This very thread brought me to the world of GRM over a year and a half ago. While being unemployed during the majority of this time, this community has had a very therapeutic effect on said psyche while trying to grasp the dynamics of seeking gainful employment as a senior citizen.
Thank you Seth and thank you GRM
Brian
We loaded up some stuff in the seat pockets this morning and headed off on a trip.
We took two cars, the R63 and the Volt. On the way back we only had the Volt. My two little kids did a good job passing the van off the next generation of passengers.
I have a lot to say. Lots of trying to transfer emotions into words and I need to sit down and try and write it out.
The R63 went to a good home. The new owner has posted here and has asked to carry on the thread as part of his ownership experience which I think is a great idea.
I'll work on my thoughts over the next couple of days, there might be a few working drafts all trying to say the same thing as I close my story with this car.
Wow. I know I'm not the only one here who feels emotionally attached to this vehicle besides you. Glad to hear it went to a good home, and I am looking forward to posts from the new owner! 
mazdeuce - Seth said:We might get lucky and have it cost no more than your average Chevy, but it might also be violently expensive.
To quote Sheriff Buford T. Justice, "You don't say."
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Congratulations to both of you!
In reply to Pete Gossett :
Thanks. And in a weird twist of the universe, Mrs. Deuce sat down to watch football after dinner and the R63's original owner is announcing the game.
mazdeuce - Seth said:We loaded up some stuff in the seat pockets this morning and headed off on a trip.
I'll work on my thoughts over the next couple of days, there might be a few working drafts all trying to say the same thing as I close my story with this car.
I understand slightly how you feel as well, having seen this car in person and having been lucky enough to drive it. I know how special it is and feel super fortunate to have been a part of the adventure and I am sad right now that this has moved on. I'm more sad about this than any car i've personally sold..
removed stupid quote comment, because sleepyhead's reading comprehension sometimes needs work
change is good... it provides growth; although it frequently isn't easy.
Crazy. Bye, bye wondervan. Hello again, wondervan.
On page 2 of this thread, back 2.5 years ago I used the phrase, Epic Levels of Bad-ass-ery.
I still stand behind that assessment. Maybe even more so!
One of the best ways to get to know a person is to ask them what they're passionate about. What gets them up in the morning and keeps they awake at night with their brain refusing to calm down. We build community through our passions that rivals or exceeds our work life or sometimes our family.
People who train dogs learn from their dogs and their dog friends. People who play video games learn from their teammates online and the structure of the games themselves. Car people are enabled and encouraged by their car buddies, but we also experience many of life's big important lessons through the cars themselves. These big rolling objects that are not alive, but communicate with us and really do teach us. The more I talk with my car friends the more I realize how important our cars have been to shaping who we are. The joys and minor tragedies of car ownership, especially the ownership of niche cars teaches us a lot of lessons.
I think high end German cars teach us that life is great right up until it's not. One day you're on top of the world, driving around in one of the best cars on the planet with people next to you in traffic in rough riding full size trucks and Japanese sub-compacts with missing hubcaps....and then you feel a cylinder miss, the CEL glows. Life just became complex, difficult, expensive because of this car and you deal with it through a combination of time and effort and money while those other little cars and trucks keep chugging back and forth to work. Life will do that to you too. Relationships and jobs can be great, right up until they're not. Then you have to deal with them, fix them, move on while the world continues around you.
Is it safe to presume by the frequency of your responses here that the R resides in the greater Houston area if not SE Texas?
In reply to 759NRNG :
The new owner will eventually show up and let you know if they want to.
A lady never tells and all that. 
The real question is if the piece of art that removed the front balancer bolt went with the car?
I would think the spanner would qualify as a trophy for a job well done and worthy of a shadow box display in the 'grosh' sporting an appropriate brass plaque. 
759NRNG said:Is it safe to presume by the frequency of your responses here that the R resides in the greater Houston area if not SE Texas?
First, I have to thank mazdeuce and Mrs. mazdeuce! The purchase process, while time consuming, was brilliant! I can’t thank you enough for the quality of repairs, love you’ve given this R63 and the support you’ve given to GRM. Thank you!!
Yes...I am the buyer of the Unicorn of Destruction, lovingly and carefully brought back to life by mazdeuce. That said, I’ve never seen or driven it! I’m presently stationed in the Middle-East and won’t get back to the States until December on leave. After that, I’m going to be returning to Fort Hood in the middle of 2019 and can’t wait to drive the R63! I owe a lot of thanks to my wife for supporting the purchase and the many friends who have assisted in Pre-Purchase Inspections and such from 8 time zones away!
Simply, my family needed a larger vehicle to move, travel and see the United States in. As Doug said, the R63 is ideally suited “for the family that needs to go fast.” That suits us just fine! We are planning to keep the R63 in an OEMplus condition with only minor updates and reconditioning as needed. If the GRM community will allow, I plan to keep this thread going as it seems to be the Unicorns digital home.
So in Texan parlance, howdy y’all!!
Noah is a good guy and I think the van went to a good home. Nothing sketchy at all about some dude calling saying that he's in the Middle East but he wants his friend to come drive the car. 
Buying cars is emotional. For me any way. I buy cars because I like them, not because they makes sense on paper. Obviously. So when I sell I tend to get emotionally wrapped up in the process of wanting to find a good home for the car. I talked to a LOT of people in the process of selling the R63. More than a few I talked out of the idea of owning a 12 year old German supervan. If we can convince Noah to spill the beans on his past stable of stupidity, you'll get an idea of why I knew that he was going into this with his eyes wide open.
mazdeuce - Seth said:One of the best ways to get to know a person is to ask them what they're passionate about. What gets them up in the morning and keeps they awake at night with their brain refusing to calm down. We build community through our passions that rivals or exceeds our work life or sometimes our family.
