We've had several cars go through the family, starting with the red Nissan Pathfinder which my dad used during the snowy months. When my brother started driving and took over the Pathfinder, my dad needed a new “winter car" to drive since he couldn't drive his BMW M5 in the snow. Thus, a blue Nissan Xterra entered the family. It started out as my dad's car whenever it snowed, then it was my brother's car whenever he was in town, and finally, it became my car when the Pathfinder broke down my senior year of high school.

From high school to college, the Xterra was a reliable car. From making donuts in the snow to being my ride to prom, there were a lot of good memories made in that car. After I left for college, it made multiple long journeys from Florida to Maryland, and even though it had terrible gas mileage, it was a good car.

It made me feel powerful, like I was the big dog on the road. My favorite thing about it was the fact that I had to step up into it rather than just sitting down like a regular car. I was above everyone and could see so much more than all those little cars on the road. The Xterra was in the family for roughly seven years up until about a month ago when I took a trip home.

In August, I took a break from work for about a week in order to bring my girlfriend home to relax and meet my family. Surprisingly, the car I drove down to Punta Gorda was not the same car that I drove back to Tallahassee.

When I arrived in Punta Gorda, something had come in the mail from the Nissan dealership about a warranty update for my 2012 Xterra. I scheduled an appointment to get it fixed and when I went to pick it up later that day, there was a check waiting on my dashboard. The dealership wanted to buy my car off of me and who was I to say no?

Since it was our last day in town, my girlfriend and I went to look at cars of similar value to the trade-in price of my Xterra. My dad decided to stay home rather than tagging along, so I test drove a few cars without really knowing what I was doing. This was my first time in a car dealership alone, so eventually, my dad had to come help me. He knew what he was doing and made sure that the cars I was looking into had warranties and would last. Ultimately, I ended up spending more money than expected but I got a 2019 with 1600 miles, which means it was basically new.

Of course, a Versa compared to an Xterra is a lot smaller but it has way better gas mileage. Even though I prefer big cars, I don't think I could go back just yet. The Versa has a touch screen radio system which is definitely a step-up from the Xterra. It feels nice and drives smooth. I definitely feel like I made the right decision.