My First Car

So I pulled the trigger on my first car back in June 2022. Six years earlier, when I was still in college, I landed a summer internship in Guangzhou. Spent my subway commutes reading Elon Musk’s biography, and that’s when I knew I’d get a Tesla someday. Got my white Model 3 in late September. Not the Model S I’d been dreaming of, but still pretty stoked.

Last week, I ended up selling it after thirteen months. Earlier than I planned, but life happens. The whole process of getting quotes from dealers didn’t hit me much, but when I was signing that final contract, I felt kinda sad. Right after I got the car, I set up Teslamate to track all the data. Pretty cool to see all the routes we took together in the end. Mostly drove around Shenzhen and nearby cities, with a few trips back to Chaoshan. Had big plans for long road trips, but those never happened.

Since I stopped commuting in February, most drives were just for fun. Only put 11,400 km on it in over a year. The Model 3 was a blast to drive. Gets crazy hot at noon and the ride’s a bit bumpy, but otherwise solid. Perfect for just the two of us.

I kept it simple - went with the white paint and window tinting. Added this mushroom-shaped air freshener that fits perfectly in the AC vent. Matches the wood trim nicely. Found out later it’s great for hanging hats too.

It was my first car, only had it for a bit over a year, but felt like I should write something about it. Wasn’t sure how to put it all together, so just writing whatever comes to mind. While I’m typing this, the final payment came through and got the transfer confirmation.

Money-wise? Total disaster. Bought high, sold low - classic rookie move. But having wheels really opened up our world. We probably wouldn’t have tried that two-month stint in Guangzhou if we didn’t have a car. Or made three trips back to Chaoshan in one year, dealing with those insane holiday traffic jams.