I drive a 2006 Camry LE that I bought last fall. It is by far the nicest car I've ever owned (not that there was serious competition from any of my previous cars). It is roomy and comfortable, powerful enough for anything I have to do on the road, gets good mileage, looks good, and drives like a dream. From past experience with four other high-mileage Toyotas I know that it is unlikely to have any serious mechanical problems until I've driven it at least 100K miles. I've only got one problem with it: there are a metric crapload of dark gray metallic Camrys on the road that look just like it. It looks great, but isn't exactly special. I haven't done anything significant to personalize it. (Besides bonk the back bumper on a concrete support post last month, making a vertical dent in it, dang it. And I'm still planning on having that fixed.) My drive to work is only nine miles, so I almost never leave stuff in the car. It doesn't have that "lived in" look or feel. I keep a few CDs tucked away out of sight, and am forced to have a parking permit hang tag that precludes hanging anything else from the rear view mirror. I'm not a bumper sticker person, and have just a small Georgia Tech logo on the rear window above the brake light. Sometimes I feel like I'm driving a rental car. For a car that I've been driving almost a year now, it still lacks any meaningful marks of ownership (again, I am not counting the bumper damage). Any tasteful suggestions on how to make this car feel like it is mine?
I took it in for service a few weeks ago. Why is it that my owner's manual recommends an oil change every 5000 miles, but when I take it to the dealer for service they will invariably put a sticker on the inside window that says I need another one in 3000 miles? Don't they read their own manuals? The last time I brought the car in, they didn't even add the 3000 miles correctly. 10,089 + 3000 does not equal the "11,389" they put on the sticker. I don't think I'll be bringing it in that soon guys... sorry. Oh, and another thing - they put the sticker on extremely crooked which led to me having a "Monk Moment" about it. I was going to fix it, but since they got the mileage wrong I tossed it instead. On the way out, they told me that I would be contacted with (yet another) customer survey, and sort of coached me on how their managers interpret the results. Grade inflation is not limited to schools, people. It applies to customer service surveys as well. Which means I will be sure to ignore it, since the results are meaningless as a true measure of performance. They all want to be like Lake Wobegon, where everyone is above average. That drives me crazy! I'm not giving out an A+ for B- work, even if your manager regards anything less than perfect to be a failure.
4 comments:
I'd give you some ideas, but my car is far from new. You want to know the really bizarre thing? The other day I just realized it's 20 years old... A car that old tends to customize itself.
I've had some old cars myself, so I know what you mean. My first car was a ten year old Corolla that I got from my Dad (4-on-the-floor, AM radio, black vinyl seats and no air condititioning in hot Atlanta, GA). I totalled it when I was 17. I got a '71 American Motors Matador in 1984 and drove that through most of college. It was hideously ugly. Baby shit brown with a white roof and black interior. But it was easy to work on the engine -- lots of room, and easily identifiable parts. So it wasn't all bad. I got a new car in 1993 when I left college (the first time) and drove it until last fall. I keep my cars a LONG time.
I have a 2003 Grand Am that is still in brand new condition. Only for a few scratches on the paint from Hurricane Charlie. Yeah mom had it under a cover but a lawn chair decided to write its name on the door. She bought it and left it in FL 3 years ago. Dad was sick so they never went back down until 2 months after dad passed away. She gave me the car but kept his truck.
I pretty much personalized mine with seat covers. Mine were store bought but my sister customized them for me.
I have a 7 year old crumb magnet in the back seat that leaves all her messes on the floor. So yeah mine looks "lived in" before I clean it all out.
There are dozens of this car around but no one has scratches like mine. ;o)
Mine definitely has a lived-in feel. It's a silver Pontiac Sunfire, and there's a nice scratch on the back door where my mother aced it with an oxygen bottle. But I added a spoiler, tinted the windows, upgraded the stereo and speakers, added subwoofers and amps in the trunk, and put in a purple ground effects kit. Flame steering wheel cover and floor mats, a bobblehead black cat on the dash, and LED valve caps - this baby's all me. :P
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