About this blog...

The purpose of this blog is to document the countdown to rolling over 300,000 miles in my 1998 Honda Accord.  In this, my first blog post, I feel it necessary to give some background to how this car came into my possession and why I'd even care enough to push a car this far. Here's a picture of her at approximately 293,000 (May 2012):

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I learned to drive in a tan Honda Accord that my father purchased new in 1991.  By the time I had my learner's permit it was 1997 and the car had 175,000 miles on it.  It was a grey Saturday afternoon about 30 minutes after leaving the DMV.  My dad didn't show any intent of letting me drive until he pulled over in a city park and said to me "Here, switch with me."  It was the happiest I'd even been.


That car was such a great vehicle and even with close to 190,000 miles on the odometer it still drove like it was a brand new car.  As far as I can remember the only thing that ever went wrong on it was the power antenna - because someone in my family left the radio on going through the automatic car wash.  I dreamed about driving that car to high school then taking it to college.  Then one day my dad told me he was selling it because my mom didn't think a car with 200,000 miles on the odo was reliable.


Stop for a moment to contemplate this.  The greatest car I'd ever known - the car I learned to drive in, the car that drove better at 190,000 miles than our Dodge Caravan with 40,000 miles and a warranty replacement transmission - was out the door because my mom didn't trust it.  This was a pivotal moment in my life and has set the stage for nearly every car purchase since.


In the spring of 1998, on the morning before Mother's Day, my dad took me to the nearest Honda dealership and traded in that '91 Accord for a new green 1998 Honda Accord EX 2.3L VTEC. Gone were the dreams of driving that tan sedan to High School (a privilege that soon went to the family's bright-red minivan) but most of all - gone was the dream of seeing that car hit 300,000 which I knew was entirely possible and safe. 


14 years later I'm on the precipice of seeing that dream to fruition - seeing a car pass 300,000 miles safely and reliably.  I now own that '98 Accord - having purchased it from my dad with 220,000 miles on the odo after he though the car was beyond it's useful life.  Over the next few posts I'll talk more about this car's history and how losing that '91 Accord has impacted nearly every vehicle purchase I've made since.  And I'll try to include life lessons when appropriate.  


Current mileage - 293,238