When Brett first started talking about buying a new car three years ago, I figured that he would trade in the Civic to help pay for his new one. Once Doug found out that Brett would only get $500 for it, he asked me what I thought about just keeping it. We had paid $9000 for the car and Doug felt that it was worth a lot more than we were being offered for it. We would also need a third vehicle once Cameron started driving and this would allow us to have one without adding any cost to our family.
I was hesitant at first. The Civic was a lot smaller than the van and I was little nervous about Cameron driving it daily to Goshen. I also wasn't sure how I felt about keeping a car that did not have air conditioning. The car ran well, and Doug said that he would have no problem driving it to Elkhart once Cameron took over the van. I agreed to that, thinking that it may not even last until the spring of 2021 when we would need the third vehicle.
In the end, I was very glad that Doug suggested that we keep the Civic. I actually drove it more than Doug ever did. It was the perfect car to use around town and came in very handy when the Pilot or Van had to be serviced. I especially appreciated it when Doug was in Florida. We did put some money into it, but only for normal things - brake pads, tires, oil changes, etc - but overall the Civic ran very well and lasted way beyond my expectations.
This summer Doug and I talked a lot about what to do with the Civic. Cameron would have the van at IU. The Pilot had a transmission light that continued to come on, but two mechanics over the past year and a half had told us that it was only a malfunctioning light. We agreed as it continued to run well. Thus, we planned to take it to Florida. We realized that we probably wouldn't use the Civic a lot in Ocala. It would definitely be hard to drive without air conditioning. Doug usually came home for lunch so I could have the Pilot for the afternoon if needed it or I could take him to work and use it for the day. We decided that the best option was to sell the Civic. Not only would we make a little bit of money off of it, but we'd also save on insurance and registrations.
As I started thinking about a price for the vehicle, I was surprised at how much the Civic was valued at currently. Used car prices had skyrocketing since Brett bought his CR-V in the fall of 2020. Supply shortages had made manufacturing of new cars nearly impossible which had in turn made used cars more valuable. With that information we came up with a price for the Civic and decided that we would put it up for sale at my Mom's garage sale in August.
Two weeks ago, Cherie texted me and said that she heard that we had a car for sale. I'm not sure how she knew that as I didn't remember telling anyone, but sent her the specs and price for it. It wasn't for their family, but a few days later, I got another text from her asking if it was still for sale as one of our teacher friends was in need of a car for her teen driver. I sent their family all of the information and soon they were in our driveway ready for a test drive.
I thought that the family was looking for a car for their fifteen year old, but instead it was for their daughter who was going to be a senior. I was very excited to hear that as she had been one of my favorite students. She had been working at Tippy Country Club and needed a car to get back and forth to work and to school. She really liked the Civic and took it on a couple of test drives. Once her grandfather approved it, she was more than ready to take over the title. She didn't quite have the amount saved that we had originally intended to ask for the vehicle, but that was ok with me. I was happy to give her a good deal and tonight she drove the Civic home, complete with younger siblings in tow. As she pulled out the driveway, I couldn't help but smile. I had kept very little from my Milford teaching days. I appreciated all of my students, but knew that I couldn't keep their letters and gifts forever. The one that I had kept all of these years was a letter from her. It talked about how much she did not like school, but loved my class. Our games of KaHoot and the time that we spent in class together made her sixth grade year one of her favorites. I was so glad that we got to connect one more time before I moved and had gotten one last hug.
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