Farewell, Old Friend (and Foe)

For 10 years, I have been involved in a love/hate relationship with my 2000 Volkswagen Jetta. Tomorrow morning, I will bid a final farewell to my car as Jim drives it to work to be picked up later in the day by its new owner.

We purchased the Jetta in the spring of 2000. It was the first major purchase that Jim and I made as a couple. While the Jetta was to become my primary vehicle, I had yet to learn how to drive it. I spent that summer learning how to drive stick shift in parking lots and on side streets. In the fall of 2000, I used the car to commute from my Madison apartment to the elementary school at which I was student teaching. After graduation and a move to the Mountain Village Apartments in Waukesha, I drove to and from Madison in the Jetta through the end of my student teaching placement. During the spring of 2001, the Jetta took me to various substitute teaching assignments in Sussex, Brookfield, Waukesha, Elm Grove, and Pewaukee. After being hired to teach for the Waukesha School District, the car has mainly been used to drive back and forth to school. A majority of the car's miles were put on in its first year as our vehicle.

In the Jetta's golden years, it was shiny, new, and fun to drive. 105,000 miles later, the Jetta has seen better days. It may not show its age from afar, but it has definitely grown worn and old. While the exterior is marked with just a few dings and scratches, the interior is stained, dirty, and hair-covered. The interior paint is peeling, and the plastic that protects the instrument panel is cracked. The cup holder is broken, as is the door on the glove compartment. I don't often drive others in my car, but when I do, it's embarrassing!

The Jetta is no longer as fun to drive as it was in its heyday. In fact, it was downright stressful to drive the Jetta at times in the last few years - especially in the winter. It does not handle well in snow. I have slid down many a hill in that car! It's a good thing that school was cancelled last Wednesday, as I never would have made it to school in the Jetta!

We have sunk thousands into repairs for the Jetta over the years. We had recently begun asking ourselves if it made sense to keep putting money into the car. After it failed an emissions test this summer and necessitated another $400 in repairs, we decided that it was time to retire the Jetta and begin looking at purchasing a new vehicle.

On Saturday, Jim and I bought that new vehicle - a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe. With a leather interior, heated seats, sun roof, power windows, and many more features, it will be a big step up from the Jetta.

My Jetta is going to a sixteen year old driver who seems just as excited to get behind its wheel as I was in 2000. I hope that the Jetta is kind to him.