Why You Should Name Your Car to Save Money
Years ago I had a girlfriend at work who named her car. I won’t tell you the name because it’s not exactly family friendly. 😉 She was a princess-type girl. She didn’t maintain her car herself. But it struck me that by naming it, she seemed to treat it like a pet. People love their pets, and take care of them (or have them taken care of by someone else – in her case, a mechanic).
Fast forward to my oldest stepson getting his first car. He’s not the type to maintain a car himself – far from it. He’s somewhat flighty (a pun, since his first love is airplanes – and he’s now a pilot!) As his dad attempted to teach him about maintaining his car, his eyes sort of glazed over. So, I told him a joke:
me: “Hey, look! It’s the ‘seven-ten’ (710) cap! Guess what that’s for?” pointing at a random cap under the hood of his new car
J-babe: Thinks hard for a while and says, “I don’t know? What is a 710 cap?”
me: “it’s upside down.”
hahahaha – true story! He totally fell for it!!
I knew right away that this situation called for drastic measures. So, I told my stepson and husband that they needed to name the car. I didn’t explain why, but they thought it was a fun idea and didn’t argue. My husband christened the little red Metro, “Ruby.” Ruby was such a good girl! My stepson always took very good care of her. And, if you say “Ruby” to any of the boys in my family now, they will respond with “awwww…” She truly was like a dearly loved pet that we all cared about. It worked like a charm.
Since then we’ve named all of our cars! Currently we drive Eddie — a Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition, and the Crub — a Honda CR-V we started calling the Cruv (rhymes with love) which my little girl mispronounced and it stuck. We’ve also had Dory, Stripe, Pearl, Pete, and The Ranger.
So, pick a name for your car and see how much it changes your feelings toward it! Cars are machines, but they need regular care to keep running their best. You will save a TON of money with regular maintenance rather than letting it go, having it break, and having to pay to fix it!
Related article: How to Save a Bundle on Your Car