The sad tale of my old car
Sometime in 2004 I bought a silver Honda CRV. I loved that car from the moment I saw it, and for ten years now it has been my friend. I'm feeling nostalgic about that car because we sold it about three weeks ago and got into a hot mess after that. Is it karma? Not sure.
When we went to get the Honda inspected last month, we found out that it could never again pass inspection unless we wanted to put in a new engine. Yes, we are all about driving our cars until they die, and yes, we recognized that this moment of near-death was our sign that we should surrender the old girl. We thought about giving it to the junk yard, but our friend Tyler down the street (his daughter is the one who joined Lillian in the unfortunate squat-and-drop incident a couple of weeks ago) recommended we try selling the car on Craigslist.
We were game for that. So, we took some pictures and posted an ad that said the car needed a major overhaul, but anyone who wanted it to fix, or wanted it for parts, was welcome to it.
We were delighted when we got multiple responses within minutes of posting the ad. I went to run some errands after that, and when I returned about an hour later, someone was backing the Honda out of the driveway.
"Are those people taking the car on a test drive?" I asked as I walked in the door.
"No," said Trent, stacking some papers, "I just sold it."
"You just sold the car?" I said, pausing to absorb that information. "YOU JUST SOLD MY CAR?! I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye!"
Actually, I wasn't truly devastated. It was time to let it go. I was more stunned that it was gone within an hour. And, really, Trent was fairly compassionate at that moment. I say "fairly" because he's never really loved that car. I think he was glad to get rid of it, especially at a price he thought was more than fair.
Well. The car was gone. What was I going to do about it? It was time to go car shopping.
We have looked for a car for several weeks now, but it turns out some people in our family have commitment issues when it comes to dating and marriage AND, it turns out, car buying. So we continue to be a one car family, looking for the perfect car (would you believe Hondas haven't even been a consideration?).
Last Sunday we were in Texas celebrating Trent's 40th birthday. While in the midst of celebrating, Trent got a phone call from the police, and they were asking for me! I quickly reviewed in my mind all the times I've ever broken the law and came up with… nothing. zero. I haven't even had a speeding ticket since I was in college. Fortunately, the police officer quickly assured me I wasn't in trouble, just that he was calling to find out if I had ever owned a silver Honda CRV. Oh my. My heart sank a little.
It turns out that our zealous Craigslist buyer has a little habit of scooping up cheap cars and reselling them without disclosing the cars' problems. I could not believe my ears as the police officer told me that my lovely little Honda had been impounded and they were looking for the man who had purchased the car from us. This is the closest I've been to scandal in my whole life. Except for that one time when I stole bubble gum from Reams grocery store when I was five.
Good news: we aren't in trouble and we didn't do anything wrong and its all going to turn out okay.
Bad news: I'm a little wary of Craigslist and a little sad that my Honda came to such a wicked end.
That's the true story of my car. Poor old thing.
When we went to get the Honda inspected last month, we found out that it could never again pass inspection unless we wanted to put in a new engine. Yes, we are all about driving our cars until they die, and yes, we recognized that this moment of near-death was our sign that we should surrender the old girl. We thought about giving it to the junk yard, but our friend Tyler down the street (his daughter is the one who joined Lillian in the unfortunate squat-and-drop incident a couple of weeks ago) recommended we try selling the car on Craigslist.
We were game for that. So, we took some pictures and posted an ad that said the car needed a major overhaul, but anyone who wanted it to fix, or wanted it for parts, was welcome to it.
We were delighted when we got multiple responses within minutes of posting the ad. I went to run some errands after that, and when I returned about an hour later, someone was backing the Honda out of the driveway.
"Are those people taking the car on a test drive?" I asked as I walked in the door.
"No," said Trent, stacking some papers, "I just sold it."
"You just sold the car?" I said, pausing to absorb that information. "YOU JUST SOLD MY CAR?! I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye!"
Actually, I wasn't truly devastated. It was time to let it go. I was more stunned that it was gone within an hour. And, really, Trent was fairly compassionate at that moment. I say "fairly" because he's never really loved that car. I think he was glad to get rid of it, especially at a price he thought was more than fair.
Well. The car was gone. What was I going to do about it? It was time to go car shopping.
We have looked for a car for several weeks now, but it turns out some people in our family have commitment issues when it comes to dating and marriage AND, it turns out, car buying. So we continue to be a one car family, looking for the perfect car (would you believe Hondas haven't even been a consideration?).
Last Sunday we were in Texas celebrating Trent's 40th birthday. While in the midst of celebrating, Trent got a phone call from the police, and they were asking for me! I quickly reviewed in my mind all the times I've ever broken the law and came up with… nothing. zero. I haven't even had a speeding ticket since I was in college. Fortunately, the police officer quickly assured me I wasn't in trouble, just that he was calling to find out if I had ever owned a silver Honda CRV. Oh my. My heart sank a little.
It turns out that our zealous Craigslist buyer has a little habit of scooping up cheap cars and reselling them without disclosing the cars' problems. I could not believe my ears as the police officer told me that my lovely little Honda had been impounded and they were looking for the man who had purchased the car from us. This is the closest I've been to scandal in my whole life. Except for that one time when I stole bubble gum from Reams grocery store when I was five.
Good news: we aren't in trouble and we didn't do anything wrong and its all going to turn out okay.
Bad news: I'm a little wary of Craigslist and a little sad that my Honda came to such a wicked end.
That's the true story of my car. Poor old thing.
 |
| Good-bye old friend. You served me well. |
 |
| This was taken during car shopping. It is Lillian's dream car. Its a 9 passenger van. Why does she love this car? We do not know. |
Comments
We bought our car off craigslist, but we've never successfully sold anything there--we couldn't even give away our couch.
At least we're happy about our car.
And I look forward to hearing about how the new one finally gets chosen!
Although we're not super tight, my minivan and I have a healthy mutual respect.