I bought a new (to me) car yesterday.
I’m so excited about the new car, partially because I’ve been enduring a car without air conditioning through three long Tallahassee summers. That’s not the only problem with the car, but arriving at events with melted makeup and clothes stuck to my skin had grown old and uncomfortable.
Before celebrating that car, though, the car it’s replacing deserves a proper sendoff.
My 2005 Honda CR-V, which I got in 2008, had 45,768 miles on it at the time and is now 300 miles away from having 200,000.
Our Odyssey died unceremoniously one day in 2008 when I was driving down I-10. Wayne had just gotten approved for financing to get a vehicle of his own, but once our family workhorse had been declared terminal, we ended up needing two vehicles for the financing that was intended to cover one.
We got both of them from our credit union’s buying service. He got a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado. I got the CR-V. I don’t remember much discussion at all about the cosmetics. I did know in advance that it was blue. All that mattered (pretty much) was that it would run.
And run it did.
There are so many memories in that car:
Multiple trips taking kids to school.
A trip the kids and I took to Kennedy Space Center and Cypress Springs.
The kids using it as *their* first car when they began driving.
Me backing into a pole at the Subway on Tennessee Street after taking Tenley to a college visit at FSU.
One child (won’t single them out) having their first accident in the car.
Me thinking the Idiots Running Club seriously meant we had to use our last names when we got our IRC decals made.
Many trips taking my father-in-law to doctor’s appointments, to his beloved afternoons at the bar, to radiation treatments. I never figured out how to get this visor to stay in the “up” position once the spring broke, which was frustrating. At the time, there was some kind of “as seen on TV” product that WAS a car visor. He would say, “you ought to get that.” And I would kind of blow it off, but he was actually right. This problem was probably easily fixed, but we were pretty deep into the challenge of dealing with debt at the time, and I just couldn’t muster the energy (or finances) to pursue fixing something that seemed like a relatively minor issue.
The paint slowly getting so degraded that the paint job looked just as resigned as I did about the car’s appearance.
I was always relieved that I ended up loving this car, which I didn’t test drive and didn’t have much to do with choosing, so much. I’m pretty sure I treasured this car more than Wayne loved the truck he bought in the same transaction.
I never gave it a name, but maybe “True Blue” would be a fit. It got me through 12 years safely and mostly reliably. The air conditioning pooped out the last few years, but it was always a cool car.
Thank you, True Blue. You served me well.
I’m linking up with Kat Bouska’s blog for the prompt “Tell us about the last thing you purchased.”
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
I can totally relate – I am also in the south, and once a car’s ac has quit and is not financially feasible to fix, that’s about the time I part ways with it. Thing is, I am attached to my cars. I had a Mustang with 325K miles on it by the time the ac quit and I got something else. I got my 2002 Beetle with 74K miles in 2010, and up until 2016, the ac and heat worked in that. With nearly 200K miles, but still mechanically sound, I kept it as a backup car. I got a Toyota RAV4 that one son wrecked, and after that a Subaru Impreza that the transmission kept burning up.
Now I’m in a Honda (Crosstour), and I love it and am hoping it lasts me at least until I get it paid off. But yeah, after having to use my backup car as a daily driver for nearly three years with no heat (not important here), ac (very important), or defog/defrost (very important), I am glad to be in something that I wasn’t expecting to get – but actually love. I can’t wait to read about your new car!
I just stopped by via Mama Kat’s. I’ll eventually get back to the Writer’s Workshop!
Kim
Hi Kim! So great to hear from you! This car really could tell some stories since it spanned so much of my children’s lives. But yes these past few years of no AC have been miserable. I wasn’t commuting to work, so there’s that, but I will never ever ever take my new AC for granted. (And to answer the question, I got a 2019 red Honda Fit. It has about 400 miles on it, mostly from being driven from on dealership to another, so it’s definitely “new” to me. I’m grateful and excited.(But the world has been in such a bad place, it also seemed more fitting to say goodbye to something that did so much for me than to celebrate a new acquisition. But I will soon.)
There is something almost comforting about owning a previously, but gently, used car. Usually, any and all of the new car “bugs” have been worked out and the vehicle has become pretty well-seasoned.
Don’t know how you managed with no air conditioning in the Florida heat but I give you much credit.
My current car is a used Chrysler Sebring, a convertible. I’ve driven with the top down…twice. My hubby sold my Ford Ranger truck (which I loved) and this Chrysler just appeared and I was handed the keys. Not great in the snow, if and when we get any here in New York, so I’m hoping that my next ride will be something more winter-worthy. And, just last week, the clip on the driver’s side visor broke which annoys the heck out of me.
Enjoy your Crosstour, they’re really nice and should serve you as well as True Blue did!
Stay safe!
THAT VISOR THING IS THE WORST! Such a minor piece of the vehicle, seemingly, but so so so so annoying. I truly felt like MacGuyver driving around with my improvised system of keeping it up. 🙂
When spouse and I were newlyweds, we brought our car (purchased in a suburb of NYC) down to our new home in Tampa – no air conditioning – and spent two summers there. So, I can (in a small way) identify with the no A/C. What use you got out of True Blue; memories are so hard to let go, both the good and the not so good. Enjoy your new vehicle and make some good memories with it.
Oh ha ha ha then YES you can certainly relate!!!! We have a honeymoon story too. We had just bought a new car and were driving from NYC (where we got married) to Tallahassee and I totaled it on I95 outside of DC. Very memorable.
I usually try to get the most of of my cars too. Hondas last forever. I would still have my 2002 red GrandAm if my boyfriend hadn’t crashed it. He was okay but the car was totaled.
Hi! You’re right about Hondas (and my new car is a Honda). Exception: The reason we had to buy two cars at once (that I shared in the story & led to True Blue) is b/c our Odyssey unceremoniously died when I was going 65 mph down the interstate — the timing belt (which we had just replaced) failed. Maybe that was for a combination of reasons, but it’s all in the past now. Here’s to a long future with my new (red) car! 🙂