Most people own a larger, more modern car with automatic locks, windows, and other features, but senior Paige Katsapis’s 2007 Chevy Aveo is different. 

Also called “The Toy Car” or the “Rollerskate,” Katsapis’ car is small and has mainly manual features. 

“It has crank windows, which I’ve actually grown to love. It does bother me a little bit when I really enjoy having the windows down, but then I have to put them up, and I have to reach over the seat and crank them up,” she said. “I have a little notch to adjust my mirrors. I have manual locks that I have to go to each individual door and lock them from the inside because if I twist the key on my driver’s side, it only locks the driver’s side.” 

Katsapis got her car one and a half years ago when her mom’s friend had put it up for sale for $2500.

“She was offering it up for a cheaper price than a car dealer or someone on Facebook Marketplace,” Katsapis said. “It definitely wasn’t my first choice of a car, but a car was a car.”

Katsapis still found ways to use her car to create memories with her friends and personalize it. 

“I’ve been able to make this car my own by all the experiences I’ve had in it and being able to pick people up and drive people around,” Katsapis said. “There’s also little toys in there from places I’ve been with my friends.”

For a car almost as old as Katsapis and older than her younger brother, junior Evan Katsapis, she is surprised that her Aveo is still functional and has had few problems while in her ownership. 

“I was expecting it to have a lot of issues,” she said. “I was expecting it to be in the shop a lot and have to put a lot of money towards it, but it held up very well. I’ve only gone once to the shop, other than inspections, to replace my brakes, and that was only because my mom told me I had to.”

Katsapis hopes to continue using her car to have fun with friends and be independent during the rest of her senior year. 

“Having my own car has given me a lot of freedom, and I’m very excited to also have the freedom that I obtained through becoming a senior to have all these other responsibilities that I have to handle on my own,” Katsapis said. “It gives you that independence already, so the two of those combined have made me feel more responsible and more grown up.”

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