My car radio made a startling crackle and died as I drove the kids to school one morning back in October.

As a quick fix, I started traveling with a transistor radio in my car. I’d turn it on before pulling out of the driveway and angle the antenna comically from the front seat to the back. The signal would hold just long enough for me to hear one traffic report before Danielle Tucker’s voice dissolved into static.

After a couple of weeks employing this retro life hack, I managed to clear enough space on my smartphone to download the iHeartRadio app to stream my favorite radio stations.

I began to wonder if it was worth fixing or if it was time to start looking for a new car. It had been years since the interior lights illuminated and last month the air conditioner and power windows started behaving erratically. The air conditioner still blew cold air but it was a guessing game as to which button would activate it, as that changed each time I started the car. My windows had two positions: up or down; there was no stopping midway.

Then a couple of weeks ago, pulling out of the Pearl City Home Depot parking lot, I heard a thud followed by a scraping. I pulled into the 7-Eleven parking lot and found a massive sheet of black plastic dragging on the road. I purchased a roll of duct tape and went to work reaffixing the splash guard to the bottom of my car, praying it would hold together long enough to make it to the mechanic a mile down Kamehameha Highway.

It was the final straw.

Nine years and 144,000 miles after buying my 2008 Honda Accord, it was time to say goodbye.

I cringed in anticipation. As great as it is to drive a new car, the car-buying experience is about as fun as doing your taxes. Fortunately, the process has been streamlined in the last decade. The salesman gave me a quick tour of the car, I took a test drive and a mere three hours later, I drove off in the 2018 version of my Accord.

Instead of a circa-2008 CD player, there’s a 7-inch media screen in the middle of the dash, where I can customize just about every setting in my car: Unlock doors when I put it in park? Yes. I can even push one button to stream music from Pandora and another to chat with Siri.

There’s no more holding my breath every time I turn the ignition key, hoping the engine will start. Actually, there’s no more turning the key. I’ve got push-button ignition now.

Most of all I’m just glad the overhead light turns on when I open the door. You have no idea how handy that is until you lose it.

Now all my car-related stress is gone, except for that one fear of every new car owner — that first ding.

“She Speaks” is a weekly column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Donica Kaneshiro at dkaneshiro@staradvertiser.com.