My first car

 

After my Higher School Certificate examination, I was appointed as a labour officer. This job paid well enough that I could finally afford a car for work. It involved a fair amount of travelling, the allowances for which could well cover my petrol bills. This first car was a second hand Volkswagen 1200, reg. AF 1085 in white.

However I had just learnt driving and was not confident in taking out the car for my duties. So for the first few weeks, a friend of mine agreed to be a co-driver while I learnt to drive in my neighbourhood. 

Once I gained confidence, I told my friend that I was confident and he need not assist me while I drove around. The first day of independent driving, I reversed into a child’s tricycle. Fortunately the child had abandoned the bike in my driveway and went away to look for other pursuits that drew her attention. There was a dent to the rear of my vehicle  that would require some money to have it fixed back into its original shape.  I had it done, though it caused a dent to my meagre savings account. I kept the car for three years and when my finances improved I bought a later version of the car. As the years passed my salary also improved and after 6 years of my first car, I finally bought a new car - I regretted this later and vowed never to buy a new car again. I was not a responsible owner and did not take care of the new car as a new car should have been looked after. That was the first and last new car I had owned. 

I thus got in the habit of buying second hand used cars, which were later inherited by my children when they learnt to drive - these old cars used to drive our old mechanic to despair, with their eccentricities and idiosyncrasies. Of course I had new cars after that, but they were company cars bought by my employer for my use at work. 

All contents (c) Ganapathy Ramasamy, mynameisgana@blogspot.com

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