Despite how uncomfortable I felt with the situation, I drove the Honda Accord the Rav4 dealer let me borrow to work the next day. I'd already decided I wasn't going to buy the Rav4 and I dreaded the idea of driving that Accord an hour back to the dealer. The friend of a friend who had been helping me find a car was no longer being helpful in any way so I called the dealer and left a message asking if they could come pick up their car. They called me back a half hour later and said that yes, they'd come pick up their car and also shred the paperwork for my purchase of the Rav4. Knowing all that lifted a great weight off my shoulders but I still had a problem: no vehicle unless I wanted to take the Explorer back. The thought of having to drive that Explorer again really did not appeal so I spent a majority of Friday looking online for a different vehicle. There were a few Honda CRVs, Toyota Rav4s and Subaru wagons around but they all had something that didn't fit my needs: high miles, expensive, automatic transmission, not so great gas mileage. Two of my girlfriends had talked about the Toyota Matrix as an option and when I searched for one that was stick, newer than my Explorer and in my budget, only one came up. It was at a dealer in a nearby town and the more I looked at it online, the more it grew on me. I hadn't driven a stick shift car since my first vehicle in high school which was a Ford Aspire but I couldn't deny the appeal of the great MPG manual Matrix's get. I decided to rent a car for the weekend to facilitate my vehicle shopping needs and fortunately there's a rental place right down the road from where I work. I made arrangements for them to pick me up after work and I decided I'd look at that Matrix that night because the dealer was open until 8pm. The rental place picked me up and rented me an "economy" class car that turned out to be a Chrysler 200. It was a nice enough car but it was automatic and driving it further convinced me that I just couldn't buy an automatic car. If it doesn't involve shifting, it's just not fun. I arrived at the dealer and listened to the salesman's required speech about how they operate and then told him I knew exactly the car I wanted. He checked to make sure it was still for sale and luckily it was so we took it out for a test drive. The shifter for it is closer to the instrumentation than in the Explorer so I kind of felt like I was shifting into the radio but it had a nice smooth ride, easy clutch and the usual short shift throws for a car. I was then convinced that it was the car for me and we returned to the dealership to take care of the details. An hour and a half later, the financing was all in place and I was set to pick the Matrix up the next morning. As I drove out of the dealer parking lot in my rental car I said out loud in amusement "There, Dad, I finally bought another car!" My father had been after me to buy a more economical car for years but ever since I hit a deer in a car on my 22nd birthday, I'd been gun-shy about driving a car. Having to drive cars for the previous day and a half I realized I was okay in a car as long as I drove slower at night and kept my eyes peeled. The Matrix is very roomy for a car and the seating position is higher than the Honda and Chrysler I'd driven so I didn't feel like I was sitting on the road. The cargo area is plenty big enough for a suitcase and Jazz's collapsible crate for when I venture out on road trips too. I picked up my Matrix Saturday morning and the more I drive it, the more I know I made the right choice. Toyota seems to have put a lot of thought into designing that vehicle and it even has a 6 disc CD changer which I've never had on any vehicle I owned. It is white like a blank canvas and it is just the first step of many into this newest chapter of my life. I am so proud of myself for getting a car all on my own and I'm sure my father is proud too. I know I'm strong but sometimes my strength surprises even me.
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