People who train dogs learn from their dogs and their dog friends. People who play video games learn from their teammates online and the structure of the games themselves. Car people are enabled and encouraged by their car buddies, but we also experience many of life's big important lessons through the cars themselves. These big rolling objects that are not alive, but communicate with us and really do teach us. The more I talk with my car friends the more I realize how important our cars have been to shaping who we are. The joys and minor tragedies of car ownership, especially the ownership of niche cars teaches us a lot of lessons.I think high end German cars teach us that life is great right up until it's not. One day you're on top of the world, driving around in one of the best cars on the planet with people next to you in traffic in rough riding full size trucks and Japanese sub-compacts with missing hubcaps....and then you feel a cylinder miss, the CEL glows. Life just became complex, difficult, expensive because of this car and you deal with it through a combination of time and effort and money while those other little cars and trucks keep chugging back and forth to work. Life will do that to you too. Relationships and jobs can be great, right up until they're not. Then you have to deal with them, fix them, move on while the world continues around you.
Wonderful post to wrap up your term of ownership. I read through your whole thread when I was in the final weeks of a job I grew to despise, and then followed the updates as they came in. You are so, so right about the German car teachings as well as experiencing life's lessons through our community and the silly cars that enable it all.
Looks like it went to a great home, and hopefully you and your family can look back on your ownership period with mostly fond memories.
mazdeuce - Seth said:Noah is a good guy and I think the van went to a good home. Nothing sketchy at all about some dude calling saying that he's in the Middle East but he wants his friend to come drive the car.
Buying cars is emotional. For me any way. I buy cars because I like them, not because they makes sense on paper. Obviously. So when I sell I tend to get emotionally wrapped up in the process of wanting to find a good home for the car. I talked to a LOT of people in the process of selling the R63. More than a few I talked out of the idea of owning a 12 year old German supervan. If we can convince Noah to spill the beans on his past stable of stupidity, you'll get an idea of why I knew that he was going into this with his eyes wide open.
Eyes wide open indeed! In no particular order are the vehicles I’ve owned with some thoughts -
‘07 RS4 - The best drivers car I’ve owned. Flexible engine that loves to rev-out and paired to a brilliant 6-speed. Carbon build-up issue though.
‘04 4.2L allroad - A true allroad from Audi! That air suspension...replacing that was educational. Still a solid all-rounder and it was a wagon!
‘14 A6 TDI - Sold due to dieselgate, but at 52 MPG it was an impressive long-distance cruiser.
‘07 GTI - Great chuckable car! The DSG was fun, but I should have gotten a manual.
‘96 SOHC Dodge Neon - Added a Hahn Racecraft Turbo system and was clocking 14.1 1/4 miles...in a 3-speed automatic! My first car.
Also had two Jeep Grand Cherokees, Dodge Dakotas, A4 and an A5 (3.2L 6-spd). While living in Japan for 3 years we had a Toyota Noah minivan, Toyota FunCargo (think watermelon on wheels) and a Nissan March...from the early 90s!
My wife drives a ‘12 GMC Acadia, and while I’m in the Mid-East I’m rocking a ‘15 Chevy Tahoe.
I do believe in taking care of a vehicle and it will take care of you when asked. I also like a clean car, which has been routinely challenged with the kiddos!
I want to say good bye and good luck to the R63 as well- my time with it was brief, but before the big repair bill, before the rebuild, before the internet fame, this unicorn was a piece of what may be the greatest weekend of my life. Just barely visible here over myself and Brian's shoulders, in this photo taken in a tiny nothing of a town somewhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it was the shuttle for Seth and the Deucelings for two days I will remember forever. In the 36 hours following this photo, Sara and I finished a rally so impossibly rough it was canceled for years to come, with a service crew consisting of a dude from Michigan, a guy with a minivan, and some kids from Texas, in a car we bought sight unseen from across the country months prior, which was so barely held together that it had more structural ratchet straps and duct tape than steel by the end, and capped it all off by getting engaged after we crossed the finish line.
Farewell, R63- we couldn't have done it without you.
759NRNG said:I would think the spanner would qualify as a trophy for a job well done and worthy of a shadow box display in the 'grosh' sporting an appropriate brass plaque.
....and the plaque should read, "In case of emergency, break glass."
In reply to NoahWeb :
Welcome Noah, and thank you for your service! Looking forward to your updates once you are back in the states and able to drive your new unicorn!
To all here this is truly one of the most epic build threads I've ever experienced /witnessed in my short time inside the curtain(forum) .....Noah you are in for a remarkable journey forward...enjoy as we hopefully follow along too with your permission.... thanks and Welcome
I’ll make Noah another wrench if he ever needs it ... there you go I just jinxed him jk this should be an awesome people hauler after Mazdeuce addressed all the issues.
NoahWeb said:Eyes wide open indeed! In no particular order are the vehicles I’ve owned with some thoughts -
‘07 RS4 - The best drivers car I’ve owned. Flexible engine that loves to rev-out and paired to a brilliant 6-speed. Carbon build-up issue though.
‘04 4.2L allroad - A true allroad from Audi! That air suspension...replacing that was educational. Still a solid all-rounder and it was a wagon!
‘14 A6 TDI - Sold due to dieselgate, but at 52 MPG it was an impressive long-distance cruiser.
‘07 GTI - Great chuckable car! The DSG was fun, but I should have gotten a manual.
WOW....that is a list.... i'm sitting here in stunned amazement. I'm very happy for you to be carrying the R63 torch onward.
Congrats again on a great buy.
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