My baby is gone....

[2TxAgs]

No, not one of the kids (yet), but my minivan, and with it, almost 11 years of our history. From car seats to drivers ed, that van has seen many days and 175,000 miles. Dozens of trips across the state, vacations to Colorado and New Mexico, loads of soccer bags and lots of apple cores and candy wrappers in the drink holders.

Good grief - I didn't think saying goodbye to a car would evoke such a response. I guess it's the passing of an era, as we don't need minivan capacity anymore, and the kids will be driving themselves in the near future.

You were a good companion, Sienna.

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

When your a mom you spend almost as much time in the car as your house. I hope that you'll be able to make lots of new memories in your new ride.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

I feel your pain. I had a few tears when I traded in my beloved Civic.

 

[ceecee]

No, not one of the kids (yet), but my minivan, and with it, almost 11 years of our history. From car seats to drivers ed, that van has seen many days and 175,000 miles. Dozens of trips across the state, vacations to Colorado and New Mexico, loads of soccer bags and lots of apple cores and candy wrappers in the drink holders.

Good grief - I didn't think saying goodbye to a car would evoke such a response. I guess it's the passing of an era, as we don't need minivan capacity anymore, and the kids will be driving themselves in the near future.

You were a good companion, Sienna.

I know exactly what you mean. I cried when I traded my Windstar in for cash for clunkers! I had it for 10 years and even though the repairs were very high, it had so many memories. Like when DD learned to write her friend's name on the ceiling in pen!!! AND on the back of the seat I "Heart" U mom...who could be mad at that?!

 

[apnep]

Good grief - I didn't think saying goodbye to a car would evoke such a response.

Waaaaa! I feel your pain! I felt the same way when I got rid of my '98 Accord a few months ago. It was the first new car I ever purchased for myself and I purchased it exactly one month before I had my first child. I did cry a little when we left it at the dealer.

I don't think there is anything wrong with feeling a small loss over a car you've spent so much time in.

Ang

 

[QVCshopper]

My 1998 Civic is still going strong, but I'll miss it when it's gone. It's the first car we bought together, drove to the hospital to have DD, etc. Hope you like your new car, and that mine makes it another few years.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I just recently almost went through this. My baby - my beloved first car that I bought with my babysitting money, my 1994 Honda Accord - died in my parent's driveway. It only had 250,700 miles on it (only!!). For 2 weeks, I tried to get myself to call a charity to donate it, but just couldn't do it. I started crying and/or was always on the verge of tears. I was miserable.

I finally decided to try to save it. I had it towed to the dealer and I paid big bucks to get it running again (new clutch and some exhaust work), but it was fixable within reason. So now it runs fine, and I hope for a couple more years out of it. We use it as our extra car, which is a role that suits it very well. No regrets.

I am very happy I get to keep my car longer.

 

[kaywoody]

I thought I was the only one that happened to. I bought a new Enclave and traded in my beloved Rendezvous. I was happy as I left the dealership, but had to come back the next day to sign a paper that was missed when we did the financing. I could see my old car in the back lot all by itself.... I wanted to take it home too! Crazy!

Of course, I cried when I left the first house I had bought too. That time was sad though... I was moving to a rental in another state and knew I might never see that house again after all the blood, sweat and tears that were invested in it.

 

[TinkOhio]

Lol!! I know that feeling! We traded our almost 11 year old minivanin for a nice SUV crossover last week. We realized that we had lots of pics of the kids inside the van, but none of the outside. We made the kids get up out of bed and stand next to it for a pic before leaving to trade it in! I felt guilty leaving it in the lot...untill I got used to all the new bells and whistles that are on our new ride!

 

[foltzy]

My kids are still really young. But I cried when we got rid of the car that I brought them both home from the hospital in. I hated that car but it held some wonderful memories.

 

[mandas08]

Just got rid of my beloved 95 civic. I didnt want to get rid of it, but because I'm starting a career in realestate a tiny 2 door just wouldn't do the job. I never had a problem with it so it was hard to let it go. I actually didnt have to say good bye forever though. My sister actually bought it from me so they now have 2 cars instead of just the one they have been sharing for a few months. So although I was sorry to see it go, I'm happy I got the chance to help my sis out Also I'm loving all the space in my new Camry

 

[RadioFanatic]

I also know how you feel. I got teary eyed when we turned in our Scion last month = our "english taxi cab". It's the car we drove our son home from the hospital in, went all over in and I miss it.

 

[eyor44]

When I had to take my car to the junk yard (yeah, it was that bad) I cried. I had bought it brand new, had it for 10 years, gave it to my mom who drove it for a couple years, then my oldest drove it for two years. After my mom and son and a couple accidents there was no hope left. On the way to the junk yard it began to drive better, but I parked it, gave the keys to DH and climbed in the truck to wait while he handled the paperwork. They had to ask me to drive it to the back cause I was the only one who could get it started. That was hard. I loved that car.

 

[Nolcrest]

Oh, I so feel your sadness. Last year we got rid of our mini-van and bought a Forester. Now I hear that the Forester was voted best small SUV for seniors . I never win. Anyway, last year after I cleaned out the old car I wrote the following:

Things I cleaned out of the Sedona

When preparing to drive a new vehicle one of the dastardly things you must do is remove all your junk or memories from your present car. This is what I set out to do on Friday. Now keep in mind that the inside of my car was usually spotless. If you peeked in my windows I'd be okay with the sight that you saw and you would probably see nothing.

