Vamoose Old Van
My family and I are saying a little farewell to our old minivan tonight. After 10 years and 109,000 miles, it leaves tomorrow, forever.
The car dealer took a look at our little beauty and offered us a $300 trade-in. We eventually got $1,100 but after my husband took a good look at the car while cleaning out our stuff, he said that in truth, we should return some of the money.
The Kelley Blue Book valued the 1999 Ford Windstar SE at $1,675 in the category of “fair,” which fits the condition of the green/gray metallic behemoth:
* Some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing but is still in reasonable running condition.
* Clean title history, the paint, body and/or interior need work performed by a professional.
* Tires may need to be replaced.
* There may be some repairable rust damage.
Most of these hold true, but there’s no rust damage because the van has had a cozy home in our garage for seven years. It replaced a 4-year-old Pontiac Montana that caught fire a block from our house with my husband and children inside, after the mechanic forgot to connect the fuel line during a minor repair. (No injuries were reported – other than the emotional ones for Mom, who got the phone call that began: “First off, we’re all fine.”) The kids, 8 and 10 at the time, still talk about the nice volunteer firefighters who came to put out the flames under the hood. They remember that they knew they needed to pay attention when mild-mannered Dad pulled over and turned his head toward the back seat and shouted, “Get out. Get out of the van. Now!”
M. Appeal (Mass Appeal) 
You’ve made me all misty eyed.
Goodbye old van, we’ll sure miss you around the neighborhood. Thanks for sharing your memories Danna
Let’s see–10 years, 2 kids, and at least 5 daily trips in AND out of Drumm Avenue! God Bless that old car!
Good one! That’s like the old blue Toyota we had for so long. It died on the street. J. called Salvation Army to pick it up and finally they came, but kept driving past us, lost. J. was chasing them down the street in the rain. They couldn’t get the plates off, so rusted, but J. persisted — “Please, I beg of you, take this car away.
Then, the towing truck got everything squared away. He pulled away slowly. The Tercel that brought D. home from the hospital, in the snow, was being sent away forever. It had been arrested, cuffed and hauled away like a forlorn little prisoner, its crime, the ineptitude of mechanical old age.
We get so attached to our vehicles!
Goodbye old van, we'll sure miss you around the neighborhood. Thanks for sharing your memories Danna…