I donated my old Saturn.

[javasaurus]

My Saturn was the first car that I actually owned. A brand new 1994 Saturn SL sedan in medium red, manual transmission. I didn't know how to drive stick, so Dad actually test-drove it and drove it home for me. He also co-signed the loan and taught me to drive it. It generally got about 32 mpg. It was rear-ended a couple of times, and was hit while parked more than once. Each time, the space-age plastic body bounced back into shape, so it never had any door-dings or other body dents. Except the hood -- some kids walked on the car once, and bent the steel hood-supports. Oh, and somebody knocked off one of the side mirrors. I wore out the carpets and the driver's seat. The original spare tire is still unused. It had its share of major engine repairs, but they generally seemed cost-effective at the time. The odometer died at about 204,000 miles, but I've kept a record of gallons of gas used, and I estimate the final mileage at about 238,000. Not too bad.

A few weeks ago, the catalytic converter became clogged (eventually this would keep the car from running at all) and a fuel regulator valve started leaking. I'd already made multiple repairs to it this year, and another $850 was just too much. So I made the call, and about a week-and-a-half ago, American Cancer Society picked it up as a donation.

Comments

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

Wow. Now that's taking care of your car. I'm impressed.

[sparowe]

It had a good life, that's sure!

[thatwasjen]

I totally empathize. When I donated my Saturn (the first car I bought myself too), I waved good-bye to her and took a picture of her on the tow truck before the driver left. I only managed to hang on to her for 7 years, though.