That being said, this is what I removed from my Kia Sedona:

2 home rug floormats, 2 home rug runners, 1 quilt, 4 halloween masks, 1 1st aid kit, 27 cd's, 10 cassettes, 1 neck pillow, a wicker waste paper basket, an umbrella, 1 snow brush, 3 pr sunglasses, a full size road atlas, a box of tissues, a canister of antibacterial wet ones, a homemade bracelet with an elephant charm made by one of my pre-schoolers, a tree nut I found that looks like a monkey's face (really, it's cute), a handful of folded hefty garbage bags, paint chip colors from home depot, 2 disney keychains from mcdonalds (malificent & dopey), 1 unopened my scene barbie happy meal toy, 1 dog bone, a street map of atlantic city, a street map of long beach island, the shohola falls propery owners manual, 1 roll of paper towels, a bag of newspapers (hey, quincy gets carsick), 2 window sun visors, 2 seat covers, assorted directions to people's homes, 1 sunroof wrench (thankfully never used), my entire collection of owners manuals for the sedona (5 in total), my original window sticker, 1 decorative handmade origami ball filled with coffee (made by a Korean mom of one of my students, actually very nice), my unopened windsheild wonder (as seen on tv), one veteran's poppy, one palm shaped into a cross, my dogs traveling bag(in itself filled with brushes, treats, newspaper, more paper towels, harnesses, long line, pupperoni treats, a hand towel and the AKC rules to acquiring a CGC), my bathing suit bag (hey, always ready for a swim and filled with 2 bathing suits, sleeping beauty towel, cover up, 2 bottles of sunscreen and Ryan's old snorkel), a handful of coins (and I mean enough to go to the casino with), my key and gate card to PA, a handful of transaction slips to the credit union (for all the deposits I planned on making) and last but not least a diamond ring (diamonique) that I knew that i misplaced but I thought it was in the house (now I remember taking it off on a hot day when my fingers were swelling and putting it in the glove box).

So, I have come to the conclusion that I really need an MP3, a GPS and a car bigger than the new one I bought.

Boy, I'm gonna miss my mini-van with maxi storage.

 

[bettymae1121]

I know, my beloved '98 Saturn likely only has 1 year left, 2 at most. It's only the 2nd car I've ever owned. I bought it during a very good time in my life (a lot of good stuff happend in '98 for me) and somehow giving up my car will be like closing the chapter on that part of my life. Plus I'm so used to driving it that the few times I've driven another car, I feel so awkward. It will take me weeks to get used to a new car when the time comes.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I feel your pain, I only had my Mustang for a couple years and I was really attached to it. I traded it off and it made me really sad.

 

[DawnM]

Our Saturn '96 is still kicking!

You might have more than a year left.

I know, my beloved '98 Saturn likely only has 1 year left, 2 at most. It's only the 2nd car I've ever owned. I bought it during a very good time in my life (a lot of good stuff happend in '98 for me) and somehow giving up my car will be like closing the chapter on that part of my life. Plus I'm so used to driving it that the few times I've driven another car, I feel so awkward. It will take me weeks to get used to a new car when the time comes.

 

[2TxAgs]

What a weird feeling to log on this morning and see a post I wrote almost 2.5 yrs ago up on the first page! Brought those feelings/memories back to life.

I'm guessing that the poster who brought it up today has some connection to the website he/she recommends since it's their first post. Maybe a marketing person for that website who spends hours doing exhaustive searches for the words "new car" "minivan" etc. on the net??

Does that meet the definition of 'troll'?

 

[DawnM]

Oh my goodness, I didn't even see this thread was over 2 years old!

I am sure the Saturn and the Toyota are distant memories by now.

What a weird feeling to log on this morning and see a post I wrote almost 2.5 yrs ago up on the first page! Brought those feelings/memories back to life.

I'm guessing that the poster who brought it up today has some connection to the website he/she recommends since it's their first post. Maybe a marketing person for that website who spends hours doing exhaustive searches for the words "new car" "minivan" etc. on the net??

Does that meet the definition of 'troll'?

 

[branv]

No, not one of the kids (yet), but my minivan, and with it, almost 11 years of our history. From car seats to drivers ed, that van has seen many days and 175,000 miles. Dozens of trips across the state, vacations to Colorado and New Mexico, loads of soccer bags and lots of apple cores and candy wrappers in the drink holders.

Good grief - I didn't think saying goodbye to a car would evoke such a response. I guess it's the passing of an era, as we don't need minivan capacity anymore, and the kids will be driving themselves in the near future.

You were a good companion, Sienna.

I just wrote a post like this about trading in my Civic I'd had for 13 years. I cried...hard. When we went to turn in some paperwork to the dealer, we even looked for her on the lot to say "hello." And I was so sad to see her in the back, behind a barb-wired fence, like an unloved dog in a pound. I have to say though, in your shoes -- with the memories from the kids growing up -- I might have been inconsolable!

So I completely understand

Edit: Dang it! I was fooled by a resurrection post! That's what I get for posting before fully reading -- shame, shame, shame Ah well, the sentiment still stands.