Farewell, old friend

I had to clean out the Jetta this week. The salvage yard was coming to pick it up yesterday. It was a very sad day for me, and a very sad end for a car that's been really good to me.



It looked so pathetic sitting in the lot with no license plates!

I thought about all the life changes that car has been with me through- I broke up with my long term boyfriend (and lord only knows how many short term ones), road tripped to North Carolina solo in that car, and went through multiple jobs in the seven years I had the Jetta. It still had Mac's fur stuck between the seat cushions, and the front vents were permanently askew from times he pitched fits. When I cleaned out the trunk I found one of his favorite treats- when he knew he was going for a ride, he would often grab a chewee to take along with him!

I bought the Jetta brand new, and I was SO proud the day I brought it home. I had wanted a silver Jetta from the time I got my learner's permit so I was really excited to finally have one! Until I bought my house, that was the biggest investment I had ever made. And, best of all- it was paid off. Ironically,the month I bought my house was also the month I made my last car payment- the timing could not have been better. I'm stretched pretty thin with house stuff already, so I really don't want a car payment. Sadly, a 2004 Jetta with 120k miles on it isn't worth a whole lot on paper, even though it was very valuable to me! Even though it had a ton of miles, all of those miles were from me, and I knew it had been well cared for. I was really hoping it would make it to 200k, or at least a couple more years - and now that I have a 5 mile round-trip commute, I wasn't putting much wear on it, so I thought a couple more years was a reasonable goal.

But, that is not the case now, and instead I'm shopping for a replacement. This time I'm not shopping emotionally- I'm going to have to get something practical and affordable. After all, I'm a homeowner now! I don't really have the budget for a "fun" car. And yes, insurance has offered a settlement, but as is the case with older cars, it's really not enough to replace what I had.

I keep reminding myself that things could have been much, much worse- if the other driver had been going just a little bit faster, we would have been badly hurt (or worse). And I am grateful we're ok. The good thing about cars is they can be replaced. But I'm still a little sad.

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