Goodbye to You, Shamu...

...and hello to New Blue!  Yes, that is right we finally retired our old mini-van.  From the time we bought that van it has been a thorn in our side.  We could never get the check engine light to go off.  We fixed anything and everything that the mechanics thought could be wrong with it and it never fixed the problem.  The car would run fine but the light stayed on.  A few Saturdays ago, we woke up and were heading out to the museum.  The van was driving really bad and the check engine light kept flashing.  We had to cancel our trip (bummer) and headed straight to our mechanic. He plugged in his computer and a bunch of codes came up.  The usual O2 sensor (we've replaced those twice) and a few misfire codes.  He reset the engine and told us the only other thing that we hadn't tried was replacing the fuel injectors.  Those could cost anywhere from $20 a piece to $100 a piece. We would need to purchase 6 of them.  Matt and I looked at each other and decided that it was time to let Shamu go.  Matt said that she has cancer and was dying and that he was done trying to fix her! LOL  We headed over to Carmax and they made us a very generous offer.  We are very limited on funds right now so we knew that we couldn't afford anything new.  We checked out craigslist and stumbled upon an ad for a blue Chrysler Town and Country mini-van.  It isn't brand new but it is 2 years newer and has had only one owner.  The guy selling it had all the paper work showing what he had done to the car and said it had been a great car.  He was also selling it for a very low, fair price. After lots of praying, stressing out, and too much thinking, we decided to sale Shamu to Carmax and took a little out of savings to pay cash for this van.  We are very pleased with it and happy to have a reliable vehicle that will definitely get us through residency.  Needless to say, we were blessed and are very grateful.

 I bid thee adieu, Shamu.  You were a good van and I do have lots of good memories driving you.  We drove you all over the US.  You've driven through 22 states total: Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Texas.  We moved 2 times while we owned you.  You made it through the humidity of Louisiana, the thick snow of Ohio, and one of the hottest summers in Texas.  It was a little bittersweet selling you off but I am happy that you are gone and I no longer have to spend money trying to fix you.

Welcome to the family New Blue.  I hope you can handle our rowdy crew for the next few years.