Throw Away Cars

On Tuesday, we threw away this car.  WHAT!!! I hated to do it.  First, it was a free gift from my God.  Second, it seemed a terrible waste to my American way of thinking.  I drove this Nissan Laurel for 4 years.  I loved it.  Never had any problems with it.  It had around 80,000 kilometers on it.  That’s about 50,000 miles.  So why did we throw it away??  Because that is the cultural thing to do.

In Japan, people don’t drive very old cars.  Every two years, you must get your car inspected, registered, and pay taxes.  The older the car, the more expensive this becomes.  When the car is inspected, every little thing must be fixed.  The total cost of this can be anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000!!!  When a car reaches a certain age, you cannot sell it.  I received the car from another American who didn’t want it any more and couldn’t sell it.

We had to go through the inspection process on the car by the 21st.  We didn’t want to do it, since we are getting ready to return to the states for a year long furlough.  It wasn’t worth the money that it would cost.  We tried in vain to give it away.  No one wanted it, so we threw it away.  Normally this would cost some money.  We were able to do it for free since we know someone with an auto shop who can use it for parts or sell it for scrap metal.

We are now a one vehicle family.  We are learning to juggle schedules.  I use public transportation, or my hubby can use his scooter.  That’s pretty funny!  I’ll try to take a picture sometime!