I’ve been driving a lot these past few days — almost as many miles as the two months since I bought the car. But a few days ago I noticed the car felt bumpy even on flat ground… I don’t drive much, but it really was a bit bumpy on flat ground. Later, during the late-September maintenance, the 4S shop staff told me it was a tire pressure issue. They checked the tires themselves and found nothing wrong — just that the pressures were off by a fair margin. After adjusting, the bumpiness disappeared. The staffer said it was lucky I found it early, otherwise it would have caused a whole chain of damage to the tires. During the maintenance I asked the staff a bunch of questions, including about tires. They explained the consequences of uneven tire pressure and blowouts, and also told me… “Tires aren’t covered by warranty. If you blow one out, you’ll be paying out of pocket at the 4S shop just like at a street tire shop.” Fuck…

Not long after getting my license, people kept asking me: “When are you buying a car?” Honestly I’d never even thought about it. For one thing I know nothing about cars, and for another, every car I actually like the look of has a price tag that makes me want to kneel. Then my parents started asking too, and eventually came right out with “Tell me how much you’re short and I’ll cover it, just go buy a car already.” At that point I figured having a license and not buying a car was pretty pathetic, and I really didn’t want to spend my parents’ money on this anyway. So the goal became: “Buy a car I’m comfortable driving, within what I can afford on my own.” Which raises the question — what do I buy?