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July 29th, 2007 @ 10:59 pm | miscellany | Post a Comment

Please give a hearty welcome to the newest member of the family!

new car!

Two short weeks ago buying a car was the last thing on our minds and in our budget. But when Andrew’s old Jetta died a sorry ass death on the highway and repairs (a new engine) would have cost more than the value of the car, we felt like we really had no choice. We did a decent amount of research and test drove a variety of cars and are quite happy with our choice of a fun and sporty yet reliable car: a 2005 Mazda3. Thanks to all who weighed in on car advice last week; it was most helpful!

I felt a bit nostalgic cleaning out the old car in preparation for getting it hauled away. (We donated it — free towing and a tax writeoff!) Andrew bought the car after he graduated college and has fun memories from driving across the country to grad school and back (ask him about a llama named Moonbeam sometime). It crossed the 100,000 mile mark about a month ago, and he left me a voice mail at the exact second the odometer clicked over to the 6th figure to share the rite of passage with me.

Soon after we met, I taught him how to change a tire on that car. A few months later, he put 6,000 miles on it driving all around Iowa during the two months we lived there in 2003-2004, and once even got two speeding tickets in one day (another story for another day). When we moved in together, it became “our” car and he was always very good about sharing it with me. Up until it died, it was home to an original (and by now quite peely) Howard Dean sticker that always reminded me about the first year we spent together, before we thought we’d ever get married.

There are some things I totally won’t miss about the car, like the persistent rattle that wouldn’t go away even after we dumped a whole lotta money into it. Or the smell leftover from too many hot afternoons with stinky hockey gear sitting in the trunk. Or the broken cupholder. Or the seven million pieces of junk that really needed to thrown away long ago. Like all these adapters that we didn’t even know what the heck they were supposed to be adapting!

found upon cleaning out the dead car

Ready or not, it was time for a new car. Too bad I don’t have anywhere to drive. Anyone need a ride?

comments

  1. I’m getting frighteningly near the 100,000 mile mark and still have a year and a half of payments left on my damn car. However, I can vouch for the Mazda company as it’s a Tribute and in all of its 80,000+ miles I’ve never had to take it into the shop for anything other than a oil change. Although I really need to take it in for all that stuff that should have been checked/replaced between 60 and 70,000. Oops! Let us now pray that these are not famous last words.

    written by Angela

    July 29th, 2007 @ 11:53 pm

  2. I once had a car that had done almost 280,000 kilometers. That’s about 174,000 miles. It was a 1979 Peugeot 504 diesel. It was so loud that I could not sneak home at 3am without both my parents waking up and asking me where I’d been. It died. The end.

    But congratulations on your new baby! Looks like you made an excellent choice.

    written by E :)

    July 30th, 2007 @ 12:20 am

  3. My Jetta has 137,000 miles on it, and it better keep running for a lot longer, because I don’t want to pay for a new car! Although, I would love a car whose left front blinker worked more than sporadically. And it would also be nice if I could drive in the rain without stalling out 20 times.

    LOOOOOOOVE your new wheels. So shiny! So new!

    written by Operation Pink Herring

    July 30th, 2007 @ 8:53 am

  4. We are identical car twins!

    written by -r-

    July 30th, 2007 @ 9:00 am

  5. Ooh, shiny and silvery. Very fancy! Are you folks who give their cars names/nicknames?

    written by RA

    July 30th, 2007 @ 9:08 am

  6. Pretty car! I can relate to your post because I went through a time (albeit brief) of sadness when hubby and I traded in our cars for new ones. There were just too many good memories from when we were dating to just cast them aside for shiny and new toys. But, at least you guys donated it so someone else can have happy memories like yours.

    written by Marriage-101

    July 30th, 2007 @ 9:52 am

  7. I love that you went with the Mazda 3!!
    When I zipcar, which is often I get the Mazda 3 all the time, its awesome!!

    What’s the new cars name?

    written by Julie

    July 30th, 2007 @ 11:24 am

  8. Congrats on the new car! It’s so pretty!

    written by Audrey

    July 30th, 2007 @ 11:49 am

  9. Cute! It’s a year of change for you two. I hope the new home is next! :)

    written by Lauren

    July 30th, 2007 @ 12:28 pm

  10. Wooohoo!! What an awesome looking car! It looks so sporty and zoomy. Congratulations! :D

    written by Chiada

    July 30th, 2007 @ 12:28 pm

  11. Ugh, only 100,000 a month ago? I’m a little shocked — my VW Golf (’92) lasted FOREVER past that…The body fell apart before the engine did. VW’s used to last a VERY long time.

    PS: The Mazda looks fantastic!

    written by mel

    July 30th, 2007 @ 1:25 pm