RIP 2008 HONDA CIVIC 🥀
behold! the beauty herself!
back in around maybe 2016? i bought this car. it was my first car. it has been my only car until now. i didn't even want a car. i lived in a very walkable city and never needed to drive anywhere. my partner at the time pressured me into one getting one and then abandoned me to struggle with the dealership by myself. i ended up buying the car.
my dear beloved 2008 honda civic coupe. i bought it with around 80k miles and was told it had one previous owner: a little old lady. me and this car have been through a lot: a few cross-state moves, the ending of a very serious relationship, and one big cross country move with two cats to my current state of residence. it currently has about 120k miles. not bad!
it is a zippy and fun little car, much like a go kart but legally drivable on an actual highway. if more than one person needs a ride, they need to squish in the back - very 90s coded. the trunk is surprisingly spacious.
i spent about 7k alone last year repairing things on it, including the air conditioning (literally was broken when i bought it and i had no idea, because i bought it in dead winter and didn't think to try it!). i lived without air conditioning for years. i moved to the middle of the desert without working air conditioning and dealt with it for three years before i finally shelled out to fix it. among other things.
last week, the check engine light came on. the mechanics took two days to get back to me, only to give me the worst case scenario across the board: it needed a new transmission and and it was going to cost at least 10 grand. i burst into tears and told him i would call back.
i don't have ten grand. i didn't have the 7 grand i spent fixing it last year. i was speechless. i couldn't possibly afford to fix this. and unfortunately i live in an extremely car-centric western-planned city now. i needed a car and this wasn't up for debate. i had to buy a 'new' car. i am extremely livid to have a car payment again, but i guess it couldn't last forever.
every time i get home from work and see my little honda on the side of the road, i feel sad. i miss her already. that's my car! i own that car! i've had it for ten years!!! it's so crazy to me that i'm going to have to part with it. i'm genuinely terribly sad about this.
people here cannot wrap their hands around the fact this is the only car i've ever had. there's something weird about car culture and capitalism in the u.s. where people think they are always needing a newer, better car. they are content to just make car payments forever apparently. but not me. what happened to buying a car and hoping it would last a long time? (planned obsolescence, for one). why is everyone so obsessed with getting a new car? my coworker the other day told me she was 'bored already' of her car and wanted a new one instead of just paying it off. i can't fathom this mindset.
all this to say, i am so very sad to see this car go. i love my honda. she has gotten me places and been there for some tough times in my life. i will miss her very much.
pour one out for my 2008 honda civic, please!