Having a car on campus is quite freeing for a college student. It makes it feel like you have an entirely new perspective to the town you are living in. With living in a dorm and the restrictions of constantly being on campus, having a car to drive to coffee shops, or sight-see, really opens the doors to so much more than just what’s on campus. But before you beg your parents to let you have the car, you might wanna think about a few things…
1. Where to Park the Car
On the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus there are many lots where you can park. When buying a parking pass, you want to know where your dorm is in reference to the parking lot. I actually just bought a parking pass for this semester, and because I got my pass so late in the year, I unfortunately got a fairly distant lot. It’s a long walk to the car every time, but luckily in the town of Amherst you can park on the street for free on the weekends!
2. Budgeting
Having a car is expensive no matter which way you cut it. While going for drives listening to music with your friends is so much fun, without realizing it or not, you’re spending money. Little things like that will take up gas money quickly. Many people in college don’t have the nicest cars, so malfunctions are inevitable. The second day that I had my car, my starter broke on campus. I knew immediately that there is no way that you can leave an auto body shop and not have a hefty bill.
When you have a car, try to budget and have money just for emergencies. It saves stress in the situation!
3. Know parts of a car
Knowing the basic parts of a car is very important and useful. Once when my car broke, I noticed that the radio would turn on, the car charger worked, and all the lights would work. Yet, when I turned the key there was no noise, so I knew that it was not the battery, even though my knowledge of cars is limited. Luckily, I do have friends who know a lot about cars so I was able to call them and ask for help. Also, Good Samaritans were key to this issue. There was a nice guy name Denis who helped us try to jump the car, before we realized that was not the problem. Another person came and told us that he thought it was the starter, and proceeded to tell me what the starter was. Knowing the basic warning signs for a car and the breakdowns of a car will be very beneficial for when it does go wrong.
4. Having AAA
Having AAA is an extremely beneficial tool. When I needed to get my car towed, I didn’t have the money to pay for it, and quite frankly I did not have enough money to get it fixed. Luckily, I have amazing parents who helped me out in this situation. The great thing about AAA is that you pay a fixed rate that the beginning of the year, and then you call them when you need the roadside assistance for no extra cost. You also don’t need to know your member number on the spot because they can look you up in their system. They are very friendly and are always there to accommodate you, so it was relieving when I did not need to pay a hundred dollars for a tow.
5. Music
If you are not like me who drives a 2006 Toyota which only plays CD’s that your brother made when he was a senior in high school back in 2012, and you have an aux cord, you can follow my account on Spotify @amurphy3297 to listen to great playlist when you drive around with your friends!