Goodbye, Oskar?

 *Originally published on my Wordpress blog 11.29.2019

So this post is for me.....aren't they all? But I have to figure something out.

I drive a 2002 VW Beetle.  His name is Oskar and we have been together since the day he came off the lot. He doesn't get driven a lot and, in fact, has barely 70,000 miles on his odometer.  I ride my bike or walk to any errands in town and use Oskar only when traveling to the beach, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, or places beyond. He's been a great escort for a few road trips here and there but he's also happy to be home, guarding the house for us.

He's a snappy little car with a turbo engine and good pick up (for an 18 year old vehicle).  He has no major dings or mechanical issues, has never been in an accident, and gets relatively good gas mileage.  His heater works and his AC is adequate.  Yes, I have duct tape lining the lower portion of the windshield because the windshield leaks in heavy rain and I don't want to pay a small fortune to replace all that needs to be replaced to fix that. Oh, and yes, the automatic gas tank opener thingy no longer works but, hey, my fingers can pry open that gas tank once a month or so.  He's in pretty good shape for a nearly turn of the century car. Hmmm. They why am I considering trading him in for a new something? What is that about?

I guess the first issue is that he's low to the ground.  I am fairly nimble for a woman of my age but, yes, there are things like knee replacements and back, neck, and shoulder pain that make it harder and harder to get in and out of that low to the ground driver's side door.  He is a manual transmission kind of guy and I have always enjoyed the power that comes with the clutch and stick shift but, again, two joint replacement surgeries at the base of the hand and one surgery for nerve damage in the right elbow mean that grasping that shift knob can be ..... painful.  Long drives are also now harder and harder on my hamstrings and on the back and neck that work so hard to stay alert to the road so there's that.  But I am not afraid of a little pain so it's not enough of a reason to make me buy a new car.

The second consideration comes mostly from my daughter.  She is quite annoyed that I continue to drive what, in her mind, is an unsafe car.  Oskar does not have any of the current safety features like back up cameras, blind spot alert, pedestrian alert, automatic adjustment of brights, and whatever else is out there.  He does have basic airbags and, yup, faithfully used seatbelts.  He does not have bluetooth or navigation but I have a connection that allows me to plug my phone into the cigarette lighter (!) so I can play music and I can use GPS on my phone if I want.  I am oblivious to the phone while driving and usually just turn off any text alerts so as not to be bothered by that. The daughter, who is not yet a parent, is adamant that "no baby of mine is going to get driven around in a car like that."   Okay, I tell her, thinking , "Well, let's talk about that if and when a baby arrives."  I , frankly, don't see myself driving a tiny baby around much.  After all, if the baby is staying with me and we want to go somewhere we will probably just walk.  But, I do hear my daughter's concern for safety.  She wants her mama safe and this little car is not, in her SUV driving mind, a safe car.

Another reason for considering a different car is that I have a hankering to do some road trips.  I would like to drive across Canada just for fun.  I want to go to the Southwest again and I would like to drive across the US to visit my cousin in Pennsylvania.  I love the drive up the Pacific Northwest coastline and would happily do that anytime.  If I had a slightly larger vehicle I could maybe even just push the seat down and sleep, at least some nights, in the back.  I like the freedom of that.  But, here's the thing.  I could also just rent a vehicle for a road trip!  There's some flexibility in that too.  I imagine flying to an East Coast city (Boston?) and then renting an SUV at the airport and driving home via Canada. There's something to be said for that idea.

So that's it.  Those are the reasons I would consider trading Oskar in for something new and shiny.  Comfort, safety, and a road trip or three.   Michael and I are not rolling in the dough but we have factored in a new car at some point in the future. I figure this will be the last car I will buy so I might as well start with a fresh, new one and let it take me through to  my end date.  But, really?  Really, do I need to do that? I could hold on to my buddy Oskar indefinitely  just because.  But I could also let him go (sadness reigns) and create an attachment with somebody new.  What do you think?