Deborah Smith Pegues

On that sunny afternoon, as my husband and I took a fitness walk along a row of car dealerships, I never dreamed that we would be cruising home in a brand-new, red, SAAB convertible. The car just seemed to fit the day. After all, this was Southern California, where sunshine and fancy cars abound.

It is also a place where many judge you by what you drive. Of course, we already owned a prestigious foreign convertible, but it had become a real headache with its never-ending, expensive repair bills.

As we negotiated with the SAAB salesman to purchase the car, we abandoned the idea of a trade-in because of the tremendous loss we would have had to take on the market value. Besides, we had driven my husband's car that day, and the problem car was at home. We would just have to sell it on our own.