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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Do You Remember Blue Truck?

7/11/2015

 
It's been a while since I wrote about Blue Truck. All is well with the machine, but it's not looking so fancy these days. BT is now fifteen years old with just over 122,000 miles.
Picture
A rare visit home - Blue Truck doesn't usually get to sleep in the neighborhood.
BT's motor still purrs like a kitten, and its tires are solid, but its paint job is getting pretty sad. BT is starting to look like that middle-aged gentleman whose hair has receded a bit. I am so short that I can't see the hood or roof of Blue Truck, so the peeling paint doesn't usually bother me.

Blue Truck got to come home with me this week for a little bit of pampering. I got the oil changed which included checking the tire pressure and replacing the air and fuel filters. BT then got a fill up and a run through the car wash. 

With Blue Truck still parked out in front of the house, I hopped onto Ford's Build Your New Truck! website. I clicked this, and I clicked that, and before I knew it, the perfect truck was sitting there smiling back at me. I've gone through this before, but every time I hit the calculate payment button, I just back away slowly.

My choices don't include leather seats or GPS or even a seat warmer. I just want a truck that's pretty similar to what I've got without the peeling paint. I also wouldn't mind having at least a few types of modern accessories. Is it too much to ask to be able to sync my phone or check the outside temperature?

When I see the price tag - $50,000, I pause. And then when I see the $850 payment for 60 months, I shake my head and ask Blue Truck if it would like some more shade or a cold can of oil. $185 for an afternoon of pampering seems like a complete bargain.
Judy
7/11/2015 12:14:40 am

I understand completely! I remember when I bought my little red Subaru that I commented how I just wasn't really a "car person" and would be happy if it would last twenty years. The realization hit me recently that that was 18 years and about 250,000 miles ago! I attempted to brag about it, but your Dad reminded me his Dodge is twenty years old and still going strong.....maybe genetics play a small part here Karen, lol!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/12/2015 12:21:58 am

So funny! I am not really into cars either, but I would sure love some of the newer features of a new truck. I also have my eye on the Nissan Juke - cutest car EVER! My truck is old and my car is getting there (10 years). Sean bought his X-terra when I bought my car - he's now on his SECOND Raptor which means he's had three cars to my one. I wouldn't mind all of those fancy bells and whistles, but I just can't stand paying for them.

There must be something to your genetics theory! :0)

Jodi Perkins link
7/11/2015 07:00:53 am

I do the same thing. It's insane how expensive new trucks have gotten. It'd be nice to have a brand new shiny truck, but it's a little hard to justify when the one you have runs perfectly fine.

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/12/2015 12:16:50 am

The only reason I hanker for a new truck is because I am afraid that my current truck will have trouble while I am traveling south toward LA. Breaking down on the grapevine with a horse in tow is my number one worry. But then I see newer trucks broken down, and I pat BT's dash and say, Thank you!

Yeah ... hard to justify new when old is going just fine. :0)

emma link
7/12/2015 07:23:01 am

i get the same feeling whenever i sit in a shiny new truck (like the enormous fancy super duty that towed my sedan a few weeks back...), but then i remember that my current truck is paid off and still going very strong at 200k+ miles. i'll just stick with that for now, thanks very much!

Kelly link
7/15/2015 11:21:03 pm

I am with you! My 1999 F250 is still going strong at 270,000+ miles - and is my daily driver. Love that truck :) I tell my husband it will last forever...he just shakes his head at me. You can not beat no truck payment!


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    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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Site Designed and Managed by: Karen Sweaney

Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home