Tuesday, February 1, 2011
RIP Whitie
Our 1987 Chevy Nova died last Thursday. It was a sad, sad day. My Dad bought that car for me my junior year in college. I had been home for the summer, but needed a car because I was moving in with roommates off campus. I was away for the weekend doing the Portland to coast walk with my mom, so my Dad took it upon himself to pick out a car for me. I think it was listed for $1500 and as my Dad is walking around the car checking it out not saying anything the lady anxiously says "I can't take anything under $1200". He was ready to buy it at $1500, but after hearing that he wasn't going to argue, it was a great price for that car. I never had any trouble with it, besides running the battery low from leaving the lights on (I got pretty good at jumping the car). After Brian and I got married and started traveling my brother got the car for a few years until we came back and we needed two cars. We've had it ever since and it just kept going... until last week. Brian was trying to pick up the kids last Thursday and it quit a few blocks from their daycare. He couldn't go anywhere because the car was blocking a lane, so I picked up the kids, Brian got pushed by a cop to a side street and we ended up towing the car back to the house which was one of the scariest things I've done. He was in the 4-runner, me in the Nova with no brakes because it was dead and unable to see anything because the Nova is so low. I felt like he was going 50 mph and whenever there was any slack in the rope, I tightened my grip and just held on as I was jerked back to being towed. We only had to go about 8-10 miles, but it felt like eternity. My heart was pounding and I was so glad to be out of that situation when we got home. I really hope I never have to do it again because it gives me nightmares just thinking about it. Brian ended up buying a Subaru on Friday, so whitie has been replaced but she served us well!
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Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, that little Nova was the best car I ever bought. I remember having a lump in my throat as Em drove off to school in Seattle, hoping that I'd made a good decision and the car would run smoothly and safely for her. Well, "Whitey" was like the Eveready bunny skooting up and down the I-5 freeway and back and forth to the coast so Em could see her honey in Tillamook. I thought about that car A LOT as she made those trips and am eternally grateful we never got a call because it broke down on some dark road in the middle of nowhere. The Nova got banged up a bit through the years but nothing a hammer and some bondo couldn't patch up. That plus some oil and TLC kept that car running longer than she should have. My first car was also a (67) Nova that I paid $650 for so I'm especially fond of them.
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