Okay, I'll admit it. I've watched "The Love Bug" more times than I can count. Perhaps that accounts for how I felt when I drove over to the towing yard today to get the last few little things out of our car. (The insurance company totaled the car as we thought they would, and they gave us a fair offer for its age and mileage so we took it.) It looked so forlorn sitting there with its front bumper on its engine cover, but inside it was still the same great car that served us so well for 12 years. It was the nicest car I've owned, and we may not be able to replace it with one of equal quality. But it wasn't that fact that made losing it so hard; it was feeling like I was abandoning a friend in a muddy junkyard. Remember that part where broken-hearted Herby wanders the rainy streets at night making that mournful, broken beeping sound? Yeah. If my car had squeaked at me, I probably would have called the adjustor right then to tell him I changed my mind; we were going to buy back the car and get it fixed. I actually shed a few tears. Perhaps I'm over the edge. Then again, some guys name their vehicles and caress them regularly with chamois and soft towels....
16 comments:
There there now...take heart...this car served you well for longer than most people are married. It protected you in the end and gave up it's like for you...sound familiar?
Love Karla
LOL that would be gave up it's LIFE for you....I should not blog with wet nails! Good night...
Poor old car. I was very sad when my first car gave up. I'd driven it over 100,000 miles and it was a good friend. I shed a tear too. It is at rest now!
I have shed tears each time I have traded in a car for a new(er) one. Isn't it funny how attached we become to inanimate objects sometimes? I am on my 3rd VW Jetta and each time, it's like I'm leaving an old friend to unknown fate. I think it's a sign of being a soft hearted person, and that's not really a bad thing. The world probably needs more soft hearts!
I just watched Herbie with my niece this week, in fact. My heartstrings were very pulled! So sorry about your little car.
We DO develop bonds with cars....and maybe they with us? I am now in a "relationship" with a car who has more personality than any I have ever had...our little hybrid (dubbed Robbie, the robot). When I bought new winter tires, and they took him in to put them on, I sat in the waiting room....and found myself feeling upset, because I hadn't warned Robbie about the noise from the air-compressor that tightened the lugs!
I am right there with you sister.
Just to pass one thing on, Michelle...from another aspect. When insurance companies "total" cars, it can be that there is significant structural damage you can't see - such as the frame is cracked or bent beyond safe repair. So, sometimes "fixing" the car is not the answer. That's why some cars that are fixed up from junkyards then sold to unknowing drivers can be so dangerous. It doesn't show it, but the car was engineered to take all the force of the impact to keep YOU safe.
That said, I know it's hard to see an old friend go. But it will live again in the recycled bits that keep others safe in other cars.
When I bought my current car and traded in my old one, the day I made the switch, the car salesman actually said, 'Well, we'll give you a few moments alone," (meaning with my old car). He was deadly serious and had the the exact tone and sympathy as a funeral home director! It was surprisingly hard to let go of something that had been part of my life so long!!
At least you got an answer finally, I hope you can find something that lasts just as well. I have fond memories of many of my cars. I even name all of them lol.
What Kathy said. They probably wouldn't have totaled it if the frame was still stable. But I know it's hard to let go - when I let go of the old "Land Barge," I shed a tear myself :-) But you'll have something newer soon, and at least you were not hurt - that's the most important thing
:-)
Thanks for all your kind words and understanding; glad to know I'm not the only one who's shed emotional tears over a car!
It MAY have been totaled because of frame damage, but it's just as likely that body work alone would have cost more to fix (in a big shop, with new parts) than a 14-year-old car with 178,000 miles was worth. The sad truth is that it probably would have served us well another year or few; those Hondas are built to last!
Losing a car is like losing a friend or family member. It will take some time to heal. Be gentle with yourself.
I've shed a few tears over previous vehicles and also refused to sell to someone I knew would abuse the old things. I try to sell them 'out of sight' where I won't have to see them everyday. I think that I saw my old AMC Concord a few years back at a gas station. She was a little worse for wear but I swear it was her--I'm sure her current owners wondered what the heck I was doing peering so closely at 'their' car.
Glad you came out of the crash okay.
Tammy
Sorry you lost your little car, but as everyone has said, she protected you in the end.
I wouldn't sell the JellyBean to my co-workers friend because I knew she would drive it into the ground - I sold it to a body shop guy who builds electric Festivas - - I'm hoping he'll be able to do that with my little car. T.
I drive cars for many years, only changing as needed. I understand how you feel. When we sold our VW bug that my kids grew up in and loved, I looked out the dealership window to see my son in passenger seat, hugging the seat back.
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