The Big Green Bitch is no more.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, this past weekend marks the end of an era. Traded in the Big Green Bitch. I loved that van. Makes me sad to see it go. Engine needed to be replaced, work would have been more than the van was worth, and she was ten.

But damn, she was also paid for.

We brought our baby home from the hospital in the van.I have had all sorts of crazy adventures in the van.

So I now have a wine colored Dodge Caravan with fold down seats. I miss the Bitch, but geeze, I have to admit those fold down seats are SWEET.

Ever have to put a bench seat in and out of a van? I am lucky I still have all my fingers and toes. And spinal discs.

Farewell, Big Green Bitch. I will miss you.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

I feel your pain.
My Blue Horror (which is only a FIAT, but darn how many things happened in it) is drawing its final breaths...
I only hoped it's last long enough to bring my first child home from the hospital. Unfortunately, my wife is not pregnant yet...

[shankyknitter]

*holds a moment of silence for the Big Green Bitch* Always sad to see a mechanical family member go, and once a car/van/truck/whatever has been around that long it's mechanical family whether you want it to be or not.

[jedimaster91]

My dad used to have an old Dodge Ram van he and Mama Jedi bought straight from the factory. It was a stick shift and had no AC, but it was a mover's dream vehicle. Li'l Sis and Li'l Bro used to be in a percussion group in grade school. When my parents drove, the group only needed one other vehicle to haul equipment. He had it for over 16 years before the maintainance was getting to be too much. I kinda miss that van. The cello fit a whole lot better in the van than in the backseat of a car.

[protege]

Ever have to put a bench seat in and out of a van? I am lucky I still have all my fingers and toes. And spinal discs.

Yes, and it sucks. My parents had an older Caravan...and taking the seats out was a pain. It usually involved lots of lifting, and lots of cursing....and usually several attempts at me getting out of doing the lifting

My first car, a '91 Toyota Tercel, has been gone nearly 10 years now. I only sold it, because it was having electrical issues, had been damaged (and repaired) after an accident, and I was tired of putting oil in it. 'Terri,' as it was known...only let me down twice in the 6 years I owned her. A water pump leak the first time, and a knackered ignition relay the second. Even on 3 cylinders, I still made it across town! 10 years, and I still miss that car. You never forget your first, I guess

Her replacement? I don't miss that heap much at all. Sure, an '00 Mazda Protege ES had plenty of Zoom-zoom, but it was a bitch to work on. After several dealer attempts to repair the suspension and stereo...I soon ripped out that shit and fitted uprated parts That car then served faithfully for 7 years. But, after 125,000 or so miles, it was getting old. Still ran like a new car, but after it spit out its timing belt (stranding me across town), and the exhaust fell off...in the space of 2 weeks, I was losing my patience! The final straw came, when it failed its state inspection test *twice!* I wasn't about to sink more money into that car, so I traded it in on a new Corolla. Some other sucker can fix it