Saturday, March 10, 2012

Goodbye, Joe. Parting is such sweet sorrow

I have this bad habit. I like to hold on to things - like, for a really long time. For some odd reason, and for as long as I can remember, I have found that I become attached to things and have a hard time giving them away.

Yes, I am one of those people who still has their grade six grammar pages and grade 12 biology and data management notes because, someday, I just might need them. I still have a Winnie the Pooh, styrofoam nameplate my best friend Kristine gave to me in grade five when I moved away to Waterloo, and a snow globe from NYC that a friend gave to me in high school.  For whatever reason, I get attached to them and feel as though they represent a special part of my life, therefore making it near impossible for me to get rid of anything.

This is also true for me when it comes to cars. Years ago when my dad traded in his Ford Expedition for a brand new (beautiful, might I add) Dodge Ram 2500 diesel, I cried. When the time came for the Dodge to be traded in for a Chrysler 300 ... I cried. And when it was time to say goodbye to our lovely Ford Windstar and hello to a 1999 Toyota Camry, once again ... yep you guessed it ... I cried. For me, cars represent different times in my life, and for whatever reason, I get extremely attached to them.

So I knew I was in for it when it was time to say goodbye to my 2000 Mazda Protege, named Joe, this Wednesday.

Joe was a great friend. Here he is displayed in all his dust, rust and glory. I bought Joe four years ago and he was probably one of the best investments I have ever made.

He was with me through 3 years of school, 3/4 of my dating relationship with Matt, my marriage, many shopping and leisure trips to Toronto, Buffalo and numerous other destinations, and was there for me whenever I needed him.  At the end of his life, he had 238,889 km on him. But with consistent car repairs, unknown strange noises and a new baby on the way, it was time to say goodbye.

So it was then our adventure began, or you could say Journey, as we searched and searched for a new car. We knew we needed an SUV, as we needed something with space for Hank, as well as something with towing capacity and room to move film equipment around. That was when we set our eyes on the Dodge Journey, the #1 selling cross-over vehicle in Canada.

We found our soon-to-be vehicle at Bustard Chrysler in Waterloo, and after a month of debate (and it still being on the lot!), we decided to make the biggest (so far) purchase of our life, and we couldn't be happier. Our new-to-us 2010 Dodge Journey R/T edition is everything we ever needed AND wanted in a vehicle, right down to the heated leather seats, sunroof and back-up camera, just to name a few.

I also want to give a big shout out to Derek Killins at Bustard Chrysler. He was with us all along the way, when we were unsure about buying it, all the way to our big purchase. The service he provided us was wonderful, and if anyone is looking for someone to purchase a car from, Derek is your man. (Just tell him Matt & Jacqueline sent you!)

The day I went to pick up the car, he took me through and introduced me to the entire staff, including Bill Bustard. Everyone there is super friendly and once again, exceptional service.

I won't lie, I felt like the biggest traitor handing my keys over to Derek and officially saying goodbye to Joe. He was a great friend, and even though we have been blessed with an AMAZING new car, I will still miss Joe.  Believe it or not though, there were no tears this time, just a bittersweet feeling as I said goodbye to a good companion.

All of that being said, I LOVE driving my new Journey!!

Now to find a new name for it!

2 comments:

  1. Hey Jacqueline, I just came across this post while surfing the net today. That was very nice, what you said about Bustard's and the way you were treated here.

    Thanks,
    Derek

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    Replies
    1. No problem! Glad you found the post and enjoyed it :)

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