Last week, we took my 11 and 1/2 year old Hyundai Accent in for the 120,000 mile service. It has about 117,600 miles on it, but the repair shop had recommended, since the car is so old, and since I am a stay at home mom and don't do much driving, that we should do the service a little early, "just in case" and I'm glad we did.
It seems my little car needs way more repairs than we want to put into it. This is not an unexpected situation, but it has put us in the market for a new car.
But I can't complain. I bought the Hyundai Accent in 1999, when I was a newly divorced, single woman living paycheck to paycheck. It was my first new car, EVER, but the payments certainly stretched my tight budget at the time. I am the: "
drive it till it dies" type of car owner, so I liked the Hyundai warranty, and since I was on my own, I needed a car I could count on. And hey, it had the two amenities I wanted, air conditioning and cup holders!
(Side note: as to the "...
till it dies" reference, my last car was a salvage car that I bought from a junk yard for $2500. It had previously been vandalized and they had replaced all but the driver's side door, so my key didn't work in any other door! I traded that car in with 165,000 miles on it! I got $200 when I traded it in for my current car. The car before that, the floor boards rotted out, and the door hinge rusted, and the door fell off! So it was towed to the junk yard. How's that for "...
till it dies"???)
:-)
Now I'll get to the pathetic part...
Fast forward 11 and 1/2 years and the Accent has been exactly the kind of car I had hoped for. I have no complaints. It has served me well. But I admit, I am sad seeing it go. This car has been with me through 3 job changes, including my current occupation as SAHM. I had this car when I met Pat, and when I moved in with him. I drove to our wedding in this car!
I drove to the hospital the day they admitted me, and two days before my daughter was born. I wrestled her bucket carseat into this 2-door car for the first 16 months of her life! I've taken Jocelyn to every Dr's appt in this car. She and I have sung songs, talked about the world, dodged raindrops and one threat of a tornado in this very car!
So ok, I know it's ONLY a car, but when you hang on to a car for as many years as I do, there's bound to be memories involved. I guess I just have to look to the new car (stay tuned, we're still working on that) for some new memories, like preschool, the first day of kindergarten, playdates and girls-only shopping trips. And really, considering how long I keep my cars, I may just be driving this new car to Jocelyn's high school graduation!!
