Good-Bye Puf 

A few days ago I said good-bye to an old friend called Puf. Well not quite friend, but we had a relationship for over 15 years. I had Puf as soon as he came off the factory line, yes you guessed it! My car, Puf, was a Renault Scenic and we had many good times together, but finally on the 17th of January 2017 her engine stopped moving. 

I picked up Puf on the 3rd August 2002 from the car showroom. It was the first time that I bought a new car so it was always going to be a special purchase for me. 

Over the last 15 years Puf and I have been on many adventures and clocked up 114,000 miles together. 
Puf was part of my divorce deal from my first marriage and I am so glad to have kept him. During the those first years I travelled on over the country with my older children for their football matches and together we watched my 19 year old daughter make her debut playing football for Wales. 

Together we watched my children play football in all weathers. Puf never moaned when all three of them had to sit in the back seat and they argued and fought because none of them wanted to sit in the middle. 
Puf also had its moments of romance!

I met my wife, Emily, whilst driving Puf and because we had nowhere to go Puf became our home for our romantic encounters in quiet country lanes! Ah, fond memories!

On one particular occasion we were in the car parked in a dark quiet country lane when a massive owl flew out of the woods and frightened the living daylights out of us! A week or so later we both had a tattoo of an owl, the mountains and the words ‘PUF’ underneath, showing how Puf will always be a part of us!

My wife and I brought our twin girls, R and M home from the neo-natal in Puf after 27 days. An emotional time for us, but Puf was there for a shoulder to lean on. 

For the last 11 years Puf has also worked hard with me for my job as a painter/decorator and never once did he moan at all the paint tins or ladders that I carried around in him, which slowly turned the black seats a nice shade of Dulux white!

Sadly just before Christmas the back windscreen smashed and I was unable to purchase a new or second-hand windscreen to repair Puf. I think he was telling me that his time had come and he was tired and just worn out. It was time for me to let go. A heartbreaking moment of realisation that I had avoided for so long. 

I’m sure by now you are thinking I’m a sentimental old fool, well I will miss Puf. He has always been there for me to take me wherever I needed to go in all conditions. We have been through snow, rain and big storms and never once did Puf moan. I’m feeling emotional at the thought of Puf going to the great car crusher in the sky, but sadly he has to. 

Time stands still for no car and Puf is not an exception. I have a new friend now though. A Ford Focus and my 4 year twin girls have named him after a famous Disney character ‘Thumper’.  I’m sure we will  have many adventures with Thumper, and so on to to a new era. 

Goodbye Puf, my friend and thank you for everything.

I have to go now to a dark room to cry and grieve the loss of my beloved Puf. I will never forget you. 

Would love to know your thoughts. Have you ever become attached to a car ?