The end of 'Sharkey'

Harold Combs

It’s not final yet, but our Intrigue is junkyard bound. Whitney got a call from the ‘State Farm Total Loss’ department, which we assume implies it’s totaled.

I went by this morning, and collected what few things I’d left last week–garage door opener, some CDs, lotion, hair brads/clips/scrunchees. The poor car looked so sad…one year, 25k relatively trouble-free miles, we’re moving on.

Last night was narrowing the list…our requirements:

* Must be < 200" long (has to fit in our garage like Sharkey did).
* Within our budget
* Whitney must be able to drive it
* 4 doors
* Big enough to be a ‘family car’–stroller, car seat, etc.
* Safe
* Reliable
* Low operating costs–regular gas, good mileage, cheap/easy to repair.

Here’s what we have:

  • Buick Century

  • Another Intrigue (01 or 02 model)

  • Mazda 626

  • Honda Accord

  • Toyota Camry

Only downside to the Intrigue are the known mechanical/body issues–steering rack, strut tower bearings, window regulators (dumbest design I’ve ever seen…!), and so-so mileage.