Memories
It was 1997 when Dad purchased the Starlet as a cheap run around. I was 9 years old at the time. Little did I know that this car would become a much loved family member, and eventually, a constant in my life.
Dad eventually got a work Ute, and so the Starlet went to Mum. Then my older brother learnt to drive in it. Being the younger sibling, I could only watch and dream from afar about the day I would get to drive the Starlet. Then finally it was my turn! So in 2005 I learnt to drive in the Starlet as well. I was looking to buy my first car at the time and loved driving the Starlet so much, that it made perfect sense to buy it off my parents. By then it had done around 250,000 kms.
Then when I got my new WRX 6 years later, I couldn't bring myself to part with the Starlet. So I kept it and enjoyed driving it as much as my WRX. I even convinced one of my friends to buy a Starlet. My girlfriend (now wife!) even learnt to drive in it.
In 2015, the Starlet was involved in an accident, where a car pulled out of a give way sign. The damage to the Starlet was significant enough to the point that the insurance company wanted to write it off. At this point, I was 1,500 kilometres short of reaching the big 500,000! I had been so excited to reach this milestone, so my friends and I agreed to tow it another 1,500 km til the speedo read half a million. Luckily, the insurance repairer we went through was a friend of the family. He said the Starlet wasn't worth repairing, but I wouldn't hear it! And so the Starlet hit the big 500k without a hitch.
I experienced déjà vu in 2017, when another car went through a give way sign. But this time it was a learner driver. And this time there was no coming back. I limped the Starlet 1 kilometre home, and prepared myself for the end. I felt cheated. This was not the way my Starlet was meant to go out. I had hoped for something more dramatic, like an explosive engine decompression. Something worthy of my loyal companion! Alas, I had to accept that my days with the Starlet were over. And so after a final farewell photo shoot, I thanked the Starlet for all the memories, and watched it disappear over the hill.
This car has never broken down in its 20 years. It never skipped a beat in the 519,095 kilometres it drove. I treated the Starlet like a sports car, always keeping it immaculate. I definitely drove it like one too! I even had it airborne and wore out the handbrake doing slides (to the point of many retentions)! The Starlet will always be more than a car to me; the Starlet was family.
