Last week my parents bought a new 4-Runner. This is both good and bad news for me. Good because I will now get their "old" 4-Runner. By "old", I mean 2009, which is by no means old, but much newer than the 1993 model that I drive right now. It'll be retired. That's the bad news.
Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate all their help and actually kind of look forward to getting a newer, more reliable vehicle for "dirt cheap" - but I'm really gonna miss the Ol' Girl that I drive right now.
It's kind of bittersweet. Common sense says Level Up, but my heart says...well...yeah....I'm not sure how to put what my heart says into words. (That's another entirely new problem.)
I love my Ol' Girl. Just keep everything maintained and her gas tank full and she'll get you where you need to go. There may be a little trouble along the way, but I know her inside and out....and so far I've been able to fix all the immediate issues that need fixin'. Ol' Girl is kind of like Serenity, she needs a little lovin' every once in a while, but if you know what needs workin' and where to be lookin', she'll tell ya what's worth fixin'.
She's perfect for what I need. I don't do a lot of driving...period. Maybe once or twice a week, and usually to school and errands. Very little highway driving; even fewer gravel roads. But when I need to drive, she's there. Ready to go. Fires right up.
I KNOW that vehicle. I know where exactly all her corners are...I haven't hit a thing yet. I know how tight to turn the steering wheel before the power steering starts to leak. I know how to rev her up to get rid of the cold-start fan belt squeal. I know that the fan doesn't always work, and how to get it going. I know that the back window won't go down if it's colder than -15. I know how hard to push her on the highway to keep her gas mileage at optimum (...not any faster than 105). When I'm driving her, she's almost like an extension of myself. I keep her full of gas, her oil and miscellaneous fluids up to date and she gets me where I gots to go. It's wonderful. (She even dealt really well when Dad and I tried to jump a relay to keep the defog working....)
I'm not sure how I feel about trading her in for a fresher, newer, more reliable model.
Also, everything is manual on her: windows, locks, 4x4...even the transmission. Not just anyone can jump in and get her to go. You gotta know what you're doing.
Manual everything. Another reason why I love Ol' Girl so much. When she's broken, she's easy to fix.
On the newer model, everything I've come to love being manual....is electric. If something breaks, it means a trip to the shop, or learning how to hack the computer. I'm not sure how my toolbox will feel about this.
Dad asked me to think about selling Ol' Girl. That's where I'm really torn. She's not worth much...just tires (new last spring), battery (new this winter), and spare parts (engine has 420 000kms on it). I know I won't get what she's worth.
Also, I don't want to sell her to just anyone. She needs a good home. Selling her is kind of like realizing that you need to sell your "old reliable" saddle horse that taught you how to ride...only because you don't have enough feed for everyone this winter. You have to let him go, but you don't want him ending up at just any ranch. You want him to go to the family with the tiny human who's just learning how to ride; so he'll teach that tiny human how to be a better cowpoke. You know that you could leave your kid on that horse, and he'll always end up at home at the end of the day....even if there is a little bit of trouble along the way. Ol' Girl is just like that. I know I'll end up at home, there just might be a little bit of trouble along the way. Trouble that I have no problem getting out of.
I want Ol' Girl to go to a kid who wants to learn how to maintain a vehicle. A kid who's just learning about driving, engines, all that good stuff and needs a vehicle that's seen a lot, but will teach them a lot along the way. Honestly, I don't think that kids like that exist anymore. When a kid turns 16, it seems like they expect their parents to get them something brand-spanking-new. Something with bells and whistles. Not something that they can learn with.
I'm planning on making the switch-out in April, when I'm home for Easter. I'm going to keep a piece of her to put in my "treasure box". I still haven't decided what part that'll be; it's going to be small but significant. It'll be a really sad day.
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