When I was 14, all I wanted was to have my own car that I would be proud to drive. I worked very hard for the one and a half years, making little to no money, but saving all that I had. By the week of my 16th birthday I saved 1,500 dollars and my parents matched it to help me get my first car. It is a 1999 convertible black SAAB 9 3 and I love it, however I realized that it was far from perfect. I wanted to have a car, that I could make my own and work hard on,until it is what I imagined for the past two years. I started to fix the issues that I saw in it. First, I fixed the convertible roof, that wouldn’t open on it’s own, by replacing a pin and adding hydraulic fluid. Now, all I have to do is hold down a button and the top will go up or down seamlessly. Next, I realized that the stock radio was terrible, so I got an aftermarket system installed. Then, I replaced the ripped, scratched, and ugly black leather driver’s seat with a beautiful one that was salvaged from another 9 3 with engine issues. I was almost done with my car.

I only had one thing left to do and it was a big project. It already looked great, but there was one detail that I still hated on my car. It had the ugliest wood grain dashboard that was chipped, peeling, and faded. It looked horrendous and I hated it. It also made the car feel so much older than it is. I went straight to the internet and looked for a few days on how to fix this issue. I found one carbon fiber dashboard that fit my car, but it was slightly worn and cost upwards of 200 dollars, so I explored other options. Since my car is so rare, it is very hard to find any parts for it. However, I found a European website that sold custom dashboards and I ordered one that fit my car for about 100 dollars. This one was fine the way it was, plain grey, but I wanted it to be custom and draw attention. So, I went online and found a company that does custom paint jobs and wraps for car parts. They took my dashboard and wrapped it in carbon fiber. It now looked magnificent. Now, all I had to do was take out my old one and put it in with my Dad. It took us 2 days and about 5 hours, but we got it in, and it looked great. I couldn’t be happier with the results.

I felt very accomplished because my car was finally coming together after the many hours outside working on it alone, with my Dad, and with my friends. It took just over two months, but I finally had the car I wanted.

Everything is now in great shape and I am proud of it every time I drive it. I have never worked on something this hard for this long and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I believe in my car, because it shows me that if I work hard enough, I can do anything I set my mind too and that is a great lesson to have.