Goodbye My Trusty Friend

Today I got the news from the Insurance Corp. that I will have to say goodbye to my trusty little friend. We have a history starting in 1994 when I was in the market for a new truck. This was one of six 1993 Mazda B2200 trucks that the dealer had on his lot. They were the last of the trucks made by Mazda in Japan. Henceforth, Mazda and Ford would make a hybrid and immediately the quality declined. These were eventually recognised as the most reliable trucks on the road. The dealer was anxious to get rid of these six trucks so he put mag wheels on them for no extra charge. Then he gave me an amazing trade-in value for my old truck and I walked away with a new truck for just over $10,000.00! I put on the canopy, attached the boat rack (for canoe or ladders) and installed a bed mat and I had exactly what I wanted and what I needed. I soon learned that this truck only needed oil changes at regular intervals. After seventeen years and only 160,000 km. it has its original clutch and only its second set of brakes. I got as much as 46 miles per gallon on the highway and around town 34. 

And then last Saturday I forced her into a duel with a city bus. It was like hitting a brick wall. Besides all the body damage you can see in the previous post, she suffered internal injuries that were just too expensive to repair, including a bent frame. She is irreplaceable in terms of meeting my exact needs as a work truck, a roomy box, reliability, economy of operation and durability. She was going to last me well into retirement. My accountant would comment every year about that amazing truck I was using for work. "You never have to spend any money on her." And it was true.  

Of course, I need wheels to continue with my business, so tomorrow I go shopping. I already know 'what is out there' and I do not like any of it. I just want my baby back.