Years ago I bought a used 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. It was three years old when I got it and I have never owned a car this long in my life. I’m usually a pretty fickle car owner and change cars about once every three or four years. Actually, I’ve owned this car longer than I was married … in both marriages … combined.
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| Buddy riding in Bob |
This Jeep took us on road trips to Florida one year, and then over to Montana another. It’s been to Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, Yellowstone Park, and Mount Rushmore. It’s been over the Appalachian mountains on one side of the country and over the Rockies on the other. I used it to cart my big dog, Buddy, around town which filled the Jeep with dog hair and made it smell like dog feet.
Once I had this Jeep paid off I kept it around even after I purchased another vehicle because I knew my son was approaching driving age and I thought it would be a great vehicle for him. I loved the fact that it is a four wheel drive vehicle and I knew that it would keep my son safe.
And keep him safe it did. Even after my son ran into a parked car while reaching for something on the floor of the Jeep, we got it fixed up and it still ran great. The other car? It looked like an accordion because it hit a telephone pole in the front while my son plowed into it in the back. Luckily enough the insurance company thought it was worth fixing up and it was back in service.
My son decided that this Jeep needed a name, so it became affectionately known as “Bob”.
To say that Bob “survived” my son is an understatement. While backing Bob out of the garage, my son managed to rip off the front headlight and crack the grill. Then there was the aforementioned accident. Then after that my son overheated the engine -- twice. Admittedly the leaking radiator was at fault. The last overheating was almost Bob’s undoing.
Eventually we bought my son a newer, smaller, more fuel efficient car, and Bob limped into retirement. My ex-husband decided he could fix Bob which began my education in the inner-workings of a gas combustion engine. I helped pull the engine out (several times), put new rings on the pistons, replaced countless hoses, pumps and pulleys, dropped the oil pan (several times again) and had the dash off. Eventually, we got Bob back together again and he ran well -- for a Jeep with almost 200,000 miles on it and one teenage boy in his past.
Bob doesn’t do much anymore, but I still love this car. He gets to go out on weekends for trips to the dog park and gets me safely to church when there is lots of snow. He’s got a few quirks: the dash lights aren’t very bright anymore, the back windshield wiper works but it doesn’t touch the glass anymore, and he doesn’t have the smoothest of starts, but he runs great once he’s warmed up. It’s a great car for when you want to haul plants from the garden center because you don’t have to worry about getting the carpeting in the back muddy. Bob will get you through any big snow storm thanks to these new awesome tires I bought a few years back, but he doesn’t really like the cold, cold weather anymore.
Once I had this Jeep paid off I kept it around even after I purchased another vehicle because I knew my son was approaching driving age and I thought it would be a great vehicle for him. I loved the fact that it is a four wheel drive vehicle and I knew that it would keep my son safe.
And keep him safe it did. Even after my son ran into a parked car while reaching for something on the floor of the Jeep, we got it fixed up and it still ran great. The other car? It looked like an accordion because it hit a telephone pole in the front while my son plowed into it in the back. Luckily enough the insurance company thought it was worth fixing up and it was back in service.
My son decided that this Jeep needed a name, so it became affectionately known as “Bob”.
To say that Bob “survived” my son is an understatement. While backing Bob out of the garage, my son managed to rip off the front headlight and crack the grill. Then there was the aforementioned accident. Then after that my son overheated the engine -- twice. Admittedly the leaking radiator was at fault. The last overheating was almost Bob’s undoing.
Eventually we bought my son a newer, smaller, more fuel efficient car, and Bob limped into retirement. My ex-husband decided he could fix Bob which began my education in the inner-workings of a gas combustion engine. I helped pull the engine out (several times), put new rings on the pistons, replaced countless hoses, pumps and pulleys, dropped the oil pan (several times again) and had the dash off. Eventually, we got Bob back together again and he ran well -- for a Jeep with almost 200,000 miles on it and one teenage boy in his past.
Bob doesn’t do much anymore, but I still love this car. He gets to go out on weekends for trips to the dog park and gets me safely to church when there is lots of snow. He’s got a few quirks: the dash lights aren’t very bright anymore, the back windshield wiper works but it doesn’t touch the glass anymore, and he doesn’t have the smoothest of starts, but he runs great once he’s warmed up. It’s a great car for when you want to haul plants from the garden center because you don’t have to worry about getting the carpeting in the back muddy. Bob will get you through any big snow storm thanks to these new awesome tires I bought a few years back, but he doesn’t really like the cold, cold weather anymore.
But not just yet.
See you at the dog park? Bob, Ellie and I will be there this weekend.
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