The time has come to bid farewell to my beloved 2008 Honda Pilot. It has been the most incredible car and I've spent the last few weeks mourning its demise. Those of you who know me know all too well that I get very emotionally attached to people and things and this car, which I've driven for almost 18 years, is no exception. I have loved this car since November 2007 and it's filled with countless precious memories. Every single one our dogs has traveled in that car - hours and hours and hours of adventures in every kind of weather - and with the exception of Chelsea, who was ours before the Pilot, we brought all of our dogs home for the first time in it. Even when we adopted Avalanche, when the car was 15 years old, we took the Pilot to bring him home, despite C's car being much newer and nicer! My mom and I also spent many hours together in that car, both happy, like our road trips to Canada, and not-so-happy, like the many doctor appointments and hospital stays. My Pilot is the last car she ever rode in, when she was discharged from the hospital just eight days before we lost her. What this car has meant in my life cannot be overstated...I've driven it for more than one-third of my life!
We never had to do any major repairs on the Pilot in all of those years - just routine things. As it aged and as I racked up the miles, things started to deteriorate, like the radio, the keyless entry, the power locks, etc., but nothing beyond minor inconveniences and I never felt the need to put money into repairing stuff like that. Last year, the air conditioning stopped working, and that was the first time we really contemplated replacing it, but since C works from home, I simply drove his car to work on the days when it was unbearably hot (which, in Virginia, is way more often than I care for). The important thing was that it was still driving very well and by the time this school year began, we'd decided that we'd drive it for as long as we could, but had a plan to replace it in the spring. It was truly an amazing car!
On Friday, October 24, I was driving to work and the transmission failed. It wouldn't shift gears and I couldn't get the car to go. Of course this happened on a fairly busy road on an upward hill, annoying all of the cars behind me and causing an emotional breakdown on my part! I immediately called C, and he suggested I turn the car off and back on so as it maybe get to a safe place to park the car, which worked, and he and Avalanche came to rescue to me. We ended up getting the car home - C drove it while Avalanche and I followed in his car - although it was a bit of an ordeal that required many restarts and a low speed. It's been at our house ever since, while I contemplate where to donate it, as it just doesn't make financial sense to pay to replace the transmission at this point.
I've cried about the end of my time with my Pilot. It had a personalized plate and many decals on it and I've been recognized by strangers just because they'd seen my car parked at school. I love that car and will miss it so much!
In the meantime, we've been researching cars. Unfortunately, the car we really wanted won't be out until the spring at the earliest and we simply couldn't wait that long. We're very fortunate because C working from home has allowed us to function with only one car for the last few weeks, but with it getting dark earlier and earlier now, there have been days when I've gotten home too late to take Avalanche to the park, and since we don't have sidewalks anywhere near our house, going to a park every day is how he gets his exercise!
We made many visit to car dealerships, and while I am fully aware what a privilege it is to purchase a car, I really do not like car dealerships or car salespeople. It became a chore in the evenings to go and look at cars. There were a few models we really liked, but honestly, the cost of cars is insane to me!
We ended up choosing a 2025 Volkswagen Taos, and were lucky to get a great price because of end-of-year discounts. I'm very happy with it even though it will never by my Pilot and I'm excited to get another personalized plate in the coming weeks! I won't lie, it feels super weird when I drive it, but I'm sure I'll grow accustomed to it in due time. It's smaller than Pilot and noticeably smaller than C's Subaru Ascent, so Avalanche doesn't quite know what to make of it yet, but he was happy to jump into it to go for a ride!
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| our first ride together in my new car! |
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| my Pilot passed 258,000 miles on October 13 |
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| I never thought I could love a car this much! |
The many decals on my Pilot:
My new Taos:
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we've had this blanket for over 25 years and
it lived in the backseat of my Pilot since the
day I bought the car for all of our pups and
now it's in the backseat of my Taos! |
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| making himself at home |
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we have a long-standing tradition
about being very particular about
the first song played in any new car
we buy and this is what I chose...
my favorite U2 song!
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Happy Tails to you!
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