100,000 Miles

While I drove to the local Pick n' Save to pick up some groceries earlier this evening, my car traveled its 100,000th mile! To mark the occasion, I cleaned the interior of my car and documented the event with a few photos (I'm sure that I drew a few strange glances as I sat in my car taking pictures of the dashboard.)

The Jetta and I have had our ups and downs over the 100, 000 miles that it has traveled. Jim and I purchased the car in May 2000 as a necessary second vehicle. It signifies the first purchase that we made as a couple. I spent the following summer learning to drive stick shift in the car before I took on full "ownership" of the vehicle in the fall of 2000. We added a majority of the 100,000 miles to the car in the first year that we owned it. I drove the Jetta between Madison and Waukesha as I completed my final semester of student teaching in Madison.

I have always liked how the Jetta drives (provided that conditions are dry and warm), and I enjoy driving a smaller vehicle (I feel like I'm driving a tank when I drive the Pilot). Yet the Jetta has begun to show her age and the wear and tear caused by 100,000 miles on the road. Take, for instance, the Check Engine Light visible in the pictures below. The Jetta has been alerting me to check her engine for almost a year now. And then there's the crack in the dashboard - no, I did not pound my fist against it in a fit of road rage. The cup holder is broken, as is the temperature gauge. The upholstery is stained (and covered with dog hair) and the interior paint has begun to peel away. The exterior of the vehicle is dinged and scratched.

She drives horribly in the snow (I usually can't make it up snow or ice covered hills), and has begun to fall apart. But - she's my Jetta, and I love her! Here's to you, Volkswagen Jetta, and the 100,000 miles that we've traveled together! May there be 100,000 more!

99,999 miles...

100,000 miles!!! Woo Hoo!