My very first car was a silver Volkswagen Passat. I named it “The Patty Wagon” as a nod to my favorite show of all time Spongebob Squarepants. My parents got it for me 10 years ago when I was in high school and I enjoyed how fuel efficient and big it was. I especially liked that it was a VW since the very first car I ever wanted was a Volkswagen Beetle. 

At some point in high school, I got this really unique key chain of a pinkish, reddish VW Bug and I loved it. Of course I lost it somehow, but whenever I run across pictures of it, I always kick myself for losing such a cool keychain. The Patty Wagon was a pretty basic car that took me from high school all the way to post college graduate life. I got it with about 500 miles on it, and I was determined to get it all the way to 100,000 miles. 

While ~I~ thought The Patty Wagon was a decent car, Krissy on the other hand saw a few flaws that I couldn’t initially see. For starters, it was a slug. It was a full sized sedan with a four cylinder engine that was terribly underpowered. The lack of horsepower was most noticeable if I needed to pick up speed quickly when merging on an interstate. I’d put my foot (and the pedal) all the way to the floor all for it to take a couple of vital seconds to pick up speed so I didn’t get smashed by the oncoming traffic. It also didn’t have a backup camera, which wasn’t as big of a deal for me as it was for Krissy. His car at the time had a backup camera so backing up the Passat was definitely an adjustment for him. For me? I whipped it as if nothing was missing. I used my side and rear view mirrors as guides. Still to this day, I rarely use my backup camera. I mostly use it to check how far I am from an object, but I am more comfortable seeing with my eyes than a camera on a screen (you could say I’m old school). 

Next, The Patty Wagon started giving me some serious issues towards the end of our time together. Long gone were the days of just needing new tires, new windshield wipers, or an oil change. We entered a new era of long trips to the mechanic, multiple trouble codes, and lots of lights on the dash. There’s no way I’m going to remember the correct order, but essentially it was a whole ordeal that took lots of time, money, and frustration to correct. 

I think it all began with a PVAC leak that caused a check engine light. Then my temperature warning light would randomly come on during my commute home. We later found out that it was low on coolant. We went to AutoZone, bought some coolant, but of course it wasn’t the correct ratio and the car would be overheating by the time I’d come home from work. We got a proper coolant flush to fix that issue, but the check engine light persisted. Krissy’s most famous Google Review to date came from the first mechanic’s shop we took The Patty Wagon to. They diagnosed the problem incorrectly, kept turning off the warning lights (all for them to come back on not 5 minutes after picking the car up), and scammed us out of our money by replacing spark plugs that didn’t need to be replaced. 

Within two weeks after that mechanic’s shop, Krissy and his grandad changed the fuel plugs in the fuel rail and found out that cylinder 2 was full of gasoline. He cleaned it out and then took it to a different, more qualified mechanic shop that fixed the cylinder 2 engine misfire permanently. They diagnosed there was something else wrong with it too, but I can’t remember. All of the issues started blending in together by that point. 

Once the cold air from the winter started rolling in, I realized the heat on the passenger’s side stopped working. The heat from the driver’s side worked just fine (and there were no vents in the back), but the passenger’s side only blew cold air. It was pretty miserable, but that’s not the straw that broke the camel’s back. We had just gotten gas from the Sam’s in Athens when the whole throttle body decided to give out. For those of you lucky enough not to know what that is, it basically helps your car get up to speed. Essentially, when you press the gas, the throttle body is what actually makes it move forward. Krissy was driving to leave but he literally had to pull over in the next parking lot because it just wouldn’t go. Safe to say, that was definitely one of the most dangerous trips home since it took so long to get up to a decent (45/50 mph) speed. 

Once we got that money pit fixed, we got more serious about looking for a replacement car. At the time, I think it had just under 98,000 miles on it, which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it. The fact that the car was degrading from normal driving because of how it was manufactured was pretty disappointing, but at least it was paid off and got me through a major part of my life when I was taking long road trips pretty frequently. 

My options for the replacement car came down to a Lexus RX 350 and a Honda CR-V. I was initially drawn to the CR-V, but when I thought about what I wanted most in a car, the RX 350 fit the bill better at my budget. The first couple we went to see in person were a bust. The very first one wasn’t well maintained, didn’t have a backup camera, and needed more repairs than we were willing to take on. The second one ended up being over budget once taxes, tag, and title were taken into account and it had more miles than we necessarily liked. The third one was unconventional and maybe a little risky, but it ended up being the best option and the one I’m driving today. 

I started liking deep, navy blue cars during my Patty Wagon replacement hunt and I lucked up with a pristine RX 350. The only catch was that it was located at a dealership in Raleigh, NC. We caught a one-way flight (which is so cool since you don’t have to check bags) and drove it back the same day. Safe to say, we were definitely exhausted, but I couldn’t have picked a better car to drive. Krissy did all of the searching, vetting, and negotiating and all I did was sign on the dotted line so we could drive off into the sunset.

Even though it’s only my second car, it holds a special place near and dear to my heart because I like it so much. I’ve named it Blue’s Clues in honor of my childhood favorite show and since it’s so blue. It has everything that I could ask for and even things I didn’t know I would like until I got to use them consistently in my daily driver. While it doesn’t have CarPlay, it has a sunroof, automatic windshield wipers and headlights, heated and cooled memory seats, and dual climate. Literally, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Every time I see a fellow blue truck on the road, I always smile since they are so rare. The best part though, is when you see one and you think it’s black but then the sun hits the paint just right so the Deep Sea Mica paint starts glistening in the rays.

Signed, 

Jessica Marie