Tommorow afternoon, I will be trading in my 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier 4-door sedan for a 'new' 2003 Mazda Tribute LX V-6 with 106k miles.
I bought the Cavalier in July, 2005 when it was 3 years old and had 56,000 miles (89,000km) on it. It was a very generous wedding present from a distant uncle to make life easier for my upcoming wedding in October 2005.
The 'plan' was to keep it for 2-3 years, get us through our 'start', and then move up to something newer/nicer. I was a bit hesitant to get a GM, as I'd had bad luck with one before, but it was far better value than other vehicles in that price range.
Well, we've now owned it for 5 years, 8 months, longer than I've owned ANY vehicle before, and it has 157,000 miles on it, more than I've put on any other vehicle. My wife got her licence on it; her younger brother got his licence on it; and we started to teach her youngest brother to drive on it as well.
It's made countless road trips, including helping said licenced brother go to college, it's hauled more stuff - from shopping, to camping, to yard-saleing than I ever though it would, it's been in a few nasty bumps and bang-ups, including having one door 'totaled' a month after we got it. As you know, it's also survived some really, really long OCI's that most wouldn't have done as well on.
And through all this, it's been WAY more reliable and trustworthy than I ever though it would be - yeah, it's had some issues, but overall, it's been a real warrior. It's completely restored my faith in GM and domestic auto makers, and I can't say anything really bad about it.
With all this love, I should prolly fix it, but it's really tired, and just needs too much. It's done it's time, and deserves it's rest, whatever that may be. So I'll move one with another vehicle, which is a whole pile of 'firsts' for me - first SUV, first V-6, first 5W-20 vehicle(!)...but I won't forget this little sedan.
Thanks for everything, little car!
I bought the Cavalier in July, 2005 when it was 3 years old and had 56,000 miles (89,000km) on it. It was a very generous wedding present from a distant uncle to make life easier for my upcoming wedding in October 2005.
The 'plan' was to keep it for 2-3 years, get us through our 'start', and then move up to something newer/nicer. I was a bit hesitant to get a GM, as I'd had bad luck with one before, but it was far better value than other vehicles in that price range.
Well, we've now owned it for 5 years, 8 months, longer than I've owned ANY vehicle before, and it has 157,000 miles on it, more than I've put on any other vehicle. My wife got her licence on it; her younger brother got his licence on it; and we started to teach her youngest brother to drive on it as well.
It's made countless road trips, including helping said licenced brother go to college, it's hauled more stuff - from shopping, to camping, to yard-saleing than I ever though it would, it's been in a few nasty bumps and bang-ups, including having one door 'totaled' a month after we got it. As you know, it's also survived some really, really long OCI's that most wouldn't have done as well on.
And through all this, it's been WAY more reliable and trustworthy than I ever though it would be - yeah, it's had some issues, but overall, it's been a real warrior. It's completely restored my faith in GM and domestic auto makers, and I can't say anything really bad about it.
With all this love, I should prolly fix it, but it's really tired, and just needs too much. It's done it's time, and deserves it's rest, whatever that may be. So I'll move one with another vehicle, which is a whole pile of 'firsts' for me - first SUV, first V-6, first 5W-20 vehicle(!)...but I won't forget this little sedan.
Thanks for everything, little car!
