I drive my cars for a long time. I bought my first car in 1988, drove it from New Jersey to Colorado, used it through 6 years of grad school and 6 years in my first job, then took it back across the country to New Hampshire. Everywhere we went, the local NPR station was #1 in the presets.
I bought my second car in 2004, and traded in the ‘88. In car dealership math, 16 years plus 187K miles equals $200. The ’04 moved with me to Massachusetts in 2012, and I set #1 to WBUR. The car stayed with me through more grad school and my next two jobs. I drove it to New Jersey frequently to spend time with my ailing mother, and to Colorado several times to spend time with my aging grandmother. Listening to WBUR — this time using the mobile app and a Bluetooth speaker — helped while away many hours on those drives.
Yesterday, I bought my third car. They asked if I wanted to trade in my ’04 and I said no. It’s 18 years old with 183K miles on it and I knew they wouldn’t give me much for it.
Instead I decided to donate it to WBUR. I know the donation math will be better than car dealership math because, however much (or little) my car turns out to be worth, that money will go to support the station I listen to every day.
Liz donated a 2004 Honda Civic to WBUR through the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program.
Thank you, Liz!