Nostalgia about the death of my car

I don't have any pictures of my old car - so here is one taken from inside it.

My car died a few weeks back in an unspectacular kind of way (unlike a previous car’s last act of trying to take me with it). This time I was alone driving home with a load of groceries. I put my foot on the clutch to change gears and the clutch stayed in.

Since, I was going downhill, I had enough momentum to coast. Less than a block from my house, I made the snap decision that I couldn’t reasonably make the turn to my street without ending up stationary in the middle of the road. Instead, I coasted into a bus stop and stopped, grateful that at least I wasn’t blocking traffic.

My first thought was crap!

If I couldn’t get out of neutral, I clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

This wasn’t really a surprise, I knew my car was on its last legs. It was over a year since I’d discussed a potential transmission issue with a mechanic. Just investigating the problem would cost more than the car was worth (for anyone that lives near me, I can recommend an honest mechanic). At that point, we made the decision just to use my car around town, rent when we had to go out of town and get a new car in the fall of 2018.

The car died a few months before it was supposed to (oh crap!)

Fortunately, I was close enough to home that I could take several trips and lug my groceries into my house. Then, I called a tow truck and had the car towed back to the garage to get it fixed. Within 24 hours we decided on the most expensive repair option and we bought a new car.

The new car is shiny, fantastic and electric (I never have to worry about a failed transmission again!)--and nothing rattles, creaks or groans when I drive it.

The thing is, I really miss my old car. I’d been driving it for 16 years. When I went down to the garage to take the plates off, I sat in it one last time. It felt familiar, like an old friend I’d been on multiple adventures with (yeah, I anthropomorphized the machine). Even though I knew change had to happen, I still felt kinda like I was casting off my old friend. Change is sometimes surprisingly hard, even when it’s change for the better.