girlfriend. It just never worked out though. My heart wasn't in it. So I packed up that alarmingly unreliable Chevy S10 that I had purchased with a personal loan of, I believe, $2000 dollars and headed for VT. All in all, I've done fairly well. I don't think I've ever paid more than $2500 dollars for any vehicle other than the one I have now. One of the best cars I ever had was a Toyota Tercel that I got for $400. I had a stretch where I didn't have a car at all and, though it was kind of inconvenient, I managed to survive. I also had a five year stint where I had the use of a vehicle provided by my employer and did not personally own a car. That was probably the best arrangement possible. I've owned easily twice as many bicycles as I have cars and most of my adult life I've owned at least one bicycle that was worth more than my car. I guess it all depends on the metrics you choose to measure with. In my mind, I've done far better than most of my peers. Hell, I even got a sane and rational woman to marry me, despite the fact that I didn't own a car at the time.