Last night, on the Van Nuys offramp to the 101, my car decided it had had enough. It simply would not shift gears, and had to be towed all the way back to my parking space, where I took this picture. (Quite a lie, this picture is. The car is actually well dented and scratched up, but mostly near the back.)
My mechanic told me the next big repair, whenever it came up--and he suspected soon enough it would--was going to cost more than the car is worth. So on Monday I will probably sell or give the car to him for a song in exchange for his help buying a new one, for I am not a good shopper. (I realize there's also AAA's car-buying service--perhaps I will try them.)
The car was owned by my sister and brother-in-law for 14 years, where it was pretty much considered a member of the family, accompanying them from Seattle to Albuquerque. Its fatal design flaw was the lack of a cupholder, but that wasn't its fault, was it?
Possession passed to me when I got out of prison. It has taken me to hundreds of church basements and cafe meeting rooms. It has allowed Gaza and I to get to the many trails of Griffith and Elysian Park, among others. It has held thousands of bags of groceries, and taken me to visit many a friend. I only started to find it a less than optimal mode of transportation when gas prices spiked and I calculated I was getting about 16 miles to the gallon. And would a cup holder really be so much to ask?
I don't get misty-eyed about things, (well, maybe tight-fitting leather apparel) but I do honor good service to the cause of making my life more comfortable. So 1990 Nissan Sentra with 183,000+ miles and a back seat full of dog hair? I salute you and thank you.
MCO 2008
P.S. Oops! That's supposed to read 1990-2008
I am so moved. The front end looks pretty good even if the back has a few dents and scratches as you say; it just hit me that I could say the same thing about myself. I wonder how old 18 years in car time is in human years? My 12 year old Ford Taurus bit the dust two years ago, forcing me to visit my local car dealership. I was dating a man at the time who was a car salesman and he got me a good deal on a Pontiac G6 that I really like to drive. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with him as with the car and he's long gone. Hope that the next vehicle has a cup holder and leather seats.