It’s That New Vehicle Phobia

After 13 years driving the same vehicle, last month I decided to make the choice to trade it in. It was time. Even though I paid it off several years ago, I've been putting too much money into it to keep the thing running.

I probably could have continued to replace and repair all the things that were going wrong with the van, but once the rust started taking over, especially above the front windshield, that was the sign to say goodbye. Rust is no one's friend, and it's not a cheap repair.

So, I sold it on my own and bought a new van. Well, new to me anyway. My new vehicle is a couple of years old, but it's just what I need. All is good, right? Well, I have what I call the new vehicle phobia.

I'm doing my best to keep it clean on the inside, which is impossible during winter months, plus the fact that there are several pine trees  around my property, and I'm tracking in pine needles, which are a pain to pull out of carpeting.

The other issue I'm having, is trying not to get any scratches, scrapes, bumps or dents on my new van. My old van had all of those marks. In the past, I've accidentally hit the side of my house, backed into a dumpster, scraped a parked car, bumped into my shed, and the list goes on and on. But it always got me going from point A to point B every time.

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The other day, I could have sworn there was a dent on the back of the passenger side of my new vehicle. Turns out, there was no dent. Just me being paranoid.  I realize it will be just a matter of time before the first ding occurs. And as time goes on, more will follow and 10 or more years from now, it will look similar to my old vehicle.

But for now, I'm doing my best to keep it looking new and worrying that something soon will happen. It's just a matter of time.