I have a 1987 Ford Bronco, he (yes I call him he not "she" like most guys do) and I have been through a LOT together, he hauls my firewood and branches and mulch or whatever I need to do, having him for 35 years is quite the feat, but he went in mid May for repairs and body work and it was taking forever, my mechanic used to have a 5 bay garage that he rented for 17 years but the guy that he rented it from that had a business in front of it retired at the end of last year so he is now working either from his house or his mom's house 1/4 mile away from me or comes to you if he can with a mobile van and since he is not on a regular schedule like he was this has been dragging on and on and on, the wife and I carpooled for 9 weeks and that is really a true stress test on a marriage, and I slowly started to realize that this isn't working anymore, there aren't many mechanics willing to work on an old truck like that and most have no idea how to work on something that old, and no matter how he patches him up now you know there will be more rust issues and other things going wrong with him, parts are getting tougher to get, I can't count on using her as a carpool all the time so last week I bought a GORGEOUS 2022 Toyota Tacoma in Barcelona red, almost too pretty to drive, and it is really nice, but I still at times struggle with how this is going down but am slowly coming to terms with it, I realize 35 years is an incredible amount of time with a vehicle, and I thought we'd go on longer but I also realize that I needed something more reliable for an everyday truck and also something that is modern and can be worked on. I still have the Bronco, but now instead of sitting in the garage he sits out front in the driveway, but this is how it has to be. As I experience other issues with him, and two have surfaced already, I will consider selling him to someone who most likely works on trucks and can fix any issues be it mechanical or rust, but he still isn't finished yet, this will drag on for more weeks I am sure, but he is inspected and I used him the last two days for yard cleanup so he is now my "work" truck but I still take him to work here and there. The very first day I took the Tacoma to work several days later I saw bird poop on the roof, so it was on there in the sun for a few days, just great....but I know he too will get scratched and nicked and it will upset me but with time I'll realize it is going to happen,but I'll try to "protect" him as long as I can just like I did with the Bronco when he was new.
I get different reactions from people over this, some say they totally understand why I still feel a bit "confused" by all of this while others think I'm crazy, seeing the beautiful new Tacoma and thinking I should be "thrilled". Oh, don't get me wrong, I REALLY do like it and will get used to it with time, but I just am still so loyal to the old guy, it isn't his fault that things are changing, but I had to make the choice to get something else, but I'll keep the old boy as long as I can.
Just had to put this in writing to hopefully "digest" it more, thanks....
I get different reactions from people over this, some say they totally understand why I still feel a bit "confused" by all of this while others think I'm crazy, seeing the beautiful new Tacoma and thinking I should be "thrilled". Oh, don't get me wrong, I REALLY do like it and will get used to it with time, but I just am still so loyal to the old guy, it isn't his fault that things are changing, but I had to make the choice to get something else, but I'll keep the old boy as long as I can.
Just had to put this in writing to hopefully "digest" it more, thanks....