Goodbye to the Essie

Today, we said goodbye to the VW. The "Essie Mobile." 

When my aunt Esther died, my cousin Joe sold us her car. Shortly after we moved here, we found ourselves in need of two new cars. 

The Lincoln had been sideswiped, knocking the side view mirrors off, and our Chevy Blazer was on its last legs. 

Neither vehicle would pass Maryland state inspection. 

Doug sold the Blazer, got the Pontiac. And Joe didn't have a need for this car,  so after my aunt's funeral, we went over his place and bought it from him, then traded the Lincoln in for cash. 

The Essie was a good car - just what Geoff needed for driving to work every day. Small and zippy. Good mileage. Not a looker but a doer. Sturdy. 

I always like the unique sound of a VW door closing. It is firm and solid. Not flimsy like some other car doors. 

And I had a soft spot for the Essie. Having my aunt's rosary beads, which used to dangle from the rear view mirror relocated into the driver's side door made me feel like she was with us in the car, guiding and guarding.

We recently noted a heavy smell of exhaust coming into the car, we had the tailpipe replaced and another part of the exhaust patched. But that only fixed things for a little while. 

As Geoff was the primary driver of this car, he never complained. The car went. He got to work, and if the exhaust was annoying he rolled the windows down for fresh air. 

The check engine light was on, the car didn't have the usual pep. It backfired on me when I was driving it to the market. And the exhaust stink was a bit much.

On Monday I took the car to the guy who had fixed the tailpipe for us, and he said the catalytic converter was shot. Replacing it, and the exhaust parts it would require would run about $1200 without the labor. 

"Chris," he says, "The car is maybe worth $600 and I'd recommend not doing this replacement and just letting it go." 

So we decided to do just that. We went out and bought a used Jeep Liberty which we're going to pick up on Wednesday. And we sold the VW for parts to a local shop. 

We got about 300 bucks for her. I felt a little sad, but a parts car isn't like selling a car that is going to go to auction and make another family happy. The parts are going elsewhere. 

Everything except the catalytic converter, I guess. 

While the mechanic was going over the car, taking photos of the VIN and the odometer, and the engine. I stood off to the side watching, playing Pokemon. 

A cardinal flew into the tree beside me and chirped loudly at me over and over again. He  was very vocal, very loud. And I had to laugh because of course it did. I haven't seen a cardinal for months, but here we were. Visited by a talisman. The concept of a cardinal as a visit from a loved one looking over you hit on me. Oh hello. You are not happy with me selling your car, Essie? Or are you happy that we had it. We still have you. You're still with us. 

He sat in the only tree in the parking area that had converted to the fall colors. His bright red body stood out among the orange leaves. He held quite the conversation. I'm still not sure if I was chastised or told it was okay. Either way, he took off and we signed the paperwork to transfer the title.

Essie will still be with us.  The rosary beads will go into the new Jeep to keep us company. And I hope this new ride does Geoff well for his needs. Up the highway and back. 

And he can probably fit a kayak on this one, so that should make him very happy. Kayaks don't fit on VW Passats.