The Long
Goodbye

I spent the last two days preparing the ’04 3.0 for its new owner. I don’t know who that is yet, but I made sure to take the time and treat her right — one last time. It will be sad to see it go. This is the car that brought my little girl home. This is the one that just kept on going no matter what. I treated it right and it treated me right.

I will miss the peppy, reliable little M54. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles. I even did the diff and tranny fluids at 60K and was all set to do it again as a ‘Happy Birthday’ at 100K. I’ve rubbed leather conditioner, paint polish and wax by hand and machine more times than I recall.

And so this, a final salute. My little 3.0. May she find a good home and be treated in a manner to which she is accustomed.

I listed it online over $16K. I sold it to my next door neighbour at $15K — a good will discount to accommodate future maintenance. The oil level sensor had just started sending ‘Check Engine Oil Level’ errors when it was just fine, and I had never done a water pump or radiator. I thought it was a fair sale to friends. It also refunded to savings half the purchase price of the 4.8is. Certainly feels nice to rebuild part of the unemployment buffer.

But with 3 kids, the thing will get trashed over there. Oh well. As long as I don’t have to clean it, I’m good.

Goodbye, my lil 3.0. We had some great times.