It was love at first sight.
The first time I saw her pictures, I knew she was the one.
And when I saw her in person, I knew that this was going to be a long time together. And why not? I had finally found her after a long and hard search. I didn't want to lose such a beautiful creation only to have to restart the search. I wanted her in my life, and I think she also wanted me, and that's the reason she was still there, waiting for me to give me happiness and fill my life with joy and mobility.
With great efforts and by investing time, money, and energy, I completed the driving classes at a nearby driving school last year, from May to October. I had to juggle between my office, household work, and my son's needs while taking out some time to go to the driving school and take a 90-minute lesson. The trainer was not very friendly, and I used to literally wait for the lesson to get over. 90 minutes seemed like an eternity, and there was always a fear of the trainer screaming at me for some or other mistake. I just wanted to finish the lessons, get myself a driving license, and never ever see the face of this person again. My stars were shining very brightly, and I lapped up the driving license in my first attempt on October 31, 2022. I thought I had achieved something really great. But then there was another project waiting for me: to buy a second-hand car and start driving on my own.
My husband has been driving in Germany regularly since 2012. He knows a lot about cars! He took upon himself the task of finding a good car for me. I wanted an automatic vehicle that was also small. Something that I could easily park and that wasn't too expensive. We went to a lot of dealers to check out different cars, and most of them were in a very different condition than they were shown in the pictures on websites like AutoScout. I started losing heart and even thought of leasing out a car, but that would have taken another six months for the car to arrive. By that time, I would have forgotten how to drive. And the confidence and trust in my driving skills would have taken a beating.
Finally, on a rainy evening in the month of December, we found a car dealer in Speyer, and the car looked really well-maintained and the dealer had a good reputation too. Mercedes A-160! That's when I noticed her, standing tall and fierce among the other big luxury cars. The interior of the car was very good. There were a few things that needed to be changed or repaired, and the dealer readily agreed to do it. The dealer was a great person to talk to, and he sold us the car very efficiently. We made the decision to buy her immediately because we were not sure if we could get a better deal anywhere else. She had a perfect interior, was clean and well-maintained, had all-season wheels that were easy to maintain, and it seemed like a fair deal. I signed the contract, the dealer gave me two documents called Teil 1 (the details of the car) and Teil 2 (the previous owners of the car), and with a very good mood, we came back home, and my excitement knew no bounds.
I had to keep it a secret till the car was ready, because otherwise, Tanay would have asked me 100 questions and lectured me on how there were better electric cars on the market and how we could easily lease them, etc. I did the payment online in installments, and the car dealer sent me the TÜV document (a inspection report stating the complete check-up of the car for small or big defects; it is valid for two years), with which I was supposed to go to the Führerscheinstelle (the local RTO office) to get the number plate for my beloved. With that number plate, we would be able to bring her to Karlsruhe and into our lives. I took the appointment for January 13th to go there and finish the process.
I had to purchase insurance coverage for her while the car was being prepared, among other things. Being a first-time driver in Germany, I had to shell out a lot of money for car insurance. But I think it is a good thing to have good insurance. There are fewer hassles and headaches. I also had to think about the number that I would like to have on my car. My son had ideas of having TD 007 or TD 0007 or 7777, always something with the number 7. It's his birth date, and he is a great fan of James Bond. I wrote down all the possible combinations and permutations on a piece of paper and took it with me.
I had everything with me on the day of appointment at the Führerscheinstelle. The documents given by the car dealer, the car insurance papers, the inspection papers, and the tentative numbers that I had written down. The process went very smooth. I submitted all the documents, and the lady asked if I had a special number for the car. I showed her the paper, and she picked up one, which I wanted too. The option of having 007 was not possible, but I thought my son and my husband would be happy to see the number plate. I had to go to an outsourced company, next to the RTO office to get the number plate printed. And when I held it in my hands, I felt very proud and happy!
The number was KA (Karlsruhe) MT (Mrunalini, Tanay) 4167 (my birthdate, my husband's birthdate, and my son's birthdate).
KA MT 4167
That was going to be the number plate of my first automatic car in Germany.
to be continued...
Very engaging and well presented
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ReplyDeleteVery entertaining
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