I bought my Jetta (1991 with 127,000 miles for just $2200!) on E-Bay sight unseen (well, not quite; they had pictures on E-Bay), after not driving or owning a car for 10 years. I live in an urban area and everywhere I need to go is within bicycling distance. My Mother recently became the sole caregiver of my 96 year old Grandmother. I finally had a reason to own a car... To drive to her place (50± miles away) and help out.
Waiting for me to get my license
“Pure as the (un)driven snow”
(since last April, anyway)
I was on a STEEP gravely hill & couldn’t quite
engage first gear. Glad that pole was in the way.
Remember, I hadn’t driven for 10 years.

Even after experiencing this little mishap, I was prepared to take on the responsibilities on car ownership once again. I also loved keeping it all shiny and clean, while it was waiting for me at my Mom’s house.

After the necessities were taken care of (insurance, registration, licensing, etc.), I moved the not-yet-dirty black Jetta downtown. It costs a very reasonable $20 per month to house it in a carport within my apartment complex. One minor problem, though. Since I still use a bicycle as my primary method of commute, the car is in the carport during the ground maintenance hours of the day. As a result, all of the dust from the groundskeeper’s blowers is transferred into the carport and settles on my car. Hence, the humble origins of the Dirty Black Jetta Club.