It is with sad news that I announce the departure of our beloved 2000 Honda Odyssey who passed at the age of 16. She joined our family shortly after the birth of our first daughter in September of 2000. Since that time it has carried our son home from the hospital in 2003. From there, it has taken us on countless trips, soccer and lacrosse games, swim and cross country meets. It has hauled U-Haul trailers, building materials, bags of mulch and countless groceries in stride.
At 193,823 miles, she was begging to show her age. Some dings and scrapes told the story of a life as a family hauler. Some rust was beginning to form around the rear wheels from safely delivering the family through salted snowy roads. She burned a little oil and some of it was being lost through a leaky main seal. However, the original transmission still performed (surprisingly) like a champ. A leaky power steering hose was just replaced last Wednesday. Surgery was being planned to replace an aging and rattling suspension and catalytic converter as well as giving the back end an upgrade to disc brakes over the upcoming weeks. The rust was to be taken care of as well in hopes that the van would carry on and make it well past 200,000 miles.
An ironic twist of fate has changed our plans for the van. The baby girl that we bought the van for grew up and received her drivers license this week. On one of her inaugural solo trips, she managed to run up a curb while making a right hand turn. Unfortunately, the brake became the accelerator and, in a test of physics, it was van versus tree. The tree, while a little scarred, won the battle. Upon impact, both air bags deployed and the left front frame crumpled about 4 to 6 inches to absorb the impact. In the end the van continued to perform its job as it sacrificed itself to protect that little baby girl it had dutifully carried the last 16 years. While emotionally upset, our daughter walked away without any physical damage.
While we are disappointed that we will not be able to see the odometer roll past 200,000 we will be moving on and parting with the van. Unfortunately, the cost and time to repair the damage plus the other needed maintenance far exceeds the market value of the van. So with a heavy heart it is time to move on.
Farewell "Our Odyssey."
At 193,823 miles, she was begging to show her age. Some dings and scrapes told the story of a life as a family hauler. Some rust was beginning to form around the rear wheels from safely delivering the family through salted snowy roads. She burned a little oil and some of it was being lost through a leaky main seal. However, the original transmission still performed (surprisingly) like a champ. A leaky power steering hose was just replaced last Wednesday. Surgery was being planned to replace an aging and rattling suspension and catalytic converter as well as giving the back end an upgrade to disc brakes over the upcoming weeks. The rust was to be taken care of as well in hopes that the van would carry on and make it well past 200,000 miles.
An ironic twist of fate has changed our plans for the van. The baby girl that we bought the van for grew up and received her drivers license this week. On one of her inaugural solo trips, she managed to run up a curb while making a right hand turn. Unfortunately, the brake became the accelerator and, in a test of physics, it was van versus tree. The tree, while a little scarred, won the battle. Upon impact, both air bags deployed and the left front frame crumpled about 4 to 6 inches to absorb the impact. In the end the van continued to perform its job as it sacrificed itself to protect that little baby girl it had dutifully carried the last 16 years. While emotionally upset, our daughter walked away without any physical damage.
While we are disappointed that we will not be able to see the odometer roll past 200,000 we will be moving on and parting with the van. Unfortunately, the cost and time to repair the damage plus the other needed maintenance far exceeds the market value of the van. So with a heavy heart it is time to move on.
Farewell "Our Odyssey."