Bittersweet Goodbye to Brown Betty

[titelines]

Well, I've decided to part with a beloved vehicle that has come to be known as Brown Betty. I know it's only a car, but I tend to get attached to things.

We've had the brown 1990 Honda Accord for 12 years. It was an AZ car before coming up here and was in very good shape. We were very broke at the time and we needed to have an efficient, reliable (and inexpensive) vehicle to get to/from work and school. If it broke down, it would've sat for a long time before getting fixed.

Needless to say, she has been a tremendous car for us. She's got over 200.000 miles on her now, but still gets 35mpg, starts every time, is good in any weather and got us through a lot of tough times. Never had a major repair, just oil changes, new muffler and the like.

A lot of good things have happened for us through the years, and we have since gotten a couple newer vehicles. We've had Betty up at the cabin to go to and from town, go hunting etc. and has never let us down. But, with age come problems. A leak in the oil pan, a gas gauge that quit working, new tires needed, a faulty driver's side door handle, a radio antenna that fell off, and the inevitable rust.

She's still got a lot of life in her, so we decided that maybe we could pass her on to someone who's in the same position we were in when we got her. So, we've decided to donate her to a worthy cause, where she'll be fixed up and given to someone who needs her much more than we do.

The decision was more difficult than I thought it would be, after all; it's just a car, and she's going to a good cause. But now that the day is here, I realize how attached I've become to her, and it's very bittersweet.

Thanks for everything Betty!! I hope you're as good to your new owners as you were to us.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Titelines, I just went through the same thing. I finally got rid of my Dodge Dakota. Was a really good vehicle for me and never had any major problems. However, it got to the point where I was anticipating a big problem and the engine was not sounding the best. I was also due to change the tranny fluid, diff, and transfer case as it had been a while. Had a leaking crank seal, lost some dash lights, passenger's power window and lock didn't work. There were some other things that needed to be repaired and I decided that I'd rather have a reasonable care payment with low interest rates over all the costs to maintain a truck with high miles. Rust started to become more of a problem, although I was good about stopping it for the last few years. I felt really bad when I unloaded some things from the Dakota into my new truck. It was almost like bringing the dog to the vet to be put down. That was three weeks ago, and it still doesn't feel completely right. I just found a picture of Dodge when she was young, the only truck parked at the boat ramp on a cool November day.

Crazy all the memories from the truck - towing the boat to points north, driving on the lake ice fishing, hauling furniture when I moved, working different jobs, different girlfriends, etc. That truck was there for a lot of good times some bad ones.

I got some cash for the old truck and hope she ends up with someone who will treat her well and take her to the cabin or out on a frozen lake. Awesome that you donated your car to benefit others. Crazy how these things are metal and rubber, yet you get attached to them like family.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I feel your pain, brother.

A moment of silence is in order.

[MNice]

RIP brown betty, I have "black beauty" or "bonnie" as the girls cal her. a 98 bonnieville that has been a wonderful car to own, 272,000 and keeps on ticking. (knocking very heavily on wood)