In 2017, my first love, a 2004 Dodge Intrepid, decided to cough up a transmission at 214,000 miles. So I sadly said adios and welcomed my second love, a 2008 Blue Chevy Malibu.
She was in excellent condition for a car with 127,000 miles. I expected many good things from her. So much so that like the Intrepid before her, two months after I got her, I took her on a long road trip. It was a special one because during the summer, I was in Australia and missed our family trip back to Pennsylvania. So I decided that I was going to make the 6 hour drive to PA and surprise my Grandparents for Christmas. She handled it like a champ. Got me there no problems and gave me a Christmas to remember. I had to give her more of a test on the way back by taking her through the mountains. What a drive around those crazy turns that was.
Her next big test was five months later when I went on another solo road trip to Cincinnati. The test wasn't really the drive down, but more-so all the hills that Cincy has. I wasn't sure if she was going to make some of them. She also did a lot of stopping and starting as I went from geocache to geocache over the weekend. I had so much confidence in her that I dipped down into Kentucky for a brief visit before heading back to Cleveland. Smooth sailing all the way.
One summer her age started to show with interior pieces starting to wear down and some rust began forming on the edges above the wheels. On vary rare occasions (once a year) the power steering would just conk out. But the next time I started her up, no issue. The interior issues weren't good enough for some high school kids I was driving around and they told me my car was broken and I needed a new one. Sheesh. But I didn't think so. I still thought she had a good chunk of life in her.
After a year and six months, I put her up to a double test. It was June of 2019. I drove her up to Detroit to watch a Tigers game at Comerica Park. I wasn't quite sure where to park so I looked for paid parking lots nearby. The first one I came to was tightly packed and had a dirt floor instead of asphalt. Then after I paid the guy at the booth, I found out that they valet it to an open spot. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I just drove 2.5 hours to Detroit and wondered if I was ever gonna see it again. Well I went and watched the ballgame and watched the Indians beat the Tigers and Jake Bauers hit the cycle. So as an Indians fan, the game was awesome. I then walked the handful of blocks back to the parking lot. I gave the guys at the booth my parking card and they retrieved my keys and pointed to where she was. I breathed a sigh of relief. I tipped the booth guys, thanked them, and then promptly drove 40 min to Ann Arbor where I was going to spend the rest of the weekend.
The second part of the test came soon and unexpectedly. Two days after I left Ann Arbor, my grandfather passed. So the following less than two weeks later, I drove me and two of my brothers 6 hours back to Pennsylvania. She new the route well, but even though she gave me a tire scare (faulty TMPS sensor) she pulled it off again.
After we returned, I decided to get her oil changed and a check-up. My mechanic suggested new tires would be a good idea and it made sense since I could tell they were getting bad from the previous winter. She'd been good to me this far with no major problems. I had to change brake pads, spark plugs, and rear shocks, but that's normal for a well used car. So I ponied up and got her new rubber.
As the Fall of 2019 neared, the problems began to come. The rust around the edges got worse, to the point I could stick my hand through a rust hole. Then the actuator in my heating/cooling system went leaving a constant ticking noise wherever I drove. Not a cheap fix. A month later, my right front wouldn't hold air. My mechanic re-adjusted it and it would hold air for a week before I'd have to fill it again. A couple weeks later, my left front started leaking. I thought I had it under control, but driving back from Pittsburgh in January, about 40 minutes from home, I knew the left front was really low. I'm pretty sure I drove it those last 40 minutes on 10 psi. I tried to nurse it the next week, but that was a bad idea as I left walked out of work one day to a completely flat tire. Drove it home on a donut. Found out that both the front rims were bent. Went out and got four aftermarket rims on it. Another punch to my wallet. Then, a week later, all hell broke loose when I couldn't accelerate, my RPMs were shooting above 6000, and I was livid. The timing mechanism in my engine went. For a car with 160,000 miles on it among other internal issues, there was no way the car was worth making that fix. But unfortunately for me, I just sunk a good chunk of money into it, wasn't looking for a new car, and needed a functioning car now. So I bit the bullet hard and got it fixed. My wallet screamed at me.
As you know from a previous post, I got into a fender bender in the summer. I messed up her front pretty good. Thankfully only cosmetic damaged occurred, but it still pained me. I was hoping I could make it one more year, but then, on my 30th birthday, the started died in a Discount Drugmart parking lot and forced me to call a tow truck. I got the starter fixed and now was heavily looking into my next car. While I was doing so, I had the Malibu appraised by a dealer and they informed me the front end suspension was rusted out...yikes. This poor car aged so fast on me that I wish she would've acted up sooner before I put the tires on, as much as that pains me to say. So I finally found my third love and I took my Lady in Blue on one last long slow drive to the dealership where I left her for good.
Before all her problems, she was pretty, she drove like a dream, put up with my hard turns, sharp angles, and even some stupid quick lane shifts, and she got me where I needed to go. Through heavy rains and blinding Cleveland snow, she was my baby. And I know it's just a car, but she was my car. She was the first big purchase I made after almost going broke and being without a job for a whole year. And her name was Emily.
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