An American Van’s Life

When you sell your old vehicle to a stranger, the best-case scenario is that they drive it far, far away. That way, you never have to risk explaining to them that you had no idea the power steering was going to go out when you sold it to them, or that you did actually know the power steering was going out but you sold it to them anyway. My old van did not do me the favor of going far away.

I bought it, a 2005 Chevy Astrovan, in March 2012, from a guy named Warren who worked at a “dealership” called Johnny’s Auto Pawn and Sales on South Broadway in Englewood, just south of Denver. It was a good deal because a) I had been living out of my Subaru Impreza Outback for the past eight months after a breakup and the compact wagon was too small for me to lie down in, b) it had all-wheel drive, and c) it was just under