It looked both fairly new but beat to crap. Dirty like it hasn't been washed in months with wheels that may have never been washed. You could just tell the owner could care less about keeping the car up, driving like it was a rental car. It's like "Dude, buy something cheap that you can beat to sh*t and the world won't care, don't take something nice and treat it like that."

She was parked near the restaurant and wanted to drop something off in her car before continuing on to other places in the neighbourhood.

Hadn't met her before, and we all started walking down the street. I notice the grille and then the parking lights flash as she unlocked it with the remote. I was about to say something about the commonality and all, but as we got closer I saw the bumper rash, bent plate frame and missing headlight washer cover.

The car wasn't thrashed, but wasn't kept up very well, either. Curb rash and beige leather showed cracks and wear.

I kept my mouth shut. These cars aren't worth that much anymore, so they're becoming disposable. Makes me sad. I'm not too much of a status hound, but it's also a bummer that it's not really a "nice" car anymore.

She's a cool girl otherwise, though. ;-)

Between work, children, commutes, and selling a house, who has time/inclination to wash?

The car still puts a smile on my face driving it, and that's why I bought it.