At one point I was the proud owner of a 2008 Lincoln LS; a four-door sedan with a V8 engine that I loved.

This car was pretty, and pretty much a ball of trouble ever since the day I bought it, or rather since my dad helped me buy it.

I was so excited the day I got my Lincoln. I had always received the hand-me-down car from my sister. My first car was a maroon four door Buick Skylark that had what my sister and I called a snowplow grill. It was equipped with everything a teenage girl could want…power locks and a cassette player!

 

 

My brother, sister and I would ride to school in that thing, leaving the house with just enough time to get to school tearing down the gravel road with a cloud of dust trailing behind us. Heaven forbid we arrive to school early!

 

My brother and I would fight over who got to ride shotgun. We’d yell “shotgun” and then race out of the house to claim position in the passenger seat. You had to lock the door from preventing the other sibling from pulling you out of position.

 

My brother was a pesky little sneak. I’d call shotgun, put my backpack in the front seat, and then realized I forgot something. I knew I had to hustle because little Scruffy was a pest, waiting for his opportunity to pounce on my position as co-pilot.

 

I’d go back outside only to find him sitting in the front seat, my backpack on the driveway. There he sat with his smug little grin staring back at me. I attempted to open the door, and he beat me to the power lock button. The smug face turned into a rub-it-in your face, tongue out celebration. Jerk!

 

We had our regular jams we’d listen to on the cassette tape and belt out as we blazed down the gravel road. “Piano Man” by Billy Joel and “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks. We still reminisce about it today.

 

My Skylark was followed up by a teal green, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, then a Lincoln LS. My LS caused my dad and I many headaches with both engine and transmission problems. I figured I was going to give up on this car before it gave up on me. That’s for sure.

 

So one day Steve and I decided it was time to go car shopping. Steve helped me decide what car to buy and what to do with my Lincoln. His idea was to buy my LS from me so he could give it to his parents. A win win for everyone.

 

It was just like to Steve to think of others before himself, especially his parents. He loved them so much and always wanted to make sure they had what they needed. He actually moved back to Minnesota because his mother was ill. She had/has a terminal heart condition. Being that he was an only child, he uprooted himself from his California lifestyle to come back to Minnesota to take care of her.

 

So there I was, in the market for a new car. I didn’t have enough money to buy a reliable car. I’ve always liked classy cars, and as you know, with classiness comes and expensive price tag.

I wanted something sharp like my Lincoln, but better. It was then Steve and I went to a local dealership and I purchased a 2008 Infinity G35X. Now that was a hot car!

If you know anything about Steve, he could be a tad impulsive and liked nice things just like me, and I was naïve in my finances at the time. I wanted this specific car even though I had no business “making a purchase” of a car I could not afford.

When I say I could not afford it, I made the decision to drive away with this vehicle after putting ZERO DOLLARS DOWN, which meant my payment was ridiculous! I didn’t own my car the lenders owned me!

We spent hours working out a deal and I got the car I wanted.

We then drove away from the dealership feeling great about my new wheels, but I have to admit I was feeling overwhelming feelings of buyer’s remorse. What in the world did I just do?

 

I was dating an older man; surely he knew something about this car buying process that I didn’t, didn’t he?

 

 

 

Have you ever made a purchase and later had buyer’s remorse? If so, what was it and how did you handle the situation?