Let me introduce you to Sylvia before we bid her a formal goodbye.
When Steve returned from his mission he bought this car and affectionately named it Sylvia. It took him to Idaho and we met. It took him down and his belongings to Zion National Park and back to Idaho and Arizona and Idaho and Wisconsin and finally Arizona (not to mention all the roadtrips inbetween). We brought home three kids in that car.
He put 180,000 miles on it and documented when it finally rolled over 200,000 miles.
When we moved from Wisconsin – we both had silver Honda accords. The one I drove was a little newer and had less miles – but we sold it for a larger car and Steve held tightly to his car.
He had a long commute for several years and Sylvia took the beating – I kept suggesting a hybrid car that would save on gas. But he held tightly.
Just a year ago he played with the idea of a newer car but it didn’t make sense. This car was paid for and we weren’t dumping any money into it. He held tightly.
He literally owned it for almost 16 years and aside from regular maintenance and a transmission that went bad under warranty – it’s required nothing. It was the best car we could ask for.
And then two months ago, it was parked and someone backed into it at a baby shower. The hitch messed up the front bumper and grill and it bent and raised the hood just a bit (we even tried bending it back but it could only get it so straight.) Steve’s faithful car now required more money to fix it than it was worth. I always wondered when Steve would be willing to let go – and this was that moment. He was fine driving an old car that he kept looking nice – but in it’s damaged state he wasn’t such a fan.
We thought about keeping it for a few more years until Hallie could drive but we figured it would have some problems after it sat for a few years. It was time to say goodbye.
We sold it to a guy that may or may not fix it but he was in desperate need of a reliable car and he found it. I half expected Steve to change his mind and chase the guy down but instead he just watched in sadness as he saw the tail lights of the car one last time.
Isn’t it funny what we become attached to?! This car was seriously an extension of him!
He bought another car. Drumroll please…a newer version of Sylvia: A silver Honda accord! We have a winner. Hopefully this Honda will be just as good to him.
Oh Steve, I so empathise on the loss of Sylvia.
My first car Woodstock (after Snoopy’s friend) was a bright yellow Austin Maxi, a huge thing and heavy for a learner (not automatic). I loved that car so much and 1 month after passing my test it got me, my Border Collie and 3 month old Barn Owl 640 miles from my home in Kent to Isle of Skye in the worst Dec weather in 30 years.
8 yrs later we parted after I’d left her with a friendly mechanic to do repairs while I was in Israel. He used her in a robbery and crashed in a police chase. No car has ever matched up, though my camper van is a close 2nd.
Hope Sylvia mark 2 does you proud