Moldy Interior and Missing Seatbelt, the Perfect Car?

The standards we won't accept in cars but somehow love in dogs

When I bought my Forester in 2020, I spent several months in search of the right car.

I knew heated seats and a sun roof were non-negotiables.

I didn't want a reclaimed title.

I wanted to find something with fewer than 60K miles.

It needed to be large enough to accommodate Sitka and me for car camping.

My top picks were the Crosstrek or Outback, but I also knew they would likely be out of my price range given my requirements, and so I added the Forester to the list.

I drove all throughout the Seattle-area in search of cars.

I test drove an Impreza and liked how it drove. It was a newer car compared to what I could get with the other three Subarus, but it didn't have the clearance, and ya girl needs to go on pothole-filled dirt roads.

Pass.

I found a Forester nearby well within my budget. It had mold and was missing some important features, like a seat belt in the rear.

Hard pass—I'm not trying to die in a ditch because I wanted to save a few bucks.

I tried a Mazda CX-5 and LOVED it. But the car was pretty new at the time and used models were out of my price range.

Very reluctantly, pass.

Finally, after a few months, I found a Forester that checked all my boxes.

Sun roof? Check.

Heated seats? Check.

Under 60K miles? Check.

All parts intact and no mold? Check.

The following evening, I took my new companion out to camp near on a dusty, pot-holey road near Mt. Rainier. The car performed exactly as I had hoped and I knew we'd be in for many future adventures together.

Dogs Deserve the Same Research we Give to Cars

A lot of research and consideration goes into purchasing a car.

Buyers select cars based on their needs—is the car safe? Can it accommodate kids? Can it navigate bumpy roads? Does it get good gas mileage?

They pour over Consumer Reports rankings and test drive multiple cars in pursuit of the perfect car.

Yet, when it comes to dogs, we just fall for the first sob story we read on Petfinder.

I wish that people devoted the same kind of energy into getting a dog as they do into buying a